Create and make changes to a Smartsheet dashboard

Get started on creating and making changes to your dashboard.

Create a new dashboard

1. On the left Navigation Bar, select Solution Center .
2. In the left pane, select Create > Dashboard/Portal.
3. Type a name for your dashboard, and then select OK. 
4. To edit and add information to your new dashboard, in the upper-right area of the screen, select Edit Dashboard . 
5. Add the appropriate dashboard widgets. 
6. In the upper-right area of the dashboard, select Save.

Make changes to a dashboard

If you’re the Owner or Admin of a dashboard, you can edit it whenever you need to. You can change the dashboard’s background color and add or edit a widget. You can also access additional editing features from the shortcut menu. 

To edit your dashboard

1. In the upper-right area of the screen, select Edit Dashboard.
2. On the right Navigation Bar, select any of these panes:
   • Dashboard Settings: Change the background color to gray or white.
   • Add Widget: Add the widgets you wish to appear on your dashboard. 
   • Widget Settings: Edit a widget on your dashboard.
3. Once you’re done with your edits, in the upper-right area of the screen, select Save.

Need more information about adding and editing dashboard widgets? Read the Add and Edit Widgets on Your Dashboard article.

To edit your dashboard using the shortcut menu

Alternatively, you can use the shortcut menu to make changes to your dashboard. To do this, right-click anywhere on the grid, and then select any of these actions:

• Paste Here: Paste a widget you copied.
• Dashboard Settings: Change the background color to gray or white.
• Add Widget: Add widgets to your dashboard. 
• Consolidate Empty Space: Delete unused rows between top and bottom widgets to consolidate a dashboard’s vertical space. This presents the most compact version of the current dashboard without affecting how the widgets are arranged.

Apply custom colors

When selecting colors for fonts, charts, titles, and more, you can choose from standard presets or add a custom color using a HEX code, an RGB code, or a color gradient. 

To create your own custom color

1. Go to the color palette of a widget.
2. In the Custom Colors section, select the Add Color icon.
3. Pick a color or enter the hexadecimal color value, and then select Add.

What you should know about custom colors

• Up to 20 custom colors will be saved on a dashboard.
• Custom colors are unique to the dashboard you are editing, and won't be visible on other dashboards. If you add a custom color to widget A, you’ll be able to quickly select the same custom color on widget B if these widgets are on the same dashboard.
  Start a new dashboard from your current one to keep the custom colors and the other items in it. To create a copy of the dashboard you’re editing, in the menu bar, select File > Save as New. 
• When viewing a dashboard in the mobile app, custom colors will be replaced by the closest available default colors.

Configure how often a dashboard automatically refreshes

Before you begin

A published dashboard automatically refreshes every 10 minutes. You can’t customize or turn off this behavior.

You can only change the Auto-Refresh feature for your view of the dashboard. For example, if you turn off Auto-Refresh, it'll remain enabled for other collaborators who are viewing the dashboard.

Read on to learn the steps on changing how often the dashboard refreshes when you’re viewing it.

To change the frequency of or to turn off the Auto-Refresh feature

1. In the menu bar, select View.
2. In the View menu, select Auto-Refresh.
3. Select the change you’d like to apply:
   • Select your frequency. 
   • To turn off the Auto-Refresh feature, select Off.

Web Content Widgets won't automatically refresh on dashboards.