Video Discovery Dashboard: How To Guide

Learn how to create widgets for the Visual Discovery Dashboard

Joe Thibault avatar
Written by Joe Thibault
Updated over a week ago

The Video Discovery (VD) Dashboard consolidates key business information across multiple locations and enables quick drill-down into the details including video.  This article helps you get started with creating your own widgets for the dashboard.  

What key functions can I access from the Video Discovery Dashboard?

  1. Filter by date and location - Clicking the FILTER button will open a dialog box that allows you to set filters (the time frame and a specific location) for all the widgets) on the dashboard page.  Any widget that has been manually set will not be affected by global filters. You know if a widget has been manually set by the pin next to the item set  

Example of a Date being set on a widget:

Example of a Location being set on a widget:

If no data is displayed, double-check the parameters in this filter to ensure the date range and locations have data.  

Time Frame: Select Day, Week, Month, or Year

Date: Clicking on the Date field will bring up a Calendar dialog box.  Select the date for the desired time frame.  For example, if you’re interested in the week of July 7, 2019, clicking on any day within that will update the global filters to the week of Sun July 7 to Sat July 13, 2019.   If you’re interested in the month of July 2019, select “Month” for the Time Frame and select any date in July 2019.     

Locations: Select All locations or a specific location.  

2. Adding a widget - A widget can be a report widget or a camera widget.  

3. Changing widget settings, exporting data, and deleting the widget - The reports, timeframe, location, and graph settings of the widget can be changed at any time and the widget will be automatically updated.  The underlying data can also be exported in .CSV format.  The widget can also be deleted if it was created by the user (this action cannot be undone).  

4. Please note the globe icon indicates that the widget is public.

How can I create a widget on the Video Discovery Dashboard?

  1. From the Dashboard, click the teal coloured “+ Widget” button on the upper right hand corner of the page. 

2.  An “Add Widget” dialog box will appear. 

a.) Select the Visibility for the widget.  Please note that once the visibility is defined for the widget, it cannot be changed.

b.) Select the Widget Type - widgets can either contain a Report or a Camera Group.  

c.) If the selected Widget Type is Report, select the Report to be displayed - only reports the user has access to will be displayed. A maximum of 2 reports can be selected. 

If the selected Widget Type is Camera Group, select the Camera Group to be displayed in the widget.  Only camera groups the user has access to will be available.  Aside from cameras that are marked as “favorties” (which will be in the Favorite camera group), other camera groups must be defined in the mobile app. 

a.) Enter a Name for the widget - this will appear on the top of the widget.  
b.) Provide a Description for the widget - the description is important because it explains the business significance of the report to others.  

Click “Add” - your newly created widget will be on the homepage.  Note the description will appear on the bottom of the widget when you hover over it.  

How do I change/edit the properties of my report widget?

Click the upper right hand corner of the widget and select Settings:

The Settings dialog box will appear - within this dialog you can set the widget’s basic properties, filters, and graph settings.  

1. The top portion of the box indicates the visibility of the widget and its basic properties:

a.) Reports - You can change the report currently being displayed in the widget or add an additional report (to a maximum of two reports).
b.) Name - You can edit the name of the report.
c.) Description - You can edit the description of the widget.
d.) Height and Width - Edit the height and width of widget here.  

2. Widget Filters - Scroll down in the Settings dialog box and click on the arrow on the right end of the “Widget Filters” header bar to display the available filters:

a.) Time Frame: Select the desired time frame for the widget (i.e. day, week, month, year).

b.) Comparison Type: Depending on the selected Time Frame, the Comparison Type drop-down list will automatically update to list the available options.  

c.) Locations: Select the locations for which to display the report - please note that only the locations the user has access to will be displayed.

3. Graph Settings 


a.) Data Type: Can choose from transactions (count or total), bookmarks (count), or motion (count).  If the widget is a motion report, the data type must be motion (count).

b.) Compare to previous period: If this box is checked, the report will display the percentage change in red from the previous period.

c.) Show bars for the previous period: Check this box to include bars from the previous period to make it easier to compare

d.) Graph Type:  Currently only bar graphs are available.  

How do I change/edit the properties of my camera group widget?

  1. Click on the upper right hand corner of the camera group widget and select Settings:

The Settings dialog box will appear:

a.) Camera Group: Select the camera group to be displayed in the widget.  Aside from cameras that are marked as Favorites (which are then included in the Favorite Camera Group), Camera Groups can currently only be defined in the mobile application.  

b.) Name: Type the name of the widget - this will appear on the top of the camera group widget.  

c.) Description:  Enter a description for the widget - this will appear on the bottom of the widget when you hover over it.  

d.) Height and Width:  Enter the desired height and width for the widget.  

How can I change the way the widgets are arranged on the dashboard and their size?

All widgets can be dragged and dropped to a different location within the dashboard. Widgets can also be resized by clicking on the menu in the upper right hand corner of the widget, selecting “Settings” and adjusting the numbers in the width and height boxes as desired. 

How can I delete a widget?

If the widget is not a Public widget, click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner and select Delete.  This action cannot be undone.  

How do I export data from a widget?

Click on the three dots on the upper right hand corner of the widget and select Export.  A dialog will open asking you to save the CSV file.  

How can I make copies of widgets?

In instances where you would like to create another widget but don’t want to recreate it from scratch, you can duplicate a widget and then make edits to its properties to save time.  Please note that once the visibility of a widget is defined at its creation, it cannot be changed.  

To make a copy/duplicate a widget, click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner and select “Duplicate as Private”.

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