DashboardPlus (www.excel-PremiumUtilities.com) is an application that adds to Microsoft Excel® the ability to create professional executive dashboards featuring gauges and charts, making it an affordable and a very flexible tool for generating appealing dashboards linDashboardPlus is an application that adds to Microsoft® Excel® the ability to create professional executive dashboards, making it an affordable and a very flexible tool for generating appealing dashboards linked dynamically to Excel values

1. DashboardPlus
Excel based executive dashboard creator
Version 2.0
User guide
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2. Contents
Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 3
How does DashboardPlus work? ...................................................................................................... 5
The dashboard console and menu..................................................................................................10
The Dial Gauge component ............................................................................................................14
The Angle gauge component ..........................................................................................................17
The Knob Selector component .......................................................................................................18
The Chart Box component ..............................................................................................................20
The Table Box component ..............................................................................................................21
The indicator component ...............................................................................................................22
The selector box..............................................................................................................................25
The Slider component.....................................................................................................................27
The Text Box component ................................................................................................................30
FAQ's ...............................................................................................................................................31
KPI'S ................................................................................................................................................33
KPI standardization .........................................................................................................................35
Export to HTML ...............................................................................................................................36
DashboardPlus-ReadOnly free utility..............................................................................................37
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3. Overview
What is a managerial Dashboard?
The term is borrowed from the car industry and has quite the same meaning here. A managerial
dashboard (sometimes called Executive dashboard) is a graphical and concise display that should
enable a manager at his "cockpit" to grasp at a glance the status of different indicators in the
organization and provides alerts to poor or unexpected behavior
In management the term Dashboard is often overused to describe any presentation of values in
charts or tables, a format that could certainly convey useful information but lacks the ability to
deliver very concisely what a busy manager is looking for without going too deep into the
details: a simple traffic light style display of the current state of the business
A true managerial Dashboard uses a very specific type of charts called gauges, that display one
value only (usually a KPI- Key Performance Indicator) and its status in relation to predefined
threshold values. The most known dashboard gauge is the Circle Gauge that displays the value
according to colored sections with some meanings. A dashboard created with DashboardPlus
will look something like:-
These gauges may (or may not) be combined with regular charts and tables on a panel to create
a dynamic managerial dashboard that updates itself as the values in Excel change
Why aren't true dashboards more prevalent?
Many systems offer true dashboard capabilities, but they are usually part of BI (Business
Intelligence), complex and expensive applications, that only enterprises could afford
Excel is without any doubt the most popular and affordable "BI" solution, but it basically lacks
the components and the structures that could make it a widespread tool for implementing true
dashboard solutions that do not require specialized systems
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4. Some attempts have been made to "force" the native charting tools of Excel to emulate true
dashboard gauges, but so far the quality and ease of use are quite limited
DashboardPlus
DashboardPlus is an application that tries to fill the gap by adding to Excel true dashboard
capabilities
What DashboardPlus actually does, is to provide Excel with a totally new breed of true visual
dashboard gauges (ActiveX) that may be linked to any cell and a "Console" on which to drop
these components together with other regular Excel charts and tables for easily designing and
creating a concise and appealing display of the "state of the business". Like for Excel charts, any
change in the linked cells updates instantly the relevant gauges
It is important to keep in mind that it is a platform for displaying visual components connected
to Excel cells and does not possess by itself data processing capabilities. But together with of
Excel to which it is totally integrated, it becomes a serious application in the BI field
As far as we know, DashboardPlus is the only available solution that completely integrates true
dashboard capabilities within Excel, transforming it into an efficient and effective dashboard
application
DashboardPlus is "engineered" with the end users' needs in mind and it is characterized by its
simplicity and ease of use
As the gauges can be dynamically linked to any cells values and as Excel connects
with most external data sources, it is easy to understand that DashboardPlus may be
the basis for rapidly implementing flexible and dynamic dashboard solutions of any level of
complexity and sophistication, limited just by Excel's features and ...your creativity
The dashboards may be easily and automatically exported to Html format, making them
immediately available for Web display
Aside from the gauge components displaying KPI values and status, DashboardPlus also offers a
completely customizable slider component that can interactively show how values in the gauges
(or in Excel charts or tables) change as result of changing some related value (for example,
profitability as function of interest rate)
DashboardPlus has a unique feature, not found in other systems, which can standardize any KPI
into a standard score on the 1-10 scale, thus enabling the comparison between indicators with
different units of measure
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5. How does DashboardPlus work?
