Simplify Data Visualization with SharePoint Dashboards

Are you tired of the licensing expenses that often come with data visualization tools like Power BI? Meet SharePoint Dashboards, a cost-effective solution that’s changing the game. What sets it apart? You only need a subscription for those who create dashboards, not for those who view them.

The true magic is found in its simplicity. There are no installations or technical skills necessary. SharePoint Dashboards provides a diverse solution for everyone, with 21 free templates for beginners and over 167 for paid members.

In this post, we’ll investigate SharePoint Dashboards in further detail, focusing on its standout templates such as the Edit button, Approval buttons, Print grid, and Progress Stairsteps. Let’s dive in.

SharePoint Dashboard Button Template

SharePoint Dashboards provide 19 templates including options like email, date increment, delete, download, edit, flow, hyperlink, and more.

I will present you with two button templates from the SharePoint Dashboard Gallery.

1. Edit button (Free version)
2. Approval button (Pro version)

Edit Button

This template will create a simple Edit button; by clicking on this it will take you to the Edit form window, instead of having to use menu options.

• Use this template with Text column or Calculated Column.

To use this template, I have created a SharePoint list called Projects, which contains 3 columns listed below:

• Project (Title) -Single line of text
• Description-Multiple lines of text
• Action- Single line of text

The button will look like below:

Now let’s see how we can format the Action column in the above list, using the SharePoint Dashboards edit button template.

• Once you log in to SharePoint Dashboards with your credentials, click Get Started, which will redirect you to the SharePoint Templates Gallery.
• You can access the template based on your version (free or pro) on that page. Scroll down to the Button section then choose the edit button template. It will redirect to the below template page, where we can customize the button

• When you click on the Show Preview option, this will display the preview of your button customization with an example video.
• The best part is that each template in the SharePoint Dashboard comes with a video tutorial that shows the user how to use the template on their SharePoint site. It also shows the user which SharePoint platforms the template will support.
• In the Left Customization panel, you can choose the button’s theme, font color, font text, and button text. Also, you can choose the icon in the button, Fabric, or Emoji based on your business requirement.
• Once you complete the customization, click on the Copy Template button. Then the Template Copied -Ready to Paste window will open, where you can see the steps to copy the JSON code. Click on OK:

• Now, go to the SharePoint list, then go to the Column Setting of the column you want to format. Then click on Format this column-> click on Advance Mode.
• Remove the previous code and paste the Edit button template code. Then click Save.

• Now you can see the Edit button, by clicking on this button, it will open the edit form, as shown:

Approvals Buttons

Next, let’s look at the approval button from the SharePoint Templates Gallery

This template provides a button where in a single click we can Approve or Decline the requested item. The requestor can see the Pending status until the Approver clicks on the Approve or Decline button.

Note:

• Add a person column, where you can provide the Approver name.
• Next add a choice field, where you can show the status i.e., Approve, Decline, and Pending.
• The approver can see the Approve and Decline buttons, whereas the other users can see the status as Pending.
• Also, you should hide the approval field(s) from the form view so that approvals only happen from the list view.

To use this template, I have created a SharePoint list called Projects, which contains 5 columns listed below:

• Project (Title) -Single line of text
• Description-Multiple lines of text
• Project Initiator- Person
• Approval Status- Choice(Approved, Declined and Pending)

Once we integrate the approvals button template in the SharePoint list column, the view will look like below.

Now, let’s see how we can format the Approval Status column in the above list using the SharePoint Dashboards approval button template:

• Before we integrate the SharePoint Dashboard approval button template, you need to hide the ‘Approval Status column from the New Item Form. For this, click on the New item button -> then click on Edit Form -> Edit columns -> then uncheck the Approval Status field and click Save.

