Dashboard parameter controls

Requires the dashboard-controls feature flag. For Cloud, contact support. For self-hosted instances, add dashboard-controls to LIGHTDASH_ENABLE_FEATURE_FLAGS.

Dashboard controls are the filters and parameter controls at the top of a dashboard. Filters narrow the data. Parameter controls set values used by your chart queries. The examples follow a Revenue comparison dashboard:

Two Order revenue tiles compare the same chart in different currencies.
A Payment revenue tile uses a currency parameter from another model.
An Order status filter limits the comparison to completed orders.

Both charts’ currency parameters offer USD, EUR, and GBP.

Set different values on two copies of a chart

Give each copy its own control to compare USD and EUR side by side.

Add the first control

Open Edit dashboard → Add → Parameter and choose Reporting currency. Set USD and use Rename to name it Primary currency. Both order tiles now use USD.

Dashboard Add menu offering Filter to narrow tile data and Parameter to set a value used by tiles

Choose its tiles

Click Choose tiles. On the comparison Order revenue tile, clear the selected parameter, then click Apply. That tile stops using Primary currency.

Primary currency assigned to the first Order revenue tile, with the comparison tile and Payment revenue not assigned

Add the comparison control

Add another Reporting currency control, set EUR, and name it Comparison currency. In Choose tiles, click Set this tile on the comparison tile, then select Orders Reporting currency. Click Apply → Save changes.

Primary currency set to USD and Comparison currency set to EUR, with the two copies of Order revenue showing their respective currencies

The first control for a parameter targets all relevant tiles, including those added later, even after you exclude all current tiles. Additional controls for that parameter start with no tiles assigned.

Clear a value or exclude a tile

A control’s value and tile assignments are independent. In edit mode, open the control:

To clear its value, click the input’s clear button. Tile assignments stay in place.
To exclude a tile, open Choose tiles and clear that tile’s selected parameter. Clear all tiles excludes all current tiles.

Click Apply → Save changes. The Order revenue chart is saved with EUR, and its parameter has a GBP model default. These give different results:

Action	Value used by Order revenue
Clear the control value	`GBP` — the model default, then the chart-saved value if there is no default
Exclude the tile	`EUR` — the chart-saved value, then the model default if the chart has no saved value

Primary currency editor set to USD, with a GBP model default and one of three tiles assigned

Cleared value
Excluded tile

After clearing Primary currency, the first order tile uses the model default, GBP.

Order revenue primary showing GBP and revenue of 1,917.60 after clearing the assigned control value

After excluding the first order tile, it uses the chart-saved value, EUR.

Order revenue primary showing EUR and revenue of 2,157.30 after excluding the tile from the control

To continue the comparison, restore Primary currency to USD and include the first order tile.

Set parameters across models

Use Primary currency to change the order and payment charts together, even though their parameters belong to different models. Parameters can share a control when their type, single or multiple selection, and allowed values match.

Choose the payment parameter

Open Primary currency → Choose tiles. On Payment revenue, click Set this tile and select Payments Settlement currency.

Save the assignment

Click Apply → Save changes. Primary currency now sets both models’ parameters. Comparison currency still sets only the second order tile.

Primary currency mapped to Orders Reporting currency and Payments Settlement currency, with the second order tile assigned to Comparison currency

Group controls and hide a control from viewers

Keep related inputs together, and hide the fixed comparison value from viewers.

Group the controls

Create a section called Currency comparison and move Order status into it. For each parameter control, open Settings → Section, choose Currency comparison, and click Apply.

Hide the comparison input

In Comparison currency → Settings, turn off Show to viewers. Click Apply → Save changes. Its EUR value still applies to the comparison tile.

Comparison currency settings in Currency comparison, with Show to viewers switched off while the value still applies to its tiles

Viewers can change Primary currency for the first order tile and the payment tile. The comparison tile stays in EUR.

Currency comparison section with Primary currency visible. The first order tile and payment tile show USD, while the comparison order tile shows EUR.

Save the dashboard as code

The YAML below saves the same dashboard, including its filter, section, and control assignments. Save it as lightdash/dashboards/revenue-comparison.yml, adapting the chart and space slugs, parameter keys, and filter field references to your project. Use the standard download and upload commands. With dashboard-controls enabled, downloads use these references:

A section’s slug identifies it. A filter or control’s sectionSlug places it in that section.
Each tileSlug identifies one tile, so copies of the same chart can receive different values.

Keep a section’s slug when renaming it so uploads update the same section.

Revenue comparison

contentType: dashboard
version: 1
name: Revenue comparison
slug: revenue-comparison
spaceSlug: jaffle-shop
tabs: []
tiles:
  - tileSlug: order-revenue-primary
    type: saved_chart
    x: 0
    y: 0
    w: 12
    h: 4
    properties:
      chartSlug: order-revenue
      title: Order revenue (primary)
      hideTitle: false
  - tileSlug: order-revenue-comparison
    type: saved_chart
    x: 12
    y: 0
    w: 12
    h: 4
    properties:
      chartSlug: order-revenue
      title: Order revenue (comparison)
      hideTitle: false
  - tileSlug: payment-revenue
    type: saved_chart
    x: 24
    y: 0
    w: 12
    h: 4
    properties:
      chartSlug: payment-revenue
      title: Payment revenue
      hideTitle: false
filters:
  dimensions:
    - label: Order status
      sectionSlug: currency-comparison
      target:
        fieldId: orders_status
        fieldName: status
        tableName: orders
      operator: equals
      values: [completed]
      disabled: false
      tileTargets: {}
config:
  isDateZoomDisabled: false
  controlSections:
    - slug: currency-comparison
      name: Currency comparison
      collapsed: false
  parameterControls:
    - slug: primary-currency
      label: Primary currency
      sectionSlug: currency-comparison
      value: USD
      valueType:
        type: string
        multiple: false
      parameters:
        orders.reporting_currency:
          except: [order-revenue-comparison]
        payments.settlement_currency: all
    - slug: comparison-currency
      label: Comparison currency
      sectionSlug: currency-comparison
      hidden: true
      value: EUR
      valueType:
        type: string
        multiple: false
      parameters:
        orders.reporting_currency:
          only: [order-revenue-comparison]

Use all for every matching tile, except to exclude named tiles, or only for an exact list. only: [] assigns no tiles.

​Set different values on two copies of a chart

​Clear a value or exclude a tile

​Set parameters across models

​Group controls and hide a control from viewers

​Save the dashboard as code

Set different values on two copies of a chart

Clear a value or exclude a tile

Set parameters across models

Group controls and hide a control from viewers

Save the dashboard as code