1. Install DashboardPlus
Once installed, DashboardPlus creates Dashboard4xl-Master file.xls (in the C:/Program files
directory or C:/Program files (X86) ), a regular Excel file "engineered" for enabling the
creation of consoles on which can be dropped the different components. You should open
that file directly from the directory or from the DashboardPlus group in the Windows Start
menu
It is recommended to explore the dashboard example created within Dashboard4xl-Sample
file
2. Open Dashboard4xl-Master file.xls
When you open Dashboard4xl-Master file.xls, a form will popup enabling to view or design a
dashboard. Up to 5 dashboards may be created in the same Excel file. Dashboard4xl-Master
file.xls can be duplicated (with a different name) for creating an unlimited number of
dashboards. Only such files support dashboards creation!!!
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6. You may always load that form from the DashboardPlus toolbar within the Excel Add-ins tab
(the toolbar is displayed if only the active workbook supports dashboards)
3. Load one the dashboards
A console on which the components will be located appears with a default background that
may be customized by double clicking on any empty area of the console
The dashboard console as shown below possesses its own menu for inserting the
components and performing other operations such as changing the background or saving as
a picture
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7. 3. Start inserting components
After inserting a component (a dial gauge for example), you drag it to its desired location on
the dashboard (by pressing F7 or from the Tools menu, the dashboard switches to a
Drag/Resize enabled mode. Pressing again F7 disables Drag/Resize)
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8. 4. Link and format the component
Now, by Double clicking on the component, a form (Circle gauge Configuration) from which
the gauge is configured and linked to the cell in the active workbook, will be displayed
Every aspect of the component can be customized. A filled dashboard may look something
like that
When data in the Excel sheets change, the dashboard will update accordingly
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9. 5. Save the dashboard?
Actually you don't save the dashboard itself but the Excel file on which it is displayed. When
you close the dashboard, information pertaining to it, is recorded in the Excel file (in hidden
sheets). When you reopen the file, the dashboard will look exactly as when you have closed
it, assuming the file was properly saved
DashboardPlus offers 5 sorts of special dashboards components: the Dial Gauge, the Angle
Gauge, the Shape Indicator, the Slider and the Knob selector. These components can be
combined with regular Excel charts and objects on the same dashboard. With the graphical
stunning capabilities of Excel2007 and Excel2010, the possibilities are endless. You may
easily add backgrounds, pictures, text labels and even a clip to the dashboard
One of DashboardPlus components is a slider used for changing dynamically the value of a
cell. If this cell is also a linked cell of one of the other dashboard components, moving the
slider will result in an interactive visual change in the components
Almost every aspect of the components can be customized through forms that popup when
double clicking on the component
DashboardPlus has been "engineered" with the end users' needs in mind and it is
characterized by its ease of use
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10. The dashboard console and menu
The dashboard panel
The dashboard panel is the "console" on which the different components are dropped and
displayed. The dashboard includes 2 main menu (see below) items for performing all the
required operations
The panel above is the default new created dashboard
The dashboard can be resized by simply stretching its edges in any direction.
All the other elements are customized by double clicking on any empty area of the panel
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11. Tips:
1. You may customize the Dashboard name that appears at left top of the console. The
customized name will appear on the relevant button in dashboard form loader
2. You can also set a background with any image by creating an image box and stretching it
to fill the panel. Images should be in high resolution in order to fill neatly the console. A few
high resolutions background pictures as shown below, are supplied with the software and
may be found in the Program Files/DashboardPlus directory
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12. The dashboard menu
Inset components
New components will be inserted around the top left corner of the panel
Double click on the component to open its formatting form
If a new component has not been double clicked, it will not be "remembered" when the
dashboard is closed and reopened
Tools (you access also this menu by right clicking on any empty part of the dashboard)
Drag/Resize: ON/OFF changes the dashboard mode for enabling the moving and resizing of
the different components
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13. Refresh: updates the charts and Excel ranges on the dashboards. These 2 components
formatting are not refreshed automatically when the dashboard is displayed and a cell on
which they are based has changed
Dashboard transparency: makes the dashboard half transparent in the editing mode
Background: customizes the panel color/gradient and the dashboard caption (equivalent to
double clicking on an empty area of the dashboard)
Export to BMP/HTML: the resulting files will be located in C:/ or in "c:UsersPublic" in
Windows 7
Reset dashboard: clears totally the dashboard. The operation is not reversible!
