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Widgets are the individual visualisation tiles that make up a dashboard. Each widget runs its own query against an attached data source and displays the result as a chart, table, indicator, or other visual form. Data is always live — widgets re-run their queries every time the dashboard loads, so you never have to refresh manually. This page explains how to add, configure, and manage widgets from start to finish.

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Visualisation types

Nexalytica offers 26 visualisation types organised into families. When you open the widget gallery, types that are not yet applicable to your configuration are shown in grey with a note explaining what they need (for example, a minimum number of data columns).

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Adding a widget

Adding a widget is a two-step process: first you pick a visualisation type, then you configure it.
1

Open the widget gallery

Click Add Widget in the dashboard editor header. The gallery opens showing all 26 visualisation types. Greyed-out types display a requirement note explaining what data setup they need.
2

Pick a visualisation type

Click the chart type you want to use. This closes the gallery and opens the four-step configuration panel.
3

Configure the widget

Work through the four numbered steps described in the next section. Click Save when you are done to place the widget on the dashboard.

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Widget configuration

The configuration panel has four numbered steps. Use the Back and Next buttons to move between them, or click a step number directly.

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Step 1 — Data

Set up the data query that feeds the widget.
Use the column picker to build your query without writing code.
Click Preview at the bottom of the Data step to run the query immediately (without applying filter values) and inspect sample rows before moving on.

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Step 2 — Visualization

The full gallery appears again so you can confirm or change the chart type. Greyed-out types show what additional data setup they require. Switching type here keeps your data configuration intact.

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Step 3 — Field Mapping

Map the columns returned by your query to the parts of the chosen chart. The available mapping slots depend on the visualisation type you selected. Common examples:
If a required mapping slot is empty, the Save button remains disabled and the slot is highlighted in red. Fill all required slots before saving.

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Step 4 — Filters

Connect dashboard-level filters to this widget so that when a viewer adjusts a filter, the widget re-runs its query with the new filter value applied.
  • Select one or more dashboard filters from the list.
  • Each connected filter maps to a column in the widget’s query result.

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On-widget actions

Once a widget is on the dashboard, hover over it to reveal the action controls.

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Widget states

Widgets communicate their current status visually so you always know what you are looking at.

Loading

A shimmer animation appears while the query is running. You do not need to do anything — the widget updates automatically.

No data

A No data message is shown when the query returns zero rows. Adjust your filters or data configuration to broaden the result set.

Error

An error card replaces the visual when the query fails. The card shows an error description and a Retry button to re-run the query without reopening the editor.

Muted placeholder

A greyed-out placeholder appears when the widget’s data source has been toggled off by an admin. Re-attach the source to restore the live data view.

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Live data

Every widget queries its data source directly — there is no cached or static snapshot. Queries re-run automatically whenever:
  • The dashboard is opened or the page is refreshed.
  • You click Reload on a widget.
  • A dashboard filter value changes.
You never need to manually refresh a widget to see current data.

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Permissions

  • Add new widgets via the widget gallery
  • Configure and reconfigure widgets (data, visualisation, field mapping, filters)
  • Change a widget’s visualisation type
  • Reposition widgets on the grid
  • Reload widgets
  • Edit and delete widgets
  • View all widgets with live, up-to-date data
  • Reload widgets to force an immediate re-run
  • Apply dashboard-level filters (which update widget queries in real time)
  • Cannot add, edit, restyle, move, or delete any widget