Codygon Support

Working with Dashboards

Dashboards are the heart of Tower, providing interactive visualizations of your data. This guide covers everything you need to know about working with dashboards.

🔑 Key Concept: Tower uses two modes (View and Edit) to balance speed and accuracy. Always remember to click Apply after making changes in Edit mode!

Understanding Dashboard Modes

Tower dashboards have two distinct modes to optimize your workflow:

View Mode

View mode displays visualizations based on your complete dataset.

When to use View mode:

  • Viewing final reports
  • Sharing with stakeholders
  • Exporting for presentations
  • Analyzing full data insights

Features in View mode:

  • All charts use complete dataset
  • Real-time filters apply to full data
  • Export functionality available
  • Optimized for sharing

Edit Mode

Edit mode lets you make changes using a sample of your data for faster iteration.

When to use Edit mode:

  • Customizing visualizations
  • Experimenting with chart types
  • Adding or removing charts
  • Testing different configurations

Features in Edit mode:

  • Charts use data sample for speed
  • AI chat for modifications
  • Quick preview of changes
  • Must click Apply to finalize

⚠️ Important: Changes in Edit mode are not permanent until you click Apply. This regenerates the dashboard with your modifications on the full dataset.

Creating Dashboards

Automatic Generation

Tower automatically creates dashboards when you connect a data source:

  1. Upload or connect your data source
  2. Tower analyzes the data structure
  3. A preview dashboard appears (1-2 minutes)
  4. Full dashboard generates in the background (typically 5 minutes)

Multiple Dashboards per Source

You can create multiple dashboards from the same data source:

  1. Go to Reports
  2. Select the data source
  3. Click New Report
  4. Give it a descriptive name
  5. Let Tower generate a new perspective

Tip: Use different dashboards to focus on specific aspects of your data (e.g., sales dashboard, inventory dashboard, trend analysis).

Customizing Dashboards

Using the AI Chat Assistant

The fastest way to customize is through natural language:

Examples:

  • “Change this to a pie chart”
  • “Show me data from last quarter only”
  • “Make the bars blue”
  • “Add a trend line”
  • “Rename this chart to ‘Monthly Revenue’”
  • “Remove charts showing less than $1000”

Manual Customization

You can also customize through the interface:

Chart Settings:

  • Click on any chart to open settings
  • Change chart type
  • Modify colors and styling
  • Adjust axes and labels
  • Configure data filtering

Layout:

  • Drag and drop to rearrange charts
  • Resize visualizations
  • Create logical groupings
  • Optimize for different screens

Dashboard Features

Filters

Apply filters to focus on specific data:

Using Filters:

  1. Click filter options in the dashboard
  2. Select date ranges, categories, or values
  3. Filters apply to all visualizations
  4. Clear filters to see full dataset

Creating Filter Columns:

  • Mark columns as filters in Data → Semantics
  • Filters appear automatically in dashboard
  • Use AI chat to add dynamic filters

Data Transformations

Modify data directly in your dashboard:

Available Transformations:

  • Add Columns: Create calculated fields
  • Rename Columns: Make labels clearer
  • Aggregate Data: Sum, average, count, etc.
  • Filter Rows: Show only relevant data
  • Sort Data: Order by any column

Using AI for Transformations:

  • “Add a column showing profit margin”
  • “Calculate year-over-year growth”
  • “Show only rows where revenue > 10000”

Exporting

Share your insights outside of Tower:

Export Options:

  1. Click Export in the dashboard header
  2. Choose format:
    • PowerPoint (PPTX): For presentations
    • PDF: For reports and documentation
  3. Select pages to export
  4. Download the file

What Gets Exported:

  • All visible visualizations
  • Current filter settings
  • Chart titles and labels
  • Dashboard layout (preserved as much as possible)

Reports Section

Access all your dashboards in one place:

Viewing Reports

  1. Navigate to Reports from the main menu
  2. See all your created dashboards
  3. Click any report to open
  4. Use filters to find specific reports

Organizing Reports

Tips for organization:

  • Use clear, descriptive names
  • Create multiple reports per data source for different purposes
  • Delete outdated reports to reduce clutter
  • Export important reports regularly

Report Actions

For each report, you can:

  • Open: View and interact with the dashboard
  • Edit: Rename or modify settings
  • Duplicate: Create a copy to experiment with
  • Export: Download as PPTX or PDF
  • Delete: Remove permanently

Browse and get inspiration from public dashboards:

  1. Go to Public Gallery from the main menu
  2. Browse featured dashboards
  3. Click any dashboard to view
  4. Learn from others’ visualization choices

Note: Only dashboards explicitly marked as public appear here. Your dashboards remain private unless you choose to share them.

