Sharing Dashboards with anyone - Open Access
What is Open Access?
The Open Access feature allows you to share your dashboards with anyone, even if they are not a licensed Dashboard Server user. It creates an Open Access version of the original dashboard that can be accessed via its own URL without the need to login. Open Access dashboards are perfect for embedding them in user portals like Sharepoint, pushing them to wall monitors or using them as high-level reports for managers.
Since there's no authentication needed, viewing Open Access dashboards does not consume Named User licenses which means you can share your dashboards with unlimited users.
Creating an Open Access version of your dashboard doesn't change anything about the original dashboard. The original version can still be accessed by logged in users.
How do Open Access dashboards work?
An Open Access dashboard is a less interactive version of the original dashboard.
For Dashboard Server v4: Less interactive means viewers of the dashboard can't hover to see graph figures and labels or click to drill down. The Open Access dashboard is server-rendered bitmap version of the original dashboard, that refreshes every time the original dashboard refreshes.
You might like to watch this 2 minute introduction to Open Access:
What do I need to use Open Access?
Memory recommendations
Check the Server Spec and Sizing Guidelines (see Server Spec and Sizing) for information about memory recommendations for running Open Access.
Do I have to enable Open Access before I can use it?
Open Access dashboards use the Azure SquaredUp Enterprise Application (service principal) for displaying data since no user is logged in when viewing Open Access dashboards. Open Access dashboards will only show resources, resource groups or subscriptions for which the Enterprise Application has at least the role of Reader.
- In the Azure portal browse to the resource, resource group or subscription you wish to give access to.
- On the menu, click on
Access control (IAM)
. - Click the Add button, then
Add role assignment
- In the Role box type
Reader
and select it from the list. - In the Select box type
SquaredUpAzure
and select your SquaredUp Enterprise Application. (If you have several Dashboard Server applications you can identify the correct enterprise application by searching and openingEnterprise Applications
> searching forSquaredUpAzure
> clicking on the application with your SquaredUp server name in the Homepage URL column > clicking the Copy to clipboard button next to the Name > pasting the full name with GUID in the box here). - Click the Save button.
- Now restart your SquaredUp virtual machine to allow the role take effect.
- Check that the Open Access page now shows the resource, resource group or subscription you gave access to.
If the Azure SquaredUp Enterprise Application has not been given access to any of the resources or subscriptions that a tile is scoped to then users will see zero cost or one of the following messages depending on the tile:
No resources matched the specified scope.
No entities found.
The subscription was not found in the list of available subscriptions.
There are no Azure subscriptions available: Check the Access Control (IAM) role and scope for the subscriptions you intend to access.
How to share a dashboard via Open Access
You can share dashboards and pinned perspectives (see Pinned Perspectives) with Open Access.
Who can share dashboards via Open Access?
That depends on where the original dashboard that you want to make available via Open Access is located:
Globally viewable dashboards can only be shared by administrators
A dashboard that is in a Team Folder (see Team Folders) can be shared by administrators and users with author or owner permissions on the Team Folder.
Note: Remember that Open Access means that anyone who knows the URL can view the dashboard. The Team Folder permissions and restrictions do not apply to the Open Access version of the dashboard.
How to share a dashboard via Open Access
Go to the dashboard or pinned perspective you want to create an Open Access URL for.
Note: If you want to create an Open Access URL for a pinned perspective, you need to be on the pinned perspective, not a general perspective that is not pinned. You can make sure you are on the pinned perspective by clicking on the name of the pinned perspective on the navigation bar. If you are on a perspective that is not pinned, you'll see a message that this perspective needs to be pinned first.
Make sure the dashboard or pinned perspective is already published. If it is still a draft, publish it first.
Click on the share this dashboard button. If you can't see the button, check if you are still in edit mode since this button is only visible when you are not in edit mode.
You'll see the following sharing options:
In the Open Access section toggle the enable open access button to on.
You will see the message 'Preparing your Open Access dashboard, please wait' and a thumbnail of the dashboard itself:
Click preview to view the dashboard in Open Access mode.
