> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nectarclimate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom dashboards

> Build your own dashboards from the data Nectar already tracks — pick the numbers, charts, filters, and time windows that matter to you, then save and share them.

<Tip>Need help in this area? See [Analytics FAQ](/platform/analytics/faq).</Tip>

The built-in [Analytics](/platform/analytics/overview) pages answer common questions — consumption trends, cost breakdowns, site rankings. Custom dashboards let you go further and assemble your **own** view: choose the numbers, charts, filters, and time windows that matter to you, arrange them on a grid, and save the result to return to any time.

## Where to find them

Open **Analytics > Dashboards** to see your dashboards. From here you can:

* **Browse** existing dashboards, filter the list, and search
* **Create** a new dashboard from scratch
* **Open** any dashboard to view it, or open one you created to edit it

## How a dashboard is built

A dashboard is a grid of **widgets**. Each widget is one self-contained chart or number — it has its own data, its own filters, and its own time window. Because every widget is independent, one dashboard can compare different sites, commodities, or periods side by side without forcing everything onto the same settings.

You add widgets one at a time, then drag and resize them on the grid to arrange the layout. A dashboard can hold up to 24 widgets.

### Widget types

When you add a widget, you first choose how the result should be displayed:

| Widget type   | What it shows                                                                          | Good for                                                  |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Trend**     | A line or area chart over time, with optional series (for example, one line per site). | Watching consumption or cost move month over month.       |
| **Bar chart** | Bars comparing a value across categories such as sites or accounts.                    | Comparing this year's cost across your buildings.         |
| **Metric**    | A single headline number.                                                              | A KPI like total electricity cost for the last 12 months. |
| **Top list**  | A ranked list of the highest (or lowest) values.                                       | The top 10 sites by gas usage.                            |

### Building a widget

After choosing a type, a short guided flow walks you through the rest:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose a visualization">
    Pick whether the widget is a trend, bar chart, metric, or top list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a measure">
    Choose what the widget measures — for example, **usage** (consumption), **cost**, or a count of
    **data quality findings** (anomalies and bill issues). You can also build a simple ratio, such
    as usage divided by floor area, to show intensity.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the breakdown">
    Decide how the data is split — by site, account, or meter, and (for trends) which time bucket to
    use: month, quarter, or year.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Scope the data">
    Narrow the widget to exactly what you want. Add filters (by site, account, meter, connection,
    provider, commodity, or finding type) and set the time window — a fixed date range, a rolling
    window like the last 12 months, or a preset.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it">
    Give the widget a title. Nectar suggests one based on your settings, and you can edit it
    anytime.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Every widget stays true to Nectar's methodology — the same [calendarization](/platform/methodology/calendarization), [unit](/platform/methodology/units), and cost rules that power the built-in analytics also power your custom widgets. See [Methodology](/platform/methodology/overview) for how bill data becomes monthly values.

## Sharing a dashboard

Dashboards you create start out private to you. You control who else can see them:

* **Keep it private** — only you can see it.
* **Share with your company** — everyone in your company who can view analytics sees it in the dashboards list. Only you, the creator, can edit or delete it; everyone else gets a read-only view.
* **Create a public link** — generate a link that anyone can open in a browser, with no Nectar login required. This is handy for sharing a snapshot with someone outside your team. The public view is read-only and shows live data. You can regenerate the link (which invalidates the old one) or revoke it entirely at any time.

<Note>
  Only the person who created a dashboard can edit it, change its sharing, or delete it. If you need
  changes to a dashboard someone else created, ask them, or copy the idea into a new dashboard of
  your own.
</Note>

## Building a dashboard with the assistant

If you'd rather describe what you want than build it by hand, ask Nectar's assistant. Tell it something like "show me electricity cost by site for the last year" and it drafts a dashboard for you to review. Once you approve it, the dashboard opens in the editor as a normal, editable dashboard — so you can keep refining it just as if you'd built it yourself.

The assistant only builds the dashboard's content. Sharing and publishing stay with you in the dashboards interface.

## Related pages

* [Analytics overview](/platform/analytics/overview) — the built-in commodity dashboards and quick-access views
* [EUI & intensity](/platform/analytics/intensity) — the built-in view for energy use per square foot
* [Data Export](/platform/data-export/overview) — download the data behind any chart
* [Data Quality](/platform/data-quality/overview) — investigate the anomalies and issues you can surface as findings
* [Methodology](/platform/methodology/overview) — how bill data is calendarized into the monthly values your widgets use

**See also:** [Glossary — Custom dashboard](/platform/glossary#custom-dashboard), [Glossary — Widget](/platform/glossary#widget)

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How is a custom dashboard different from the home dashboard?">
    The home dashboard (the screen you see when you log in) is a fixed overview of stats, issues, and
    recent bills across your whole organization. A custom dashboard is one you design yourself under
    **Analytics > Dashboards**, choosing exactly which numbers, charts, and filters appear.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is it different from a saved view?">
    A [saved view](/platform/analytics/overview#saved-views) remembers a set of filters on an existing
    analytics page. A custom dashboard is a brand-new layout you build from scratch, combining several
    independent widgets — each with its own measure, filters, and time window — onto one grid.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can each widget cover a different time period?">
    Yes. Every widget carries its own time window, so you can put a "last 12 months" trend next to a
    "this year to date" ranking on the same dashboard.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What can I measure on a widget?">
    Usage (consumption), cost, and counts of data quality findings (anomalies and bill issues). You can
    also build a simple ratio — for example, usage divided by floor area — to show an intensity metric.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will people I share with be able to change my dashboard?">
    No. Only the creator can edit, delete, or change a dashboard's sharing. Company members and anyone
    with a public link see a read-only view.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does a public link require a login?">
    No. A public link opens a read-only view of the dashboard in any browser, no Nectar account needed.
    It shows live data, and you can revoke or regenerate the link whenever you want.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>