01 Dashboard Organisation

Organize and manage Grafana dashboards.

What You'll Learn

• Organize panels into rows for logical grouping

• Create collapsible sections for complex dashboards

• Link dashboards together for navigation

• Use folders to manage dashboard collections

• Apply best practices for dashboard structure

Prerequisites

• Completed Part 1 and Part 2 tutorials

• At least one dashboard with multiple panels

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Overview

As your dashboards grow, organization becomes critical. A well-organized dashboard:

• Guides the user's eye – Important information appears first

• Groups related data – Panels about the same topic stay together

• Reduces cognitive load – Users find what they need quickly

• Scales gracefully – Easy to add new content without chaos

This tutorial covers the organizational tools Grafana provides.

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Row Organization

Rows are the primary way to group related panels together.

What Are Rows?

Rows are horizontal containers that:

• Group related panels under a common title

• Can be collapsed to hide panels

• Help users scan dashboard sections quickly

[SCREENSHOT: Dashboard with multiple row sections visible]

Adding a Row

1. In dashboard edit mode, click Add in the top navigation

2. Select Row

   [SCREENSHOT: Add menu showing Row option]

3. A new row appears with a default title "Row title"

4. Drag panels below the row to add them to that section

Configuring Row Settings

1. Click the row title to select it

2. Click the gear icon that appears, or right-click and select Edit

   [SCREENSHOT: Row settings menu]

3. Configure options:

Setting	Description
Title	Display name for the row
Repeat for	Create row copies for each variable value

Collapsible Rows

Rows can be collapsed to hide their panels:

1. Click the arrow icon next to the row title

2. All panels in that row collapse into the row header

3. Click again to expand

   [SCREENSHOT: Collapsed row showing just the title bar]

Benefits of collapsible rows:

• Reduce scrolling on long dashboards

• Let users focus on relevant sections

• Faster initial load (collapsed panels don't render immediately)

Row Organization Best Practices

Section	Content
Top (uncollapsed)	Summary stats, critical KPIs, alerts
Middle rows	Detailed time series, process parameters
Bottom rows	Historical data, less frequently viewed info

Example structure for a machine dashboard:

[Status Summary] - Stat panels, current status (uncollapsed)
> [Production Metrics] - Throughput, speed, counts (collapsible)
> [Process Parameters] - Temperature, pressure, settings (collapsible)
> [Quality Data] - Thickness, deviations (collapsible)
> [Historical Trends] - Long-term analysis (collapsed by default)

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Panel Positioning

Understanding the Grid

Grafana uses a 24-column grid system:

Width	Columns	Use Case
Full width	24	Large time series, tables
Half width	12	Side-by-side comparisons
Third width	8	Three-panel rows
Quarter width	6	Stat panels, gauges
Sixth width	4	Small status indicators

[SCREENSHOT: Grid showing column widths]

Resizing Panels

1. Hover over the panel edge until the cursor changes

2. Drag to resize

3. Panels snap to grid positions

   [SCREENSHOT: Panel being resized with snap guides]

Tip: Hold Shift while dragging for finer control.

Moving Panels

1. Hover over the panel title bar

2. Drag the panel to a new position

3. Other panels will move to accommodate

Copying Panels

Duplicate a panel to create variations:

1. Click the panel title → More → Duplicate

   [SCREENSHOT: Panel menu showing Duplicate option]

2. The copy appears at the bottom of the dashboard

3. Drag it to the desired position

4. Edit the query or settings as needed

Alternative: Copy JSON

1. Click panel title → More → Copy

2. Navigate to target dashboard

3. Click Add → Paste panel

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Dashboard Links

Links help users navigate between related dashboards.

Types of Links

Type	Description
Dashboard link	Link to another Grafana dashboard
URL link	Link to external resource
Drilldown link	Context-aware link from panel

Adding Dashboard Links

1. Open dashboard settings (gear icon in top navigation)

2. Select Links from the sidebar

3. Click Add Dashboard Link

   [SCREENSHOT: Dashboard settings Links section]

4. Configure the link:

Setting	Description
Type	Dashboard or Link
Title	Display text for the link
Dashboard	Target dashboard (for Dashboard type)
URL	Target URL (for Link type)
Include current time range	Pass time selection to target
Include current template variables	Pass variable values to target
Open in new tab	Open link in new browser tab

[SCREENSHOT: Dashboard link configuration form]

1. Links appear in the dashboard header

   [SCREENSHOT: Dashboard header showing navigation links]

Dashboard Link Examples

Machine Overview → Machine Detail:

• Include time range: Yes

• Include variables: Yes (machine selection)

• Opens detail view for same machine and time period

Dashboard → External Documentation:

• Type: Link

• URL: https://docs.enlyze.com/...

• Open in new tab: Yes

Drilldown Links from Panels

Create links that appear when clicking data points:

1. Edit the panel

2. In sidebar, find Data links

3. Click Add link

   [SCREENSHOT: Data links section in panel editor]

4. Configure:

   • Title: Link text

   • URL: Target (can use variables like ${__data.fields.machine})

Example: Click a machine name in a table to open its detail dashboard.