• In the SharePoint Templates Gallery page, select the approval button template

• When you click on the Show Preview option, this will display the preview of your button customization with an example video.
• Each template has a video tutorial showing users how to use it on their SharePoint site.
• In the Left Customization panel, you can choose the button’s theme, font color, font text, and button text. Also, you can choose the Approve, Decline, and Pending icons based on your business requirements.
• Then, provide the internal name of the Approver and Approval field.
• Once you complete the customization, click the Copy Template button. Then the Template Copied – Ready to Paste window will open, where you can see the steps to copy the template. Click on OK:

• Now, go to the SharePoint list, then go to the Column Setting of the column you want to format. Then click on Format this column-> click on Advance Mode.
• Now remove the previous code and paste the Approvals button template code. Then click  Save.

• Now, based on the  approver name, you can see Approve and Decline buttons or  Status:

This is how I have used the approval buttons from SharePoint Dashboards

SharePoint Dashboard Template-Print Grid

This template will format the view as a grid for the print output.

Note:

• While integrating this template, you must provide the names of the columns in that view.
• If your view contains a Modified By column; this will be referenced as Editor.
• If your view contains a Created By column, this will be referenced as Author.

To use this template I have created a SharePoint list called Projects, which contains 5 columns listed below:

• Batch Id (Title) – Single line of text
• Attendee name -Person
• Date- Date Time
• Session on- Choice (Power Platform, Power BI, SharePoint Online)
• Feedback -Choice (Average, Poor, Good)
• Comments-Multiple lines of text

Once we apply the print grid template in the list it will look like below.

Now, let’s see how we can format the above list view using the SharePoint Dashboards print grid template.

• In the SharePoint Templates Gallery page, select the print grid template from the Reports and Printing section.

• When you click on the Show Preview option, this will display the preview of your view customization with an example video.
• A video tutorial showing the user how to use the template is provided.
• In the left customization panel, you can choose the theme of the view and customize it based on your requirements.
• Provide the Title to be shown above the grid. 
• Based on the number of columns in the view, provide the Column Width %.
• Provide the field count in SP Field Count.
• Once you complete the customization, click on the Copy Template button. Then the Template Copied -Ready to Paste window will open, where you can see the steps to copy the template. Click on OK.

• Go to the SharePoint list, then click View Selector  -> select Format current view. Remove the previous code and paste the copied code. Then click Save.

• Now you can see the list is formatted in grid format. You can print this list to printer or PDF using your browser print command.

SharePoint Dashboards – Stairsteps Progress Indicator

The stairsteps progress indicator will display a meter growing progressively taller from left to right.

Note:

• Use this template on a number field.
• Based on the min and max values it will show the meter.

To use this template I have created a SharePoint list called Task list, which contains 2 columns:

• Title -Single line of text
• Progress- Number

The Progress column will look like the below:

Let’s see how we can format the Progress column in the above list, using the SharePoint Dashboards stairsteps progress indicator.

• In the SharePoint Templates Gallery page, select the Progress / Stairsteps from the Progress Section.

• When you click on the Show Preview option, this will display the preview of your template customization with an example video.
• In the Left Customization panel, you can choose the color gradient changing from left to right along with text color, font family, and font size. You can also set min and max values of the meter.
• Once you complete the customization, click on the Copy Template button. Then the Template Copied -Ready to Paste window will open, where you can see the steps to copy the template. Click on OK:

• Now, go to the SharePoint list, then go to the Column Setting of the column you want to format. Then click on Format this column-> click on Advance Mode.
• Now, remove the previous code, and paste the template code. Then click on Save.

The meter  is  based on the progress number, Also, you can change the number by clicking on it if using the Inline Edit option:

Conclusion

In this post, I have showcased the power of SharePoint Dashboards by putting some of its templates to the test. The best way to get started with SharePoint Dashboards is to sign up for a free account which includes 21 templates. Adding a monthly subscription will provide complete access to all templates. With so many options to choose from and the easy copy-and-paste functionality, this tool is a great way to improve your SharePoint site.

You may like the following tutorials:

• SharePoint Dashboards: Create Charts without using Code or Power BI
• SharePoint Image Editor
• Simple Ways to Enhance Your SharePoint List Forms