Documents

A document is a page that combines written context with live data. It is Switchboard's equivalent of a dashboard, structured as a document rather than a grid of widgets.

Creating and editing documents

Create a document with the + button in the left sidebar. You can also ask Operator to build one. Describe the dashboard you want, or ask it to add a block to a page that already exists. The result is an ordinary document, and you can edit it by hand afterwards.

Documents have a View mode and an Edit mode. Switch to Edit mode to change a document. This is also where you set what a reader sees first, such as the default filter values.

Rename and reorder documents in the left sidebar. You can group them into folders and build a folder structure that matches how your business works.

An initial set of documents is built for your business during setup, so there are working dashboards before you create your own.

Blocks

Documents are built from blocks. A block is a single element: a paragraph of text, a heading, an explore. Type / to add one. Drag to reorder.

Charts and tables are not block types. They are ways an explore can be displayed. A document filter is not a block either. It sits on the page and drives the blocks below it.

In Edit mode, a six dot menu appears at the top right of each block. It offers four actions:

• Copy the block, to paste it elsewhere.
• Copy Block ID, to point Operator at that specific block.
• Duplicate, which places a copy directly below.
• Delete.

Copy Block ID is worth knowing. It gives Operator a handle on one block, so you can ask about that block's contents rather than describing it.

Explores

An explore is the block that queries data. Each explore is built against one model:

1. Select the model.
2. Choose properties to break the data out by, such as channel, month, or product.
3. Choose aggregations to measure, such as revenue or order count.
4. Add filters to narrow the result.

The query re-runs when the document loads, so the result reflects the current state of the data.

You can also write a custom aggregation in SQL inside an explore. It stays in that block. If a metric matters enough to reuse, define it as an aggregation on the model instead.

Views

An explore can be displayed three ways. Switching between them does not change the underlying query.

• Table. The rows themselves, sortable and downloadable. A table can also be pivoted.
• Chart. Line, bar, stacked bar, scatter, combined line and bar, and others.
• Scorecard. A single metric, usually with a comparison to a previous period.

Document filters and block filters

Filters work at two levels.

A document filter sits at the top of the page and can be linked to any block below it. Change the date range once and every linked block updates. Linked blocks do not have to use the same value. One block can read a different date from the same filter.

A block filter applies to one block only. Use it when filtering a single table makes sense but applying that filter to the rest of the page does not.

A block is linked to a document filter, or it is not. You choose per block.