How to export your dashboard into a printable format

Top Tips

  • When the dashboard export is generated, an image of each widget is captured exactly as it looks on screen at that moment. To get the best export result, a dashboard should be designed with this in mind.
  • Before exporting, ensure your browser window size is maximised and the zoom level is appropriate. 
  • The row a widget appears on in an export, is determined by the top edge of the widget. On a dashboard where 2 widgets are positioned on top of each other i.e. 2 small metric tiles in pace of a single metric tile, the bottom widget will appear on a different row in the export. Dashboards which are intended to be exported to PDF or PowerPoint should avoid positioning widgets like this:
 

 

Whilst viewing the dashboard you wish to export, click on the downward arrow next to the top ‘Add Widget’ button. Next, hover over the ‘Export’ option in the menu and then select your preferred export format.

Export to PDF

Upon selecting the PDF export option you will be presented with the following pop-up:

  • Widget List - by default, all dashboard widgets will be included in the export. If needed, widgets can be excluded from the export by moving them into the left-hand column. Note: The widgets are listed based on where they are positioned on the dashboard i.e. widgets at the top of the list match the widgets at the top of the dashboard layout.
  • Layout - select the required dashboard layout. 
  • Export All Rows -  if ticked, all rows in the data table widgets will be exported. For example, if the dashboard includes a table with 2 pages of risks, both pages will be included in the export. If however, the ‘Export All Rows’ is unticked, then the export will only include those risks visible on the screen.

Advice

  • The Gantt chart export is identical to the one available within a project and will always include all tasks and milestones. It is important to consider this when designing your dashboards for exporting.
  • If the export includes the Gantt widget or the ‘Export All Rows’ is ticked, this will extend the time taken to generate the PDF export. This is because the more lines of data contained in the dashboard, the longer the timeframe for generating the file.
 

 

Export to PowerPoint

Upon selecting the PowerPoint export option you will be presented with the following pop-up:

  • Widget List - by default, all dashboard widgets will be included in the export. If needed, widgets can be excluded from the export by moving them into the left-hand column. Note: The widgets are listed based on where they are positioned on the dashboard i.e. widgets at the top of the list match the widgets at the top of the dashboard layout.

Advice

  • All widgets are exported into PowerPoint as images. Note: Verto is currently unable to export large Gantt charts (those spanning many projects) into image format. Large Gantt charts will be excluded from the PowerPoint output. This will not impact the export process.
  • The Gantt chart export is identical to the one available within a project and will always include all tasks and milestones. It is important to consider this when designing your dashboards for exporting.
 

 

Export an Image Pack

Upon selecting the Image Pack export option you will be presented with the following pop-up:

  • Widget List - by default, all dashboard widgets will be included in the export. If needed, widgets can be excluded from the export by moving them into the left-hand column. Note: The widgets are listed based on where they are positioned on the dashboard i.e. widgets at the top of the list match the widgets at the top of the dashboard layout.

This export route will create a zip file containing images and PDFs of the dashboard widgets:

The files will be numbered sequentially based on the order they appear in the dashboard.  

Advice

  • If the image pack includes the Gantt widget or data tables with lots of data in them, this will extend the time taken to complete the export process. The more lines of data, the longer the timeframe for generating the export.
 

 

Export a ‘what you see is what you get’ (WYSIWYG) Image

Selecting the WYSIWYG export option will automatically create an exact representation of the dashboard on screen. Note: Any container widgets should be adjusted to ensure no widgets are hidden on screen i.e. there are no scroll bars. Hidden widgets will not be included in the export. 

 

Using Page Breaks

The dashboard export will automatically insert page breaks to optimize the layout of the export. If required, users can insert additional page breaks to customise where data appears on each page. Note: This feature is only for PDF and PowerPoint exports. 

To insert a page break, click on the 3 dots > Append Page Break > Yes against the relevant widget (where you want the page break to be):

Page breaks are not visible by default but can be made visible by clicking on the downward arrow next to the top Add Widget button > Export > Page Breaks > Show. Note: if the page break is visible on screen it will also be visible in the export.

To remove a page break, click on the 3 dots > Append Page Break > No.

Top Tip

  • If you are going to insert a page break, it is recommend to insert these on widgets at the end of a row. Although page breaks can be inserted on any widget, if the widget is not at the end of a row, the page break will result in all subsequent widgets being moved onto a new page/slide in the export.