The dashboard is given an Open Access URL and enabled for Open Access. You can now give the URL to anyone you want to be able to access the dashboard.
Sharing options
Normal | The sharing option Normal creates a link to the normal dashboard or perspective, meaning as a fully interactive version. Accessing the dashboard or perspective requires authentication with a Dashboard Server user license. The link is based on the dashboard's or perspective's ID and does not change when the dashboard or perspective is renamed. Normal: Just the URL based on the ID. Full-screen:The URL based on the ID, but with Embed: The URL based on the ID, but with If the URL already uses a |
Open Access | The Open Access feature allows you to share your dashboards with anyone, even if they are not a licensed Dashboard Server user. It creates an Open Access version of the original dashboard that can be accessed via its own URL without the need to login. Open Access dashboards are perfect for embedding them in user portals like Sharepoint, pushing them to wall monitors or using them as high-level reports for managers. Since there's no authentication needed, viewing Open Access dashboards does not consume Named User licenses which means you can share your dashboards with unlimited users. Creating an Open Access version of your dashboard doesn't change anything about the original dashboard. The original version can still be accessed by logged in users. How do Open Access dashboards work? An Open Access dashboard is a less interactive version of the original dashboard. For Dashboard Server v4: Less interactive means viewers of the dashboard can't hover to see graph figures and labels or click to drill down. The Open Access dashboard is server-rendered bitmap version of the original dashboard, that refreshes every time the original dashboard refreshes. |
After a dashboard is updated the changes are shown on the Open Access dashboard when it next refreshes, usually in 60 seconds.
How to stop sharing a dashboard via Open Access
Browse to the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access
Dashboards which are enabled for Open Access are listed and you can click remove to stop a dashboard being available in Open Access mode.
Tip: 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.
Settings for Open Access dashboards
Open Access Navigation Bar
The Open Access navigation bar is a different navigation bar than the one you see within Dashboard Server, it is a navigation bar that is visible when users open an Open Access dashboard.
It is you choice if you want to make the navigation bar visible or not, but if you're using it, it will be visible on all Open Access dashboards.
To make the navigation bar visible, you just have to add at least one dashboard to the Open Access navigation bar in the system settings. Once you did this, the Open Access navigation bar it will be visible at the top of the screen on all Open Access dashboards.
Remember that the navigation bar is a global setting that affects all Open Access dashboards, including the ones that are not added to the navigation bar. This means anyone who has access to any Open Access dashboard will be able to see and access the Open Access dashboards that have been added to the navigation bar.
Browse to the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access
In the Navigation Bar section click on the plus button:
Start typing the name of the dashboard you wish to add to the Open Access navigation bar. Dashboard Server 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 enabled and the message 'Preparing your Open Access dashboard, please wait' will be shown.
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.
What is the default page on the Open Access navigation bar?
When you are using the Open Access navigation bar, you get a "default" Open Access page, which is the first dashboard on the Open Access navigation bar (the order of the dashboards on the navigation bar can be changed from the right-hand menu ☰ > system > Open Access.).
You can give users the link to the default Open Access page instead of giving them links to individual dashboards, and they can navigate to all other dashboards on the navigation bar from there. The link has the format http://SquaredUpServer/SquaredUpv[Version Number]/openaccess/
where SquaredUpServer
is the server where Dashboard Server is installed. For example http://SquaredUpServer/SquaredUpv5/openaccess/
You can also access the default Open Access page by clicking on the SquaredUp logo on the left side of the Open Access navigation bar.
Help for error messages when using the Open Access navigation bar
You may see this message when viewing the open access navigation bar if all the dashboards that were on the open access navigation have had Open Access disabled or are removed from the Open Access navigation bar.
You may see this message when viewing an Open Access URL for a dashboard that was previously enabled for Open Access but has since had Open Access disabled.
Open Access Dark and Light Theme
Open Access dashboards in Azure Edition default to dark theme
You can decide if you want Open Access dashboards to be viewed in dark theme or light theme. This is a global setting which controls the theme for all Open Access dashboards and all users who navigate to any of the Open Access URLs will be affected by this setting.
