Purpose

Dashboard displays are the paradigm for data cards, not diagrams. Rows and columns of gauges, trends, KPIs, tables. Every element lives in a Cell, and cells are arranged in a responsive grid that reflows on window resize.

Use Dashboard when:

• The display is primarily data monitoring (live values, trends, alarms)
• The layout is a grid of cards — fleet status, shift summary, KPI wall, operator console
• The screen must reflow across window sizes
• There's no spatial/physical relationship between equipment to preserve

Use Canvas (load Skill Display Construction — Canvas instead) when equipment positions relative to each other matter (pipe A connects to vessel B), you're building a P&ID, or you need animation dynamics.

Prerequisite: load Skill Display Construction — Basics first.

Section 1 — Dashboard mental model

A Dashboard is a grid of cells

The whole display is defined by:

1. A DashboardDisplay root with Columns and Rows arrays describing the grid track sizes
2. A Cells array, where each cell specifies Row, Col, optional RowSpan/ColSpan, a Cell.HeaderLink for the card title, and Content (the element that fills the cell)

{
  "Name": "OperationsOverview",
  "PanelType": "Dashboard",
  "DashboardDisplay": {
    "Columns": ["*", "*", "*"],
    "Rows": ["Auto", "*", "*"],
    "Cells": [
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "ColSpan": 3, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Plant Overview", "Content": { /* header card */ } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Production Rate",  "Content": { /* gauge */ } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Active Alarms",    "Content": { /* alarm viewer */ } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Shift Output",     "Content": { /* KPI */ } }
    ]
  }
}

Track sizing

The Columns and Rows arrays define track sizes. Each entry can be:

• "*" — equal share of remaining space (like CSS 1fr)
• "2*" — twice the share (like CSS 2fr)
• "Auto" — size to content
• "240" — fixed pixel width
• "*,min=200" — fractional with a minimum in pixels

Standard patterns:

Don't think in pixels — think in cells

In Canvas you place a gauge at Left: 472, Top: 320. In Dashboard you place a gauge at Row: 1, Col: 2. The engine handles pixel positioning, cell padding, and reflow.

This is a completely different mental model. If you find yourself calculating Left/Top/Width/Height for Dashboard elements, stop — you're building a Canvas display by accident.

Dashboard-compatible controls only

Not every element type works inside a Dashboard cell. Rule of thumb:

Dynamics work in Dashboard for visual controls (FillColorDynamic on a TextBlock, VisibilityDynamic on a chart) but the animation dynamics (Rotate, Scale, MoveDrag, Skew, Bargraph) are Canvas-only — they're silently ignored in Dashboard cells.

Section 2 — Standard grid recipes

3×2 KPI wall (the most common)

Six data cards in a 3-column × 2-row grid:

{
  "Name": "PlantKPIs",
  "PanelType": "Dashboard",
  "DashboardDisplay": {
    "Columns": ["*", "*", "*"],
    "Rows": ["*", "*"],
    "Cells": [
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Production Rate",  "Content": { "Type": "CenterValue", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Plant/ProductionRate", "CenterTextFormat": "N1", "AccentTextLink": "units/hr" } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Active Alarms",    "Content": { "Type": "CenterValue", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Plant/AlarmCount",    "CenterTextFormat": "N0", "AccentTextLink": "alarms" } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Operator on Duty", "Content": { "Type": "TextBlock",  "LinkedValue": "{@Tag.Shift/CurrentOperator}", "FontSize": 22, "FontWeight": "Bold" } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Temp Trend",       "Content": { "Type": "TrendChart", "Duration": "5m", "Pens": [{"Type":"TrendPen","LinkedValue":"@Tag.Plant/AvgTemp","Stroke":"#FFEF4444"}] } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Pressure Trend",   "Content": { "Type": "TrendChart", "Duration": "5m", "Pens": [{"Type":"TrendPen","LinkedValue":"@Tag.Plant/AvgPressure","Stroke":"#FF38BDF8"}] } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Shift Output",     "Content": { "Type": "BarChart",   "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Shift/OutputByHour" } }
    ]
  }
}

4×3 operator wall

Twelve cells. Full-screen control-room overview with one card per reactor / line / zone:

"Columns": ["*","*","*","*"],
"Rows":    ["*","*","*"]

2-column detail (list → detail)

Asset tree on the left, detail panel on the right:

{
  "DashboardDisplay": {
    "Columns": ["240", "*"],
    "Rows": ["Auto", "*"],
    "Cells": [
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "ColSpan": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Production Area A", "Content": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "{@Tag.Site/Name} — {@Now}" } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Equipment",                        "Content": { "Type": "AssetsTree" } },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "{@Client.Context.AssetName}",      "Content": { "Type": "ChildDisplay", "DisplayLink": "EquipmentDetail" } }
    ]
  }
}

The AssetsTree has all its bindings pre-wired to @Client.Context.* by default — drop it in and navigation "just works."

