Cloudscape Design System
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Cloudscape Design System
  • Get started
  • Foundation
  • Components
  • Patterns
  • Demos
  • GitHub 
  • About

Patterns


  • General

    • Actions
      • Global actions
      • In-context actions
    • Announcing new features
    • Announcing beta and preview features
    • Communicating unsaved changes
    • Data visualization
      • Chart metric drill down
    • Density settings
    • Disabled and read-only states
    • Drag-and-drop
    • Errors
      • Error messages
      • Validation
    • Empty states
    • Feedback mechanisms
    • Filtering patterns
      • Saved filter sets
      • Filter persistence in collection views
    • Hero header
    • Help system
    • Image magnifier
    • Loading and refreshing
    • Onboarding
      • Hands-on tutorials
    • Selection in forms
    • Service navigation
      • Side navigation
      • Top navigation
    • Service Dashboard
      • Static dashboard
      • Configurable dashboard
      • Dashboard items
    • Secondary panels
    • Timestamps
    • User feedback

  • Generative AI patterns

    • Pattern abstraction
    • Generative AI chat
    • Ingress
    • Generative AI output label
    • Generative AI loading states
    • Progressive steps

  • Resource management

    • Create resource
      • Multipage create
      • Single page create
      • Sub resource create
    • Delete patterns
      • One-click delete
      • Delete with simple confirmation
      • Delete with additional confirmation
    • Edit resource
      • Page edit
      • Inline edit
      • Attribute editing
    • View resources
      • Table view
      • Card view
      • Split view
      • Table with expandable rows
    • Resource details
      • Details page
      • Details page with tabs
      • Details page as a hub
  1. Cloudscape Design System
    • Patterns
    • General: Service Dashboard
    • Configurable dashboard
    1. Cloudscape Design System
    2. Patterns
    3. General: Service Dashboard
    4. Configurable dashboard

    Configurable dashboard

    Gives control to the user to show/hide, delete, move, change the size of, and add items to a dashboard.

    Published: March 10, 2023
    Configurable dashboard demo

    On this page

    1. Key UX concepts
    2. Building blocks
    3. Layout
    4. General guidelines
    5. Related patterns

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    Key UX concepts

    Control over the location of a dashboard item

    Changing the position of a dashboard item allows users to better prioritize their content. This is accomplished through drag-and-drop, which includes the possibility to swap and push items within the layout. A visual affordance is provided on the dashboard layout to help users place a dashboard item into available space. For more details on drag-and-drop behavior, see drag-and-drop.

    Control which dashboard item to feature

    Adding and removing dashboard items allows users to configure a dashboard to better meet their particular needs. For example, removing a learn more item, and adding an item that shows billing activity.

    When a user configures a dashboard item and afterwards decides to remove it, follow the delete with simple confirmation pattern, or else allow the item to be removed without confirmation.

    Building blocks

    Provides configurability to a static dashboard. Base your content and structure on the static dashboard guidelines and provide the ability for users to configure a dashboard with these additional features.

    image showing the a configurable dashboard. The add widget panel is open.image showing the a configurable dashboard. The add widget panel is open.
    Image showing desktop on mobile, with side panel openImage showing desktop on mobile, with side panel open

    A.
    Dashboard layout

    Use the board component as a base for the configurable dashboard. it provides the main content area and a two-dimensional grid with rows and columns. It allows users to reorder, add, remove, and resize dashboard items.

    B.
    Dashboard item

    Configurable dashboard items give the user the ability to change the size, location and the content of a dashboard item.

    Follow the guidelines for dashboard item pattern.

    C.
    Add item button

    Users can click on the button to reveal or hide the dashboard item palette. A panel containing all available dashboard items to be included in the dashboard.

    D.
    Add item panel

    The add item panel is a discrete split panel that contains a board item palette, which is a list of available dashboard items that users can add to their dashboard, via drag-and-drop.

    Filtering - Optional
    Users can browse and find dashboard items via text filter or select filter.

    When no result matched the query, provide a message and an action to clear the filter. Follow the guidelines for empty states.

    E.
    Palette item

    A palette item is a short representation of a dashboard item, providing basic information about what data it represents, for example a title and description for a billing dashboard item. Users can add items to the dashboard via drag-and-drop.

    Follow the guidelines for board items.

    Layout

    Column layout is based on the 12 column grid system, and adapts depending on the viewport size, which defined by the system breakpoints, to arrange the content in size columns (large viewports, for example a big monitor), four columns (large viewports, for example a laptop), two columns (middle viewports, for example a ipad), and one column (small viewports, for example a mobile phone).

    We recommend designing the dashboard layout for all three types of column layout options.

    For example:

    • On a six column layout, six small board items will be displayed in a row and occupy one column space each.

    • On a four column layout, four small board items will be displayed in a row and occupy one column space each.

    • On a two column layout, two medium board items will be displayed in a row and occupy one column space each.

    • On a one column layout, all board items will stack vertically and occupy one column space.

    Image showing a four column grid on desktop and a one column grid on smaller screen sizesImage showing a four column grid on desktop and a one column grid on smaller screen sizes

    General guidelines

    Do

    • When a user removed a dashboard item from the layout, add it back to the board palette, to enables users to bring it again to the layout.
    • Pair remove dashboard item within the item dropdown menu and add dashboard items together.
    • Follow the static dashboard pattern to create the structure and layout of the dashboard.
    • Preserve the configuration that users have made for future visits.
    • Maintain size and content state. When moving an item into a desired location, make sure to maintain the size, visible content, and configuration of the item.

    Don't

    • Don't show an alert in the layout as feedback when removing a dashboard item from the dashboard.

    Related patterns

    Service dashboards

    A dashboard page presents at-a-glance information about service and resource status. Users can monitor this information and act upon it quickly.

    Dashboard items

    Dashboard items are self contained UI elements that address specific customer needs, such as navigating to a resource, monitor resources status, or viewing a costs summary.

    Configurable dashboard

    Gives control to the user to show/hide, delete, move, change the size of, and add items to a dashboard.

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