🎯 Actions

Tower transforms dashboards from passive reporting tools into active control centers. Configure actions to execute business tasks directly from chart insights - create JIRA tickets, update CRM records, trigger ERP workflows, and more.

What are Dashboard Actions?

Actions allow you to:

  • Execute business tasks from dashboard insights without switching apps
  • Automate workflows based on metric thresholds and anomalies
  • Close the loop from insight to action instantly
  • Integrate with enterprise systems (JIRA, CRMs, ERPs)

Setting Up Actions

1. Enable Action Integrations:

  • Go to Data Sources → Actions tab
  • Choose your action service (JIRA, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
  • Authenticate and grant necessary permissions
  • Configure field mappings and defaults

2. Configure Chart Actions:

  • Open your dashboard in Edit mode
  • Click on a chart
  • Select “Add Action” from the chart menu
  • Choose action type and configure triggers
  • Set up pre-filled values from chart context

Available Action Types

JIRA Integration 🎫

Create and manage JIRA tickets directly from dashboards:

Use Cases:

  • Create bug tickets from error rate spikes
  • Generate improvement tasks from performance dips
  • Auto-assign issues based on responsible team
  • Link incidents to monitoring dashboards

Configuration:

  1. Connect JIRA in Data Sources → Actions
  2. Select default project and issue type
  3. Map dashboard fields to JIRA fields
  4. Configure chart actions with pre-filled context

Example Action:

  • Chart: “API Error Rate”
  • Trigger: When error rate > 5%
  • Action: Create JIRA ticket
  • Auto-filled: Error details, timestamp, affected service
  • Manual input: Priority, assignee, additional notes

CRM Integrations 👥

Update CRM records based on analytics insights:

Supported CRMs:

  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Custom CRM via API

Use Cases:

  • Update lead scores from engagement analytics
  • Create follow-up tasks for account managers
  • Trigger outreach campaigns based on behavior
  • Update opportunity stages from pipeline metrics

Example Action:

  • Chart: “High-Value Inactive Customers”
  • Trigger: Manual click on customer segment
  • Action: Create CRM task for account manager
  • Auto-filled: Customer name, last activity date, revenue impact

ERP Integration 📦

Trigger operational actions from supply chain and inventory dashboards:

Use Cases:

  • Create purchase orders when inventory falls below threshold
  • Raise restock requests from sales velocity analysis
  • Update production schedules based on demand forecasts
  • Alert supply chain team of potential disruptions

Availability: Enterprise plans with custom configuration

Using Actions

From Charts:

  1. Click any chart in your dashboard
  2. Select “Actions” from the menu
  3. Choose configured action
  4. Review pre-filled information from chart context
  5. Add any additional required fields
  6. Click “Execute”

From Action Menu:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Actions in navigation
  2. View all available actions for current dashboard
  3. Select action to execute
  4. Choose target chart/metric
  5. Configure and execute

Bulk Actions:

  • Apply filters to dashboard
  • Select multiple data points
  • Execute action on entire filtered set
  • Perfect for batch operations

Action Logs & Audit

Track all executed actions:

  • Timestamp and user who triggered action
  • Action type and target system
  • Parameters and data sent
  • Success/failure status
  • System response or error details

Access Action History:

  1. Go to Data Sources → Actions
  2. Click “View Logs”
  3. Filter by date, user, action type, or status
  4. Export logs for audit compliance

Security & Permissions

Action security features:

  • 🔒 Role-based access control - Only authorized users can execute actions
  • ✅ Approval workflows - Require approval for sensitive actions
  • 📝 Audit logging - Complete trail of all actions
  • 🔑 Credential management - Secure storage of API keys and tokens
  • ⚠️ Action limits - Rate limiting to prevent abuse

Best Practices

Do:

  • ✅ Test actions in non-production dashboards first
  • ✅ Use approval workflows for financial or critical actions
  • ✅ Set up notifications for action failures
  • ✅ Review action logs regularly
  • ✅ Provide clear action names and descriptions
  • ✅ Pre-fill as much context from charts as possible

Don’t:

