# Using Dashboards

Source: https://help.zira.us/docs/dashboards/overview
Summary: Use dashboards to combine widgets, monitor data, compare metrics, review tasks, and create shared views for operational workflows.
Updated: 2026-04-23

Use dashboards when you want one place to monitor data, tasks, trends, and operational context together.

Dashboards can include live data, charts, tables, task widgets, AI insights, shortcuts, feed views, and more.

## Open a dashboard

You can reach dashboards from the **Dashboards** tab of a channel, including site channels, data-source channels, and other channel types that include dashboards.

1. Open the channel that contains the dashboard you want.
2. Click the dashboard name.
3. Review the current date range and the visible widgets.

## Change the date range

Click the date range in the dashboard toolbar to pick a preset such as **Today**, **This Week** or
**Last 30 Days**.

To look back a set number of periods:
1. Open the **Custom** tab.
2. Choose **Day**, **Week**, **Month** or **Year**.
3. Enter how many.
4. Choose whether to include the current period. For example, the last 3 days including today.

You can go back up to 365 days, 52 weeks, 36 months or 3 years.

## What dashboards can include

Dashboards support a wide widget catalog.

Common examples include:

- data research widgets such as **KPI**, **Grouped KPI**, **KPI Table**, **Column**, **Bar**, **Pie**, and **Time series**
- **Data Table** widgets for forms and readings
- task widgets such as **Board**, **List**, and **Task Statistics**
- **AI Insights**
- utility widgets such as **Header**, **Shortcuts**, **Feed**, **Filter Widget**, **Streaming**, and **Data Streaming**

## How dashboards are usually built

Most dashboard work follows this pattern:

1. Create the dashboard.
2. Confirm the right data sources, channels, or task context already exist.
3. Add widgets.
4. Arrange the layout.
5. Save and share the result.

## Use the dashboard toolbar

The dashboard toolbar lets you:

- add widgets
- open **AI build dashboard…**
- switch into layout editing
- edit dashboard settings
- refresh the data
- set auto-update
- share the dashboard
- enter full screen

Most dashboard options live in the **Dashboard options** menu next to the dashboard time range. Open that menu when you want layout, data preference, sharing, cache, home page, or full-screen actions.

## Read next

- [Before You Build](/docs/dashboards/prerequisites) - Usual setup dependencies.
- [Create a Dashboard](/docs/dashboards/create-a-dashboard) - Create a new dashboard.
- [AI Dashboard Builder](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder) - Plan the dashboard with AI.
- [Layout and Editing](/docs/dashboards/layout-and-editing) - Arrange widgets and manage the page.