ColSpan / RowSpan for asymmetric layouts

{ "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "ColSpan": 2, ... }   // cell spans columns 0 and 1
{ "Row": 1, "Col": 0, "RowSpan": 2, ... }   // cell spans rows 1 and 2

Use ColSpan on a header card to stretch it across all grid columns. Use RowSpan when you want a tall element (AlarmViewer, AssetsTree) next to shorter cards.

Section 3 — Controls by cell purpose

The Cell.HeaderLink pattern

Every cell should have a Cell.HeaderLink. The value is either:

• A static string: "Production Rate"
• A bound value: "@Tag.CurrentAsset/Name"
• A composite: "Reactor R-101: {@Tag.R101/Status}"

The header renders as a small title strip at the top of the card, in the theme's card-header style. Leaving it empty gives you a headerless card — useful for the header / status row banding the top of the display, but unusual elsewhere.

Section 4 — The TrendChart recipe

Most dashboard cells end up being trend charts. The canonical setup:

{
  "Type": "TrendChart",
  "Duration": "5m",
  "YMinValue": 0, "YMaxValue": 100,
  "YLabels": 5,
  "XGridLines": 6,
  "YGridLines": 5,
  "LegendPlacement": "BottomPanel",
  "VerticalCursor": true,
  "BackgroundTheme": "ControlBackground",
  "ForegroundTheme": "TextForeground",
  "BorderBrushTheme": "DefaultBorder",
  "Pens": [
    { "Type": "TrendPen", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Reactor/Temperature_C", "PenLabel": "Temperature", "Stroke": "#FFEF4444", "StrokeThickness": 2 },
    { "Type": "TrendPen", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Reactor/Setpoint",      "PenLabel": "Setpoint",    "Stroke": "#FF34D399", "StrokeThickness": 1 }
  ]
}

Pens accepts BOTH forms

• Flat array: "Pens": [ {...}, {...} ] ← prefer this for readability
• Wrapper object: "Pens": { "Type": "TrendPenList", "Children": [ {...} ] } ← older form, also accepted

TrendPen properties

Duration defaults

LegendPlacement

"BottomPanel" (default), "RightPanel", "TopPanel", "None". For narrow cells use "RightPanel". For wide cells "BottomPanel".

Chart control selection

Call list_elements('Charts') for the authoritative chart catalog in the current release. TrendChart is the right default for time-series data. For X-vs-Y scatter plots or correlation displays, verify the current element set before committing — the available chart types and their schemas evolve between releases.

Section 5 — The DataGrid list→detail pattern

The pattern in one sentence

Use a UserType-typed Client tag as the "selected row" carrier. The DataGrid pushes selected-row values into its fields, detail controls read from its fields via @Tag.Selected<X>.Field. Zero code-behind.

The setup

1. Create a Client-scope tag typed by your row's UDT. For a reactor list: @Tag.SelectedReactor with UserType: "ReactorRow".
2. In the DataGrid, set SelectedValuesLink to "@Tag.SelectedReactor". The DataGrid automatically pushes values from the currently-selected row into each matching field of the UDT.
3. Detail controls on the same display read @Tag.SelectedReactor.Name, @Tag.SelectedReactor.Temperature, etc. They update automatically as the operator clicks rows.

