Cloning a dashboard

Cloning a dashboard copies the arrangement, not the reports. Knowing that prevents a nasty surprise later.

Cloning a dashboard copies the arrangement, not the reports. Knowing that prevents a nasty surprise later.

Clone one

1. Open the dashboard.
2. Clone it.
3. Rename it for its new audience.
4. Adjust the reports, filters and layout.
5. Share it with the people it is for.

The reports are shared

Both dashboards point at the same reports. Editing a report to suit the clone changes the original too, on every dashboard that shows it.

Where a report needs to differ, clone the report as well and swap it in.

Always clone the standard ones

Never edit a standard dashboard. Clone, adjust the copy, and the reference version stays intact for comparison and for whoever comes next.

Rename immediately

Before making any change. "Copy of weekly review" survives for years and nobody can tell which of the three is the live one.

Check what you inherited

Filters and defaults come along. A date range that made sense on the original, or a brand filter for a different team, is now silently applied to your new dashboard.

Cloning per team is often the wrong move

Five near-identical dashboards, one per team, all need updating when something changes, and one will be missed. A single dashboard with a team filter is usually better.

Clone when the audiences want different things, not when they want the same thing filtered differently.

See also

• Cloning a report
• Dashboard filters that work
• Creating a dashboard