Go to the top right-hand menu ☰ system > Open Access.
Toggle the dark theme button to on or off.
When the dark theme button is set to off, all Open Access dashboards are viewed in light theme. When it is set to on, all Open Access dashboards are viewed dark theme.
Note: The Open Access theme setting is different to the individual user personalization theme setting (see Theme Personalization).
Timeframe settings for Open Access dashboards
The timeframe of a tile defines the period of time data is returned for, for example "show me data for the last 24 hours".
There are two aspects that influence the timeframe of a tile:
The timeframe configuration in the tile.
How is the timeframe in tiles configured?How a tile's timeframe is configured depends on the type of tile:
Some tiles, like the Azure Monitor Logs tile, have a panel in the tile's configuration where you can set the timeframe. How the timeframe is configured is described in the individual tile's article.
Other tiles, like the Splunk tile, don't have a dedicated timeframe panel but you can specify a timeframe in the query or script the tile uses to return data. How to use timeframe in the tile's query or script is described in the individual tile's article.
Other tiles, like the Image tile, don't use any timeframe since the data for those tiles doesn't need a timeframe.
The current page timeframe of the dashboard
or perspective you are looking at. This only affects tiles that use the page timeframe in their configuration.What is the page timeframe?The page timeframe is the timeframe setting a dashboard
or perspective is currently using. When a user changes the page timeframe, all tiles that use the page timeframe will adapt to the new timeframe. Tiles that don't use the dynamic page timeframe aren't affected and won't change.
How to change the timeframe for Open Access dashboards
Since users can't change the temporary page timeframe on Open Access dashboards you have to change the default page timeframe to change the timeframe for tiles that use the page timeframe.
The default page timeframe affects two areas:
Within Dashboard Server, it decides which timeframe a dashboard
or perspective uses when a user goes to the dashboardor perspective . Tiles that use the page timeframe according to their settings (not a fixed, specific timeframe) will use the default page timeframe every time the dashboard or perspective is opened. Users can change the page timeframe temporarily while they are on the dashboardor perspective , but their setting will only last until they leave the page. Their setting will only affect their view of the dashboardor perspective , not other users' views.On Open Access dashboards, tiles that use the page timeframe according to their settings always use the default page timeframe.
Settings for the default page timeframe
Since Dashboard Server 5.3 you can change the default page timeframe for dashboards. Changing the default page timeframe of a dashboard will affect this individual dashboard and it's Open Access representation.
Note: The system-wide default page timeframe is "last 12 hours" for any Dashboard Server installation, but you can change this setting since Dashboard Server 5.3. This will affect all dashboards (including Open Access dashboards) that don't have an individual default page timeframe setting.
Note: If you are sharing the dashboard
Note: You can't change the individual default page timeframe of a perspective.
Go to the dashboard
or pinned perspective you want to change the individual default page timeframe for.On the dashboard, click the edit button
Click the settings button.
Choose the new default timeframe under Default timeframe.
Click on the publish button to make the changes go live.
The dashboard will now by default use the page timeframe you chose. Users can still temporary change the page timeframe while looking at the dashboard.
Tip: If you want to undo the individual page timeframe setting to let the dashboard use the system-wide default timeframe again, you need to switch to the JSON view of the dashboard and delete the parameter that defines the dashboard's page
timeframe
(for example "timeframe": "last7days
").
Note: This setting affects all dashboards
On the SquaredUp server, run Notepad as administrator (Start, Run, type
notepad
, and then right-click and select Run as administrator).In your Dashboard Server folder, go to
\User\Configuration
and find theextensionpacks.json
file.Where to find the Dashboard Server folderName of the Dashboard Server folder
The name of the Dashboard Server folder is
SquaredUpv
followed by theproduct version number
.Location of the Dashboard Server folder
If you deployed Dashboard Server via the Azure Marketplace :The default location for the Dashboard Server folder is
F:\
.SquaredUpv[Version Number]
For example, for Dashboard Server Azure Edition v5 the default location isF:\SquaredUpv5
and for v4 .F:\SquaredUpv4
If you installed Dashboard Server using the installer:
The default location for the Dashboard Server folder is
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv[Version Number]
, but a custom location may have been chosen during the installation.