DataGrid definition

{
  "Type": "DataGrid",
  "ItemsSource": "@Dataset.Query.ActiveReactors",
  "SelectedValuesLink": "@Tag.SelectedReactor",
  "Columns": {
    "Type": "GridColumnList",
    "Children": [
      { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Reactor",     "FieldName": "Name",         "Width": 120 },
      { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Temp (°C)",   "FieldName": "Temperature",  "Width": 100 },
      { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Pressure",    "FieldName": "Pressure",     "Width": 100 },
      { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Status",      "FieldName": "Status",       "Width": 100 }
    ]
  },
  "BackgroundTheme": "ControlBackground",
  "ForegroundTheme": "TextForeground",
  "BorderBrushTheme": "DefaultBorder"
}

The detail cells (sibling cells on the same display)

{ "Row": 1, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Temperature",
  "Content": { "Type": "CenterValue", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.SelectedReactor.Temperature", "CenterTextFormat": "N1", "AccentTextLink": "°C" } },

{ "Row": 1, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Pressure",
  "Content": { "Type": "CenterValue", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.SelectedReactor.Pressure", "CenterTextFormat": "N1", "AccentTextLink": "bar" } },

{ "Row": 2, "Col": 1, "ColSpan": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "Status",
  "Content": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "Status: {@Tag.SelectedReactor.Status}", "FontSize": 16 } }

When the operator clicks a row in the DataGrid, all three detail cells update simultaneously. No script, no event handler.

Requirements

• The UDT's member names must match the DataGrid column FieldNames (case-sensitive).
• The Client tag must be typed by that UDT.
• The dataset query must return rows whose column names match the UDT members.

Section 6 — ComboBox zero-script FK-lookup

{
  "Type": "ComboBox",
  "ItemsSourceType": "DataTable",
  "ItemsSourceLink": "@Dataset.Query.OperatorsList",
  "DisplayMember": "FullName",
  "SelectedValuePath": "OperatorID",
  "SelectedValueLink": "@Tag.Shift/CurrentOperatorId",
  "Foreground": "theme:TextForeground",
  "Background": "theme:ControlBackground",
  "BorderBrush": "theme:DefaultBorder"
}

When the operator picks "Maria Costa" from the dropdown, the OperatorID (say 42) lands in @Tag.Shift/CurrentOperatorId automatically. Other displays binding to that tag update immediately.

Use this for: operator selection, product changeover, reactor mode select, batch selection — anywhere the user picks one row from a database-backed list.

ItemsSourceType options

• "DataTable" — the pattern above, dataset query as source
• "Array" — bound to an array tag
• "StringTag" — comma-separated string (legacy, avoid)
• "Text" — hardcoded comma-separated inline options

Section 7 — AlarmViewer (the default template is your friend)

The AlarmViewer default template ships pre-wired to @Client.AlarmPage.* context tags:

{
  "Type": "AlarmViewer",
  "ShowRowSelectorPane": false,
  "BackgroundTheme": "ControlBackground",
  "ForegroundTheme": "TextForeground"
}

That's the entire cell content. All alarms, all columns, all features — wired.

Custom filtering

{
  "Type": "AlarmViewer",
  "Filter": "Area = 'ReactorZone'",
  "ShowRowSelectorPane": false
}

Filter syntax: "Priority >= 2", "Area = 'Tank1'", or a tag binding "@Tag.AlarmFilter".

Custom columns

"Columns": {
  "Type": "GridColumnList",
  "Children": [
    { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Active",  "FieldName": "ActiveTime_Ticks", "Width": 140 },
    { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Tag",     "FieldName": "TagName",          "Width": 200 },
    { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Msg",     "FieldName": "Message",          "Width": 400 },
    { "Type": "GridColumn", "Title": "Pri",     "FieldName": "Priority",         "Width": 50 }
  ]
}

Available field names: AckStatus, ActiveTime_Ticks, TagName, Group, Value, ID, ItemName, State, AckRequired, Condition, SolutionName, Area, Priority, NormTime_Ticks, AckTime_Ticks, UserName, Message, Duration, Category, DateCreated_Ticks, AuxValue, AlarmLimit, PreviousValue, AuxValue2, AuxValue3. Tick fields format as DateTime at render time.

Section 8 — AssetsTree + ChildDisplay navigation

The canonical asset-driven master-detail pattern. One "detail template" display shows whatever asset the operator picks in the tree.

The tree (drop it in, no config)

{ "Type": "AssetsTree" }

The default template already binds:

• LinkedValue → @Client.Context.AssetName (output — which asset is selected)
• AssetPathLink → @Client.Context.AssetPath (output — full path)

The detail panel — ChildDisplay

{
  "Type": "ChildDisplay",
  "DisplayLink": "EquipmentDetailTemplate"
}

Inside EquipmentDetailTemplate, every binding uses Asset(@Client.Context.AssetPath + ".Property") or direct @Tag paths constructed from the context. When the operator clicks a different tree node, the ChildDisplay re-renders with the new asset's data.

