Introducing dashboard folders

One of the most common challenges our users face is navigating a growing number of dashboards as their SquaredUp usage increases. That's where dashboard folders come in! We’ve designed dashboard folders to help our users stay organized, even in large and complex environments.

Here are some ways we think dashboard folders can improve your dashboard organization and navigation:

• Managing dashboard collections: Folders help users with many dashboards organize by project, team, or application, streamlining navigation.
• Catering to different user needs: Folders allow quick access to summary dashboards for executives and detailed ones for specialists, ensuring everyone finds what they need efficiently.
• Out-of-the-box dashboards: Dashboards from our plugins are automatically grouped into folders for easier management.
• New user orientation: Folder structures help new users navigate the product easily, providing a clear starting point.
• Organizing by usage: Dashboards can be grouped by frequency, keeping ones for daily / weekly check-ins accessible and others, like quarterly reports, in separate folders.

How to use dashboard folders

To get started with dashboard folders, head over to the left-hand navigation bar and select the option to create folders. You can create as many folders as needed, allowing you to structure your dashboards in a way that best suits your needs.

If your projects require a deeper level of organization, you can even nest folders within folders, creating a clear hierarchy for easy access. For instance, under a main folder like "Marketing," you can create subfolders such as "Campaign Performance," "Website Analytics," and "SEO Metrics."

Once your folders are set up, organizing your dashboards is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the appropriate folder. You can also create new dashboards directly within a folder to keep things organized from the beginning.

Workspaces vs. Folders

While workspaces are still used to manage access control and larger groupings (like apps or teams), folders add another layer of organization within each workspace. Folders make it easy to group dashboards without cluttering the navigation bar.

Workspaces are perfect for managing access control, health roll-ups and application dependencies, while folders handle specific dashboard groupings.

Behind the scenes: How we built dashboard folders

The idea for dashboard folders came from increasing customer feedback around this need. As teams started managing more dashboards, they needed a better way to organize them. We initially recommended using workspaces, but as environments grew more complex, a lighter solution was required.

Inspired by tools software like MacOS and Windows, we set out to build a folder system that was easy to use and could fit into our existing platform. One of the challenges was ensuring that folders didn’t overwhelm the navigation bar, especially for users with thousands of dashboards.

We kept workspaces for managing larger groups and access control but designed folders for more specific needs, like grouping dashboards by department, project, or frequency of use. After rounds of testing and feedback, we landed on the current version of Dashboard Folders, making it easier for all users to navigate their dashboards efficiently.

Kudos to our design and engineering teams for building such an easy way to manage folders! Want to see all that SquaredUp has to offer? Sign-up here.