  • ❌ Grant action permissions to all users indiscriminately
  • ❌ Skip testing before enabling in production
  • ❌ Create actions without failure handling
  • ❌ Ignore action logs and audit trails
  • ❌ Over-complicate action forms with too many fields

Troubleshooting Actions

Action Failed:

  • Check action logs for specific error message
  • Verify integration credentials haven’t expired
  • Confirm target system is accessible
  • Review API rate limits
  • Test connection in Data Sources → Actions

Action Successful but No Effect:

  • Verify permissions in target system (JIRA, CRM, etc.)
  • Check field mappings are correct
  • Review target system logs
  • Confirm data format matches expectations

Need Help:

💡 Tip: Start with simple actions like creating JIRA tickets, then expand to more complex workflows as your team becomes comfortable with the feature.

Appearance Settings

Customize how your dashboards look:

Accessing Appearance Settings

Go to Account → Appearance to configure:

Dashboard Layout:

  • Rounded & Spaced: Modern look with spacing between charts
  • Rectangle & Compact: Maximizes screen space

Chatbot Position:

  • Header: Centered in top navigation
  • Floating: Bottom right corner (collapsible)

Theme:

  • Light mode
  • Dark mode
  • System default

Configuration Settings

Set dashboard-wide preferences:

Currency Settings

Configure how monetary values display:

  1. Go to Account → Configuration
  2. Select your currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.)
  3. Choose number format:
    • Millions/Billions: 1M, 1B (Western)
    • Lakhs/Crores: 1L, 1Cr (Indian)
  4. Save changes

Best Practices

Dashboard Design

  • Keep it focused: One dashboard, one story
  • Use appropriate charts: Let Tower’s AI guide you, but verify
  • Consistent colors: Use color meaningfully
  • Clear labels: Make everything self-explanatory
  • Test filters: Ensure filters work as expected

Performance

  • Start with samples: Use Edit mode for testing
  • Limit chart count: Too many charts slow things down
  • Apply filters: Reduce data volume when possible
  • Regular cleanup: Delete unused dashboards

Collaboration

  • Name meaningfully: “Q4 Sales Dashboard” not “Dashboard 1”
  • Export for sharing: Use PPTX/PDF for stakeholders
  • Document changes: Note what you modified and why
  • Version control: Keep copies of important versions

Troubleshooting

Dashboard Not Generating

Problem: Dashboard stuck in “Generating” state

Solutions:

  • Check dataset size (large data takes longer)
  • Verify data source is still connected
  • Review data quality (nulls, errors can cause issues)
  • Try with a smaller sample first

Changes Not Appearing

Problem: Edits don’t show in View mode

Solutions:

  • Ensure you clicked Apply in Edit mode
  • Wait for regeneration to complete
  • Refresh the page
  • Check if changes were saved

Charts Look Wrong

Problem: Visualizations don’t make sense

Solutions:

  • Review column semantics (Data → Semantics)
  • Check data types are correct
  • Ask AI chat to fix specific issues
  • Manually adjust chart settings

Export Issues

Problem: Export fails or looks incorrect

Solutions:

  • Try exporting fewer pages at once
  • Check browser permissions for downloads
  • Use a different export format
  • Ensure dashboard is in View mode

📑 Story Mode

Transform your dashboard into AI-powered presentation slides:

  • Descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics automatically
  • Export to PowerPoint, PDF, or PNG
  • Perfect for executive presentations and board meetings
  • Updates automatically as your dashboard data changes

📱 Mobile Apps

Access and edit dashboards on the go:

  • Download for iOS and Android
  • Complete feature parity with web platform
  • Create, edit, and present from your mobile device
  • Touch-optimized interface for phone and tablet

⏰ Scheduler

Automate your dashboard data refreshes:

  • Schedule automatic updates (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Built-in data quality checks on every refresh
  • Email notifications for data issues
  • Ensure dashboards always show current information

🔗 Integrations

Take action directly from your dashboards:

  • JIRA ticket creation from anomalies
  • CRM updates from analytics insights
  • ERP workflows from inventory dashboards
  • BI platform plugins (Spotfire, Snowflake, Grafana)

🔌 Data Sources

Connect and manage your data:

  • 700+ Enterprise connectors
  • Data pipelines for transformations
  • Semantic layer configuration
  • File uploads and database connections

Need Help?

Tower is a product of Codygon