Introduction
Dashboards provide a visual representation of important business data, helping users monitor key metrics, identify trends, and make informed decisions without manually generating reports. While uKnowva HRMS comes with several predefined dashboards, organizations often require dashboards tailored to their own reporting needs. The Custom Dashboard feature allows administrators to build personalized dashboards by selecting chart types, connecting report views, configuring filters, and controlling user access.
Whether you want to monitor employee attendance, leave trends, recruitment statistics, payroll insights, or any other business metric, you can create interactive dashboards with charts, drill-down capabilities, multiple graph series, filters, and custom configurations. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a new custom dashboard in uKnowva HRMS.
Step 1: Open the Dashboard Page
To begin, navigate to the side navigation panel and click on the Analytics menu.
From the available options, select the Dashboard sub-menu.
The Dashboard page opens, displaying all the dashboards available in your system.
To create a new dashboard widget, click the Add More button.
This opens the dashboard creation page, where you can configure every aspect of the dashboard step by step.
Step 2: Configure the Dashboard Details
The first screen allows you to enter the basic information for your dashboard.
Start by entering a meaningful Name for the dashboard.
Next, select the appropriate Category under which the dashboard should appear.
If required, enter the Display Order to control the sequence in which the widget appears on the dashboard.
You can then configure the Section. Select an existing dashboard section or type a new section name to create one.
This helps organize multiple widgets into logical groups. Keep in mind that once a widget has been created, it can only be moved between sections by editing the widget.
You can also enter a brief Description explaining the purpose of the dashboard.
After completing these details, click the Next button to continue.
Step 3: Configure the Chart and Data
The next step is to configure how your dashboard will display information.
Begin by selecting the required Chart Type based on how you want to visualize the data.
If you want to understand the chart, simply click on the i icon, and it will display the information about the chart type.
Next, select the Data Source that contains the information you want to display.
After selecting the data source, move to the Axis Setup section.
Choose the Values (Y-Axis) column and, if required, select an appropriate Calculation method such as Sum, Count, Average, Maximum, or other supported aggregate functions.
Next, configure the Categories (X-Axis) by selecting the column that should group the chart data.
You can also specify custom X-Axis and Y-Axis labels to improve chart readability.
Step 4: Configure Multiple Graphs and Drill Down
If your dashboard needs to display multiple data series within the same chart, configure the Stacking & Series section.
Enable the Is Multiple Graph option by selecting Yes.
Additional configuration fields appear, allowing you to define the multiple series required for your chart.
Next, configure the Drill Down settings.
Enable Drill Down if you want users to click on a chart element and view more detailed information.
After enabling this option, select the appropriate Drill Down Column that should be used when displaying detailed records.
These features make dashboards more interactive and allow users to explore data without creating additional reports.
Step 5: Configure Chart Options
The Chart Options section allows you to customize the behaviour and appearance of the dashboard widget.
If required, configure the Group By option to organize chart data into logical groups.
You can also enable the Switchable Dimension feature. When enabled, users can dynamically switch between different dimensions while viewing the dashboard. Once this option is turned on, the Switchable Dimensions field appears, allowing you to select the columns that users can switch between during dashboard analysis.
Next, configure the Sort Direction and specify the Record Limit to control how many records are displayed in the chart.
You can also define When Performance is Considered Good by specifying whether values Below or Above the target indicate good performance. For example, lower values may represent better performance for operational costs, while higher values may indicate better sales or productivity.
Additional display settings allow you to hide the chart, hide vertical totals, or hide horizontal totals whenever required.
Step 6: Configure SQL and Developer Options
The SQL & Developer Options section provides advanced customization capabilities for developers.
Here you can configure Filter Conditions and specify a custom HAVING Clause to filter grouped results after SQL aggregation.
If required, developers can also configure a Custom Where Clause using PHP code to further customize the report query.
The Custom Column Query field allows developers to execute custom JavaScript for Highcharts, enabling additional chart customization beyond the standard options.
These settings are generally intended for advanced users and developers who need additional control over dashboard behaviour.
Once you have completed these configurations, click the Next button.
Step 7: Configure Filters, Permissions, and Publishing
The final step allows you to configure dashboard filters, user access, and publishing settings.
In the Dashboard Filters section, select the appropriate Filter By column to enable filtering on the dashboard.
If your dashboard contains date-based information, configure the Date Filter settings.
Select the required Date Filter Mode. The Between Dates option filters records using a single date field with a start and end date, whereas As on Date uses separate start and end date columns for filtering.
Next, select the appropriate Filter Date column.
Move to the Access & Permissions section and select the required Access Group. Only users belonging to the selected access group will be able to view the dashboard.
Finally, configure the Publish Settings.
Enable Published to make the dashboard available to users.
If required, enable Link Dashboard to Report so users can open the detailed report directly from the dashboard widget.
Similarly, enable Link Dashboard to Another Dashboard if clicking the widget title should navigate users to another dashboard.
You can also enable Cache to improve dashboard performance. Disable caching only if your dashboard requires real-time data.
Throughout the configuration process, the right-hand side of the page continuously displays a Live Preview and Review Summary, allowing you to verify details such as the dashboard name, chart type, selected view, and category before saving.
After reviewing all the configurations, click the Save Dashboard button to create the dashboard.
Conclusion
That's it!
You've now successfully created a custom dashboard in uKnowva HRMS.
By configuring charts, data sources, filters, drill-down options, permissions, and publishing settings, you can build interactive dashboards that present meaningful business insights in a visual and easy-to-understand format.
If you have any questions or need additional support, feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..