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How to publish dashboards with Open Access

Catherine
  • Updated

Dashboards can be made available as Open Access for anyone to view without the need to log in to SquaredUp. Perspectives cannot be made available as Open Access directly, but a pinned perspective can. Only administrators have permissions to make globally viewable dashboards available as Open Access.

Users with author or owner permissions on a Team Folder can make dashboards within that Team Folder available as Open Access. Any dashboard shared as Open Access will potentially be viewable by anyone, and viewing will no longer be controlled by the Team Folder permissions.

For information about configuring Open Access see Enabling Open Access.

This article covers:

The Open Access Navigation Bar

The Open Access navigation bar is visible to anyone, and allows them to view any Open Access dashboard which has been added to it.

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You can choose not to use the Open Access navigation bar, and just create Open Access URLs as described in this article.

The Open Access navigation bar is shown at the top of the screen for all Open Access dashboards, even if they themselves have not been added to the Open Access navigation bar.

When using the Open Access navigation bar, dashboards can be accessed from http://SquaredUpServer/SquaredUpv[Version Number]/openaccess/

where SquaredUpServer is the server where SquaredUp is installed.

For example http://SquaredUpServer/SquaredUpv5/openaccess/

mceclip1.png The SquaredUp logo takes you to the default Open Access page, which is the first on the navigation bar. The sort order of the pages on the navigation bar can be changed from the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access.

Open Access theme

The theme for all Open Access dashboards is set from the right-hand menu ☰ system > Open Access.

Open Access dashboards in SquaredUp for Azure default to dark theme. This can be changed to light theme on the Open Access settings page to light theme by toggling the dark theme button to off.

OpenAccessDarkThemeOffDM.png

This is a global setting which controls the theme for all Open Access dashboards, not just for the user who changes the setting. It is different to the individual user personalisation theme setting.

How to create an Open Access URL without adding it to the Open Access navigation bar, for example for Sharepoint

  1. After a dashboard has been published click on the share this dashboard button:
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    If the logged on user does not have permission to manage Open Access, or your licence does not include Open Access, then Open Access mode cannot be selected. A link can still be created to the dashboard in normal mode.

  2. In the Open Access section toggle the off button to on to enable open access.
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    Snag_148dad70.png
    You will see the message 'Preparing your Open Access dashboard, please wait' and a thumbnail of the dashboard itself:
    Snag_148b4644.png
  3. Click preview to view the dashboard in Open Access mode.
    Snag_148bffd0.png
    The dashboard is enabled for Open Access and given an Open Access URL which you can then distribute, use in Sharepoint etc.

After a dashboard is updated the changes are shown on the Open Access dashboard when it next refreshed, usually in 60 seconds. On SquaredUp v4 this may take up to 20 minutes.

How to add a dashboard to the Open Access navigation bar

  1. Browse to the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access

  2. In the Navigation Bar section click on the plus button:
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  3. Start typing the name of the dashboard you wish to add to the Open Access navigation bar. SquaredUp will return all dashboards matching the text you have typed. Select the dashboard you're looking for and it will be added to the Open Access navigation bar. If the dashboard was not already enabled for Open Access mode it will be automatically enabled.

  4. To create a folder on the Open Access navigation bar, type a name that does not match a dashboard and a folder will be created. You can then drag dashboards into the folder.
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It's worth noting that the Open Access navigation bar is shared across all users, and a user that is viewing any Open Access dashboard will be able to open any other Open Access dashboards that have been placed on the navigation bar.

How to disable Open Access for individual dashboards

  1. Browse to the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access
  2. Dashboards which are enabled for Open Access are listed and you can click remove to stop a dashboard being available in Open Access mode.
    Snag_148f7e48.png

If you stop a dashboard being available in Open Access mode and later re-enable it then the dashboard will be given the same Open Access URL that it had previously.

Troubleshooting Open Access

Many issues can be resolved by rerunning the Open Access configuration to ensure that the SquaredUp enterprise application has at least the minimum of the Reader role.

On SquaredUp v5 we also recommend rerunning the generate option for the Open Access dashboard experiencing problems, and on SquaredUp v4 it is important to check the loopback URL.

For more information see Open Access troubleshooting steps.

FAQs

What should I consider when designing a dashboard for Open Access on SquaredUp v5?

  • Users of Open Access dashboards can hover to see graph figures and labels, but will be presented with a logon box if they click to drill down for more information.

What should I consider when designing a dashboard for Open Access on SquaredUp v4?

  • As Open Access users will not be able to hover or drill down for more information you may wish to design your dashboards slightly differently with Open Access in mind. For example, you should consider adding a key to a performance line graph.

  • Web Content tiles (iframes) are not officially supported with Open Access, because in many cases they do not work:

    • Slow webpages will show as blank in Open Access.
    • Webpages requiring authentication will not work on an Open Access page because Open Access does not use any authentication.
    • Open Access displays the Web Content tile using a built in browser, that may support different features from your client browser.

Why do I see "You do not have the required permissions or your current license does not include Open Access"?

You may see this message if you are not licensed for Open Access.

Can I set a different refresh interval for my Open Access dashboards?

See How to configure a different refresh interval Open Access dashboards

If I share a dashboard within a Team Folder as Open Access will it still be controlled by the Team Folder permissions?

No. If you share a dashboard within a Team Folder as Open Access by enabling Open Access URL, this URL will potentially be viewable by all users, and viewing will not be controlled by the Team Folder permissions.

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