For example, for Dashboard Server v5 the default folder location isC:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv5
and for v4 C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv4
Open the
extensionpacks.json
file and add the propertydefault-timeframe
with the value for your new default page timeframe for all your dashboards and perspectives.Example for a default timeframe of 24 hours:
Copy{
"default-timeframe": "last24hours"
}Possible values for the
default-timeframe
property:last1hour
,last12hours
,last24hours
,last7days
,last30days
,last3months
,all
Save the json file.
Recycle the Dashboard Server application pool.
Refresh interval settings for Open Access dashboards
By default Open Access dashboards use the same refresh rate as normal dashboards, refreshing every 60 seconds, and the last updated time can be seen at the bottom right of the Open Access dashboard. If required, Open Access dashboards can be given a different the refresh rate.
- On the SquaredUp server, run Notepad as administrator (Start, Run, type
notepad
, and then right-click and select Run as administrator). With Notepad in administrator mode, open the
openaccess.json
file from the following path in the Dashboard Server folder:...\User\Configuration\openaccess.json
Where to find the Dashboard Server folderName of the Dashboard Server folder
The name of the Dashboard Server folder is
SquaredUpv
followed by theproduct version number
.Location of the Dashboard Server folder
If you deployed Dashboard Server via the Azure Marketplace :The default location for the Dashboard Server folder is
F:\
.SquaredUpv[Version Number]
For example, for Dashboard Server Azure Edition v5 the default location isF:\SquaredUpv5
and for v4 .F:\SquaredUpv4
If you installed Dashboard Server using the installer:
The default location for the Dashboard Server folder is
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv[Version Number]
, but a custom location may have been chosen during the installation.
For example, for Dashboard Server v5 the default folder location isC:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv5
and for v4 C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SquaredUpv4
If openaccess.json is blank or only contains {} then replace it with the following, specifying the value you require in seconds:
Copy{
"oa-refresh-interval": 120
}If openaccess.json already contains settings, then you will need to add a comma at the end of the previous line to look something like this:
Copy{
"oa-theme": "darktheme",
"oa-refresh-interval": 120
}- Save the file.
In IIS recycle the Dashboard Server application pool for the setting to take effect.
If you are unable to access Dashboard Server ("Server Error in '/SquaredUpvx' Application", "Dashboard Server cannot start due to an error" or "Startup failed for 'Configuration'") after editing openaccess.json then there is an error in the file. Correct
openaccess.json
and recycle the Dashboard Server application pool again.
FAQs
- 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.
- 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.
No. If you share a dashboard within a Team Folder (see Team Folders) as Open Access by enabling Open Access URL, this dashboard will potentially be viewable by all users, and viewing will not controlled by the Team Folder permissions.
Troubleshooting Open Access
Before you read through the troubleshooting articles, here are some tips for fixing common Open Access issues:
Many issues can be resolved by disabling and re-enabling Open Access for a dashboard (see How to stop sharing a dashboard via Open Access and How to share a dashboard via Open Access).
This will ensure that the Dashboard Server
enterprise application has at least the minimum of the Reader role .On Dashboard Server v5:
Re-generate the Open Access dashboard experiencing problems via the generate option.
How to re-generate an Open Access dashboardIf one particular dashboard is experiencing issues with Open Access we recommend you rerun the generate option for that dashboard.
To do this in Dashboard Server click the top right-hand menu ☰ system > open access then click the generate link next to that particular Open Access dashboard.
Alternatively, from the dashboard itself you can disable Open Access and re-enable it, by toggling from on to off to on again, which will also run the regenerate option.
You will see the message 'Preparing your Open Access dashboard, please wait':
On Dashboard Server v4:
Check the loopback URL.
For more information see Troubleshooting Open Access (v4) or Troubleshooting Open Access (v5)