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14. The Dial Gauge component
The Dial Gauge is one of the most popular dashboard components
New created components are preformatted with 3 color sections on the ring as shown
above. It could be adapted to include up to 5 colored sections of any length and color
The needle in the gauge shows the value of the KPI on the scale defined for that metric. The
value comes from a linked cell in the dashboard Excel file
By double clicking on the gauge, a form with 3 different tabs will pop up
The Dial value is dynamically updated whenever it's linked value changes
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15. 1. Values and captions
2. Gauge format
Tip: Use the same color for the frame and the ring in order to get smoother colors for the
section values
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16. Needle style configuration
3. Gauge sections
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17. The Angle gauge component
The Angle Gauge is very similar to the Dial Gauge and differs from it mostly by its visual
appearance. The component may be modified to adapt to one of 3 different different styles.
New created components are preformatted with 3 colored sections on the ring as shown
above. They could be customized for up to 5 colored sections of any length and color
The needle in the gauge shows the value of the KPI. The value comes from the component
linked cell in the dashboard Excel file
By double clicking on the gauge, a form with 3 different tabs will pop up. Each tab serves for
customizing a different aspect, exactly as in the Dial Gauge component
The Gauge value is dynamically updated whenever the linked Excel value changes
Notes:
When the shape style is modified, you may need to resize the component in order to get
adequate proportions
The needle style in the Angle gauge can't be modified
Only the Half Circle shape includes a small window that displays the gauge value
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18. The Knob Selector component
The Knob Selector component is a graphical gauge intended to select one value from a list of
values of a parameter, thus enabling the dashboard to update itself according to a change in
a parameter to which it is linked
When you select a value, the excel linked cell is updated accordingly
If for example the Knob selector refers to a list of countries, selecting a certain country
among the list should update all the dashboard components linked in some way to that
country
The Knob Selector performs the same task as the List Selector with the advantage of being of
a graphical nature
In order to enable the operation
Create in Excel a drop down cell (validation data list) that takes it value from
a range of cells anywhere in the workbook
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19. Link that that cell ($G$8) value to the Selector component
Link the gauges/charts/tables to cells that take their values from formula
that depends on the Selector linked cell value ($G$8) , so that any change in
($G$8) will affect them
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20. The Chart Box component
The Chart Box component inserts on the dashboard a chart directly from Excel
When you double click on a Chart Box just created, a form for picking the proper chart will
be displayed. The drop down box displays automatically all the charts in the Excel file. Just
pick the proper chart and the Chart Box will displayed automatically exactly as it looks in
Excel, meaning that all Excel formatting "wealth" is available
Notes:
Only embedded charts in regular worksheets are identified by the
dashboard
Unlike other components, the chart box cannot be resized by stretching its
edges but by the moving "Size Factor" slider followed by the Apply button
Charts values are updated automatically when a linked cell in Excel changes
its value. To update the chart formatting (colors, type...), just click on
"Refresh" in the dashboard "Tools" menu. The chart will update values and
formatting when the dashboard is reopened
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21. The Table Box component
The Table Box component displays a table (Excel range) directly from the Excel file sheet
When you double click on a Table Box just created on the panel, a form for selecting the
range to display will be displayed. The table will be displayed exactly as it looks in Excel,
meaning that all Excel formatting "wealth" is available
Notes:
Tables are not updated automatically as do the other components when the
dashboard is "live" and a cell value is changed. To update the table, just click
on "Refresh" in the dashboard "Tools" menu. The table will update itself
when the dashboard is reopened
Unlike other components, the Table box on the dashboard cannot be resized
by stretching its edges. You have to use the "Size Factor" slider followed by
the Apply button
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22. The indicator component
The Shape Indicator is used to indicate an ON/OFF situation symbolized by a color and/or by
a visual shape. Three circular shapes in a row may for example well emulate a traffic light, an
Up arrow (ON) and a down arrow (OFF) may serve for indicating a reverse trend...
ON OFF ON OFF
The shape indicator is linked to a cell value in Excel: "0" value of the cell will switch the
indicator to the OFF color/shape while any other value will reverse it to the ON state
By double clicking on the indicator, a form for customizing it will pop-up
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23. Indicator internal size
The indicator itself is embedded in a rectangular frame that can be
resized with the slider at the bottom of the form. This slider will resize
the shape itself and not the frame
Cell address
Set the linked cell address which value determines the shape state
(ON/OFF). "0" value (Zero) puts the shape in OFF mode. Any other
value turns the shape to ON
Shape border style
Shape style
9 shapes styles are available
"ON" color button
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24. The shape interior color in the ON state
"OFF" color button
The shape interior color in the OFF state (Zero value for linked cell)
OFF Shape style
The Shape style when the shape is in OFF state (Zero value). The ON style is
determined in bullet 5 radio buttons
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25. The selector box
The Selector component is intended for picking a value from a list of values, thus enabling
the dashboard to update itself according to a change in a parameter to which it is linked
If for example the selector component refers to a list of countries, selecting a certain country
among the list should update all the dashboard components to represent their values for
that specific country
The List Selector performs the same task as the Knob Selector and is to be preferred when
the labels are too long to fit properly in the Knob Selector
In order to enable the operation
Create in Excel a drop down cell (validation data list) that takes it values
from a range of cells anywhere in the workbook
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26. Link that that cell ($G$8) value to the Selector component
Link the gauges/charts/tables to cells that take their values from formula
that depends on the Selector linked cell value ($G$8) , so that any change in
($G$8) will affect them
Select a value from the Selector component list of values by clicking the
combination of Shift+Enter keys. All the dashboard components values will
update accordingly to the Selector value picked
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27. The Slider component
Contrarily to the other components that are of a "passive" nature, as they receive
their values from the linked cells, the Slider is an "active" component in the sense
that it changes the value of the linked cell.