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Folder Structure

Folders organize dashboards in the Grafana sidebar.

Creating Folders

1. Go to Dashboards in the main menu

2. Click New → New folder

   [SCREENSHOT: New folder creation]

3. Enter a folder name

4. Click Create

Moving Dashboards to Folders

1. Go to Dashboards list

2. Select dashboards using checkboxes

3. Click Move

4. Select the target folder

   [SCREENSHOT: Move dashboard dialog]

Alternative: When saving a dashboard, select the folder in the save dialog.

Recommended Folder Structure

Folder	Contents
Overview	Summary dashboards, KPI overview
Production	Machine monitoring, throughput
Quality	Quality metrics, deviation tracking
Maintenance	Equipment health, alerts
Reports	Periodic reports, exports
Development	Work-in-progress dashboards

Folder Permissions

Control who can view or edit dashboards in a folder:

1. Open the folder

2. Click Folder settings (gear icon)

3. Select Permissions

4. Assign viewer/editor roles to users or teams

   [SCREENSHOT: Folder permissions settings]

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Dashboard Settings

Configure global dashboard options.

Accessing Settings

1. Click the gear icon in the top navigation

2. Or press Ctrl+Shift+S / Cmd+Shift+S

General Settings

Setting	Description
Name	Dashboard title
Description	Optional description (shown in search)
Tags	Searchable labels
Folder	Location in folder structure
Editable	Allow editing (uncheck for view-only)

Time Settings

Setting	Description
Timezone	Browser, UTC, or specific timezone
Auto refresh	Default refresh interval
Time picker hidden	Hide the time picker UI
Now delay	Offset "now" for delayed data

Panel Options

Setting	Description
Graph tooltip	Shared crosshair behaviour
Panel options	Default panel settings

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Dashboard Versioning

Grafana automatically saves dashboard versions.

Viewing History

1. Open dashboard settings

2. Select Versions from sidebar

   [SCREENSHOT: Dashboard version history]

3. See list of saved versions with timestamps

Comparing Versions

1. Select two versions

2. Click Compare versions

3. View JSON diff of changes

Restoring Previous Versions

1. Select the version to restore

2. Click Restore

3. Confirm the restoration

Tip: Use meaningful commit messages when saving to track changes.

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Practical Example: Organized Machine Dashboard

Build a well-organized dashboard structure:

Dashboard Structure

Dashboard: Kiefel Extruder Overview
+-- [Header Links: All Machines | Reports | Documentation]
|
+-- Status Summary (uncollapsed)
|   +-- Current Status (Stat)
|   +-- Today's Production (Stat)
|   +-- Current Speed (Gauge)
|   +-- OEE (Gauge)
|
+-- > Production Metrics (collapsible)
|   +-- Throughput (Time Series, full width)
|   +-- Speed Actual vs Setpoint (Time Series, full width)
|
+-- > Process Parameters (collapsible)
|   +-- Temperatures (Time Series)
|   +-- Pressures (Time Series)
|
+-- > Quality Metrics (collapsible)
    +-- Film Thickness (Time Series)
    +-- Deviation Table (Table)

Configuration Checklist

• Dashboard saved in "Production" folder

• Tags: "machine", "kiefel", "extruder"

• Links to related dashboards (machine list, reports)

• Default time range: Last 6 hours

• Auto-refresh: 30 seconds

• Top row uncollapsed, others collapsed by default

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Tips and Best Practices

Dashboard Size Guidelines

Dashboard Type	Recommended Size
Shopfloor display	1-2 screens, no scrolling
Operator dashboard	2-3 screens maximum
Analysis dashboard	Can be longer with collapsible rows
Report dashboard	Organize by report sections

Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming patterns:

Pattern	Example
[Area] - [Topic]	"Production - Machine Overview"
[Machine] - [Detail Level]	"Kiefel - Detailed Monitoring"
[Report Type] - [Period]	"Quality Report - Daily"

Link Strategy

Create a navigation hierarchy:

Site Overview
    |
    v
Hall Overview (linked from site)
    |
    v
Machine Dashboard (linked from hall)
    |
    v
Detailed Analysis (linked from machine)

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Summary

You've learned how to organize dashboards effectively:

• Group panels with rows

• Create collapsible sections

• Use the grid system for consistent layouts

• Link dashboards for navigation

• Organize dashboards in folders

• Configure dashboard settings

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What's Next?

Continue with intermediate features:

• Transformations – Manipulate and combine data

Or explore advanced topics:

• Introduction to the ENLYZE API – API-based dashboards

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Quick Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Dashboard settings	Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S
Save dashboard	Ctrl/Cmd + S
Toggle edit mode	e
Add panel	a then p
Add row	a then r
Collapse all rows	d then Shift + C
Expand all rows	d then Shift + E

Grid Widths

Columns	Percentage	Use
24	100%	Full width
12	50%	Half
8	33%	Third
6	25%	Quarter
4	17%	Sixth

Row Organization

Position	Content Type
Top	Critical KPIs, status
Middle	Detailed metrics
Bottom	Historical, less urgent