Dynamic ChildDisplay

{
  "Type": "ChildDisplay",
  "DisplayLink": "@Tag.DetailDisplayName"
}

A Script calculates which detail display to show based on the selected asset's type (Pump → PumpDetail, Reactor → ReactorDetail) and writes to @Tag.DetailDisplayName. The ChildDisplay swaps automatically.

Section 9 — Carousel and TabControl

Both accept the same structure: HeaderElements (navigation chrome) and TabItems (panels). Difference:

• Carousel — AutoCycleLink: 5 for 5-second auto-cycling. Lobby displays, rotating KPI boards.
• TabControl — no auto-cycle; operator clicks tabs. Drill-down detail panels.

{
  "Type": "Carousel",
  "AutoCycleLink": 5,
  "TabItems": [
    { "Type": "TabItem", "IsSelected": true,
      "Header": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "Production" },
      "Children": [ { "Type": "TrendChart", ... } ] },
    { "Type": "TabItem",
      "Header": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "Quality" },
      "Children": [ { "Type": "BarChart", ... } ] },
    { "Type": "TabItem",
      "Header": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "Alarms" },
      "Children": [ { "Type": "AlarmViewer" } ] }
  ]
}

Rules:

• Only ONE TabItem should have IsSelected: true
• Children is an array — can contain multiple elements per tab
• AutoCycleLink can be a number (seconds) OR a tag binding ("@Tag.ShowroomCycleSeconds") for runtime-configurable cycling

Section 10 — Common KPI card recipes

Big-number CenterValue

{
  "Type": "CenterValue",
  "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Plant/ProductionRate",
  "CenterTextFormat": "N1",
  "AccentTextLink": "units/hr",
  "CenterFontSize": 48,
  "AccentFontSize": 14,
  "BackgroundTheme": "ControlBackground"
}

CenterTextFormat: "N0" (integer), "N1" (1 decimal), "N2" (2 decimals), "P1" (percent 1 decimal). AccentTextLink is the unit or caption under/beside the main number.

Composite TextBlock (value + unit + context in one)

{
  "Type": "TextBlock",
  "LinkedValue": "Throughput: {@Tag.Plant/ProductionRate} units/hr ({@Tag.Plant/TargetPct}% of target)",
  "FontSize": 16,
  "FontWeight": "SemiBold",
  "ForegroundTheme": "TextForeground"
}

Threshold-colored value

{
  "Type": "TextBlock",
  "LinkedValue": "{@Tag.Plant/AvgTemp} °C",
  "FontSize": 32,
  "Dynamics": [
    { "Type": "TextColorDynamic", "LinkedValue": "@Tag.Plant/AvgTemp",
      "ChangeColorItems": [
        { "Type": "ChangeColorItem", "ChangeLimit": 0,  "LimitColor": "#FF38BDF8" },
        { "Type": "ChangeColorItem", "ChangeLimit": 75, "LimitColor": "#FF34D399" },
        { "Type": "ChangeColorItem", "ChangeLimit": 90, "LimitColor": "#FFF59E0B" },
        { "Type": "ChangeColorItem", "ChangeLimit": 100, "LimitColor": "#FFEF4444" }
      ] }
  ]
}

Blue cold → green normal → amber warning → red alarm.

Section 11 — Navigation on Dashboard displays

Same rule as Canvas: page-to-page navigation belongs in the Header display, not on content pages. Content pages get only in-page interactions.

Tab-bar header pattern

{
  "Name": "Header",
  "PanelType": "Dashboard",
  "DashboardDisplay": {
    "Columns": ["Auto","Auto","Auto","Auto","*","Auto"],
    "Rows": ["*"],
    "Cells": [
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "Content": { "Type": "Button", "LabelLink": "Overview",
          "Dynamics": [{"Type":"ActionDynamic","MouseLeftButtonDown":{"Type":"DynamicActionInfo","ActionType":"OpenDisplay","ObjectLink":"OperationsOverview"}}] } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 1, "Content": { "Type": "Button", "LabelLink": "Alarms",   ... } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 2, "Content": { "Type": "Button", "LabelLink": "Trends",   ... } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 3, "Content": { "Type": "Button", "LabelLink": "Reports",  ... } },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 5, "Content": { "Type": "TextBlock", "LinkedValue": "Logged in: {@Client.Username}" } }
    ]
  }
}

Minimum button size: 100×32. Recommended: 130×40 for touch-friendly control rooms.