The slider is very useful for dealing with "What-if" scenarios. The slider may for
example help to show how the profitability changes as function of the interest rate
represented by the slider
Note that the slider may be used to show variation in the dashboard components as well as
in regular Excel charts or tables
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28. Marker style
The marker could adapt to 15 different shapes
Linked cell address
Set the linked cell address which value is determined by the slider
Marker position
Precision
The number of decimals
Gap width
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29. Set the gap between the slider range and the left/right borders of the
frame
Scale visible
The slider scale can be hidden or displayed
Pct(%)
The scale can represent percentages instead of absolute values
Orientation
The slider by default is horizontal. It can be changed to vertical
display
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30. The Text Box component
The Text Box component is a mean for displaying pieces of text on the dashboard. It may
serve for titles and various headers for the different components
A Text Box may contains static text or dynamic text from a linked cell, so that it is live
updated whenever the linked value changes
All the Text Box parameters (size, font, color, background...) are customizable
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31. FAQ's
Q: What DashboardPlus can do for me?
A: DashboardPlus is an Excel add-in intended to add true dashboard capabilities to Excel. It
enables the user to create appealing and dynamic managerial dashboards completely
integrated within Excel
Q: Why do I need dashboard components if I have already all the Excel charts?
A: Unfortunately Excel does not offer true dashboard components intended for giving to
managers at a glance, the state of the business. Excel charts are intended for displaying and
analyzing multidimensional data. DashboardPlus offers components called Gauges, for
displaying one value in a very special manner that tells "all the story". In addition, it offers
the consoles for dropping and displaying the components
Q: What components are available?
A: Apart the classical dashboard gauges, you may add charts, tables, text boxes, images,
drop down lists and even...clip movies. Charts and tables are embedded directly from Excel
sheets so that all the Excel features are applicable
Q: Why should I choose DashboardPlus and not another similar product?
A: Simply because as far as we know, there is not a similar product completely integrated
within Excel...at such a price
Q: How many dashboards can I build?
A: Unlimited numbers, as the workbook dashboard-master file can be copied with different
names
Q: Do I need to know VBA or macros?
A: Not at all!
Q: From where get the components their value?
A: Each component is attached to a linked cell value. Changing the value will dynamically
change the component value display. The linked cell value could be a formula that gets its
data from any part of the Excel file
Q: Do I have to customize the components each time the Excel file is opened?
A: Not at all! All the settings are saved with the file and automatically applied upon
reopening it
Q: Can I send a dashboard Excel file to a colleague?
A: Yes, but he has to install the Read-only, in order to see it properly
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32. Q: How do I customize the components?
A: By double clicking on each component on the console, a form will popup. The form
enables customizing any feature
Q: Could I build dashboards which include Excel charts or tables?
A: Absolutely! DashboardPlus is completely integrated within Excel so that all the Excel
features are available. You can even add a clip movie
Q: Can DashboardPlus be used for building complex dashboards
A: We sincerely think that DashboardPlus may be used for complex dashboards...providing a
very good mastery of Excel and even VBA (the programming language attached to Excel)
Q: Is there a limit to the number of components that could be created in a single dashboard
?
A: Yes! But practically you should not get to that limit
Q: How many colored sections can the dial gauge include?
A: Up to 5 fully customized sections
Q: Can the dashboard be automatically updated by external data?
A: Yes, as Excel may easily import data from any external source. Some macro may required
Q: Can the dashboards be copied to the clipboard or saved to an image file?
A: Of course!
Q: Can the dashboards be published on the web?
