Dashboard variables come in several types, can be used across different fields, and must follow rules for naming. These concepts are explained here.
A variable can be one the following types:
Text: Alphanumeric string. This is the default variable type.
Numerical: a number or range of numbers.
Boolean: Use for fields with values of True/False, Yes/No, 0/1, etc. For the boolean variable, the choices are Yes, No, None, Any.
Date: A date or range of dates.
Genericvariables
You can set a generic or universal variable by clicking the Variable button and selecting one of the types listed above. These types are always shown at the top of the drop-down list. The variable is given a default name, for example $var1
, and is not tied to a specific annotation or attribute.
Configuring a generic variable allows you to use that variable in widgets to filter for any field of that type. For example, if you have a table widget showing Name, Alias, and Vendor (which are all text-type attributes), and $var1
is a text-type variable, you can set filters for each of those fields in the widget to use the $var1 variable. You can set other widgets to use $var1 for those or any text fields.
On your dashboard page, setting $var1 to a value (for example NetApp
) will filter all of those fields in all widgets that are set to use that variable. In this way, you can update multiple widgets at once to highlight dashboard data you choose at will.
Because generic variables can be used for any field of that type, you can change the name of a generic variable without changing its functionality.
$. This is added automatically when you configure a variable.
$symbol.
$symbol.
Variables can be used with the following widgets: