Using the home screen

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1. Overview

The Dundas BI home screen normally appears when you log in. This is the launching point for all of the things you can do in Dundas BI, consisting of a main menu on the left, and an assortment of other items that you can click or tap to get started.

2. Main menu

The main menu is displayed on the left side of the screen and lets you switch projects, create new items, open existing work, edit your user profile, and other main application functions.

This menu is available even after you leave the home screen so that you can always use it for creating and navigating.

Main menu
Main menu

One project is used at a time when creating and opening items (known as files) in the main menu and when editing.

Click on Projects in the main menu at any time in Dundas BI when you want to switch between projects. 

Changing the current project
Changing the current project

Afterward, click New or Open to create or open a file in the selected project.

Changing the current project
Changing the current project

When the main menu is expanded, the search box at the top allows you to search through all the file types you can open from the main menu wherever they are in the application, including all projects. Hover over a search result to see its location.

Clicking on Help opens a page in this documentation specific to the screen you currently have open.

Access account functions from the profile menu
Access account functions from the profile menu

In newer versions of Dundas BI, the Profile button at the bottom of the main menu is used for everything related to your account, including editing your profile and logging out.

3. Default home screen

If you aren't already on the home screen, click on the Home icon near the top of the main menu.

Dashboards, reports, and other views available to open with a click are listed with thumbnail preview images, and organized by folder. As you scroll, the breadcrumbs displayed above will update and you can click on a folder in the path to scroll back to the top of that section.

Default home screen
Default home screen

There is a list of quick actions you can access along the left (you may need to click the button in the top-left next to the Welcome message to show them). These display different options depending on your seat type.

To start working with data, click on the Explore Data quick action button. This opens either a full-screen Metric Set (power users or higher) or a new Dashboard (standard users).

Using quick actions after clicking to show them
Using quick actions after clicking to show them

3.1. Thumbnails

If you created a view that has never been checked in, it may appear with only an icon and no preview image of the content itself. Once the view is checked in so that other users can see it, a preview of the view is generated and shown on the corresponding tile.

3.2. List mode

You can switch between listing the views as tiles or as a detailed list using the icons above and to the right.

Showing items as a list
Showing items as a list

When shown as a list, details such as Created by, Created date, and Modified date information will be included.

3.3. Search and filter

The home screen initially shows all of the views you can access but may change as you switch between projects.

To change the items on the home screen, click on the Project filter in the top-right corner and select an individual project, or choose All Projects and scroll through all of them together.

Specify a project
Specify a project

You can further limit the views shown using the search field.

Search the available views
Search the available views

4. Customize the home screen

If you want to pin some views to the top (in a Favorites group), you can hover over the view and click the star icon (heart in earlier versions) in the top left corner.

Favorite a view
Favorite a view

You can further customize the home screen by opening the Quick Actions buttons on the left (using the button next to the Welcome message) and clicking Customize Home.

Customize Home
Customize Home

Click the hide icon in the top-left corner of a view to remove it from the home screen. Removed views are moved to a Hidden group listed only when customizing the home screen, where you can click the icon in a view's top-left corner to show it again.

Customizing home - clicking to hide another view
Customizing home - clicking to hide another view

Click Finish Customizing on the left when you are done with your changes.

Tip
You can remove a view from the home screen of all users by adding the tag HideFromHome to the file's properties or its containing folder.

4.1. Choose a different home screen

As an alternative to customizing the tiles/items shown on the home page, you can set a view such as a dashboard as your landing page using the Default View setting in your profile.

Dundas BI administrators also have additional settings that may change the home screen and/or what you see after logging in, such as Default Home Page and Always Use Custom Home Page in the configuration settings.

5. See also

Dundas Data Visualization, Inc.
400-15 Gervais Drive
Toronto, ON, Canada
M3C 1Y8

North America: 1.800.463.1492
International: 1.416.467.5100

Dundas Support Hours:
Phone: 9am-6pm, ET, Mon-Fri
Email: 7am-6pm, ET, Mon-Fri