A: The dashboards may be saved to HTML easily publishable files. There is a possibility to
automate the refreshing process so that the web site will remain continuously updated
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33. KPI'S
Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI's are quantifiable measurements that help an
organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals
Other names used in the literature:-
KPI – Key Process Indicator
KCI – Key Control Indicator
KRI – Key Risk Indicator
KSI- Key Success Indicators
Once an organization has analyzed its mission, identified all its stakeholders, and defined its
goals, it needs a way to measure progress toward those goals. Key Performance Indicators
are those measurements. They can be set at all the levels of the organization and for any
topic
Modern managerial theories encourage organizations to manage a system of KPI’s across
the company .The Balanced Scorecard is maybe the most noticeable one
As a rule of thumb, a BU (Businesses Unit) should strive for 10-15 KPI's
A KPI is a mathematical formula whose output is a single number which should faithfully
reflect the“ state” of the measured topic .Employees’ turnover ,)%( Percentage of customer
calls answered in the first minute, Customer satisfaction average score, Time to market, # of
bugs per 1000 lines of code…are examples of KPI’s
Besides their functional aspects, KPI’s and the process for defining them have been shown
to be a very effective tool for helping an organization to focus on its most important
objectives and to communicate them to managers and employees
As experts in KPI's design, the authors of this software have also found that the process of
defining a KPI for a topic is a great way for well understanding the topic and thus have
coined the slogan "If you and to truly understand, try to measure..."
The design of KPI’s for a topic includes the following steps
Agreeing on the topic to be measured
Brain storming about what it is considered as success/performance/failure for that topic
Identifying a set of possible valid KPI’s which could faithfully reflect the topic
Deciding about the few feasible KPI’s to retain
Detailed design of each KPI (formula, source of inputs, frequency of calculation….)
Deciding about the KPI owner (the person responsible to ensure that the KPI is calculated at
each defined period)
First run “production” of the KPI’s and establishment of baselines, benchmarks, alarm
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34. zones….
Design of the way to visualize the KPI’s and who should see the on a current basis
We like to draw an analogy between organizational KPI's and the most known human health
KPI such as its body temperature. KPI's are indeed a kind of temperature gauges intended to
measure some aspects of the body's "performance"
Defining and designing good KPI's is of tremendous importance as they are often the
meaningful factors for supporting strategic managerial decisions. It is why it is critical to
deserve enough time and resources for the design process and ensure that each KPI fulfill
the following criteria:
Valid Reliable-Producible and maintainable-Communicable-"Benchmarkable"
There is usually some confusion between the term KPI which is basically a neutral
mathematical formula and some other terms as OBJECTIVES (the direction we wish the
measured topic to take) and TARGETS (the value of the KPI we aspire to see in the future)
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35. KPI standardization
KPI’s may be of any nature so that they can have different units of measure such as %, $,
Defects/units...
An interesting and unique feature of DashboardPlus is the ability to transform any KPI into a
standardized value between 1-10, making all the KPI's identically scaled, thus comparable
between different KPI's
The standardization is performed by transforming the original values by way of linear
interpolation. Both the KPI values and the colored sections values are standardized
The standardization requires determining the nature of the KPI:-
LTB- Larger The Better (%Profitability, Avg. Customer satisfaction, # of loyal
employees...)
STB- Smaller Te Better (#Defects/unit, %defecting customers, Average Time
to answer...)
NTB- Nominal The Best, meaning that the target is a range of values
LTB is the default value for the KPI nature
For STB KPI's, the original sections colors are inversed as the standard value is always of LTB
nature
Standardization of NTB KPI's is not supported by DashboardPlus
Standardization is applicable for both the Dial and the Angle gauges component
Standardization will take place after "Apply" button is pressed
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36. Export to HTML
As the application has the ability to export them as HTML files, dashboards created by
DashboardPlus can be published on the WEB. Moreover the export function can be
automated so that a continuously updated view of the dashboards is available for publishing
Activation of the automating export and refresh is achieved by pressing "Automate HTML" in
the DashboardPlus toolbar in Excel:-
At the time interval selected, each selected dashboard will be loaded and exported to its
HTML file
The resulting HTML files (one for each selected dashboard) will be saved in the C:/ directory
together with a BMP image of the specific dashboard. The files will be refreshed
continuously until you stop the process
In Windows7 64 bits, the files will be saved in "C:UsersPublic"
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37. DashboardPlus-ReadOnly free utility
DashboardPlus-ReadOnly utility enables your colleagues to load DashboardPlus Excel files
and look at the dashboards you have created
Dashboards could not be edited in that mode, but any change in the relevant Excel sheets
will be reflected onto the dashboards in that file unless the sheet or file are protected
You may download the free utility here
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