Row-click drill-down

For DataGrids, a double-click to drill into detail:

"Dynamics": [
  { "Type": "ActionDynamic",
    "MouseDoubleClick": { "Type": "DynamicActionInfo", "ActionType": "OpenDisplay", "ObjectLink": "ReactorDetail" } }
]

The target display reads @Tag.SelectedReactor.Name (etc.) — so you get "double-click row → open detail view of that row" with zero code.

Section 12 — Dashboard-specific quirks

1. Cells size by their content, NOT the other way around. If you set a Row: "*" to expand, but the cell content is a fixed-size gauge, the gauge doesn't stretch — the cell is as tall as the row, but the gauge stays its native size centered in the cell. For content that should fill the cell, use controls with stretch-friendly behavior: TrendChart, BarChart, AlarmViewer, DataGrid. Gauges are a fixed size.
2. Dynamics that don't work in Dashboard. Silently ignored: RotateDynamic, ScaleDynamic, MoveDragDynamic, SkewDynamic, BargraphDynamic. If you need a rotating element or a custom level-bar, move that cell's content to a Canvas display embedded via ChildDisplay, or pick a control with the behavior built in (LinearGauge for level, symbols for motor-running-spin).
3. Cell headers use theme styles you can't directly override. Cell.HeaderLink renders in a theme-defined style — you can't set FontSize or Foreground on the header itself from the cell. If you need a custom header, set Cell.HeaderLink to empty string and put a TextBlock as the first element inside the cell Content.
4. ComboBox + DataTable source loads on first render. Expect a brief empty state on display open. For critical selection flows, bind to @Tag.SelectedValueLink with a pre-populated default.
5. ChildDisplay depth limit. Don't nest ChildDisplays more than 2 levels deep. Beyond that, performance degrades and context-tag reuse becomes confusing.

Section 13 — Dashboard checklist

• ? PanelType: "Dashboard" is set
• ? DashboardDisplay object includes Columns, Rows, Cells
• ? Every cell has Row, Col, and either Cell.HeaderLink (with content) or omitted for header-less cells
• ? No Canvas-only element types (Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Cylinder, ShapeGroup, SvgGroup, Group) in Content
• ? No Canvas-only dynamics (Rotate, Scale, MoveDrag, Skew, Bargraph) on cell content
• ? Text values ≥ 14 FontSize; big KPIs ≥ 22 FontSize
• ? ColSpan/RowSpan summed values don't exceed the grid
• ? AlarmViewer uses default template (no Columns override) unless you NEED custom columns
• ? DataGrid SelectedValuesLink ↔ UserType-typed Client tag ↔ detail cells binding chain verified
• ? ComboBox with DataTable source has DisplayMember AND SelectedValuePath AND SelectedValueLink
• ? TrendChart Pens are flat array form; each pen has at minimum LinkedValue + Stroke
• ? Header display owns all page-to-page navigation
• ? get_state after write shows errorList empty

Section 14 — Quick reference

The 10 controls you'll actually use on most Dashboards

TextBlock         - headers, composite KPIs, status text
CenterValue       - big-number KPI tiles
TrendChart        - all time-series (the workhorse)
BarChart          - categorical comparison
AlarmViewer       - alarm list with default template
AssetsTree        - plant navigation sidebar
ChildDisplay      - embedded detail panel
DataGrid          - list in list→detail
ComboBox          - FK selector dropdown
RadialGauge       - circular gauge cells

Canonical dashboard envelope

{
  "Name": "MyDashboard",
  "PanelType": "Dashboard",
  "DisplayMode": "Page",
  "Navigate": "true",
  "OnResize": "StretchFill",
  "Background": "theme:PageBackground",
  "DashboardDisplay": {
    "Columns": ["*","*","*"],
    "Rows": ["*","*"],
    "Cells": [
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} },
      { "Row": 0, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 0, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 1, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} },
      { "Row": 1, "Col": 2, "Cell.HeaderLink": "...", "Content": {} }
    ]
  }
}