Using the Metadata plugin, themes, and languages to limit duplication of dashboards

Using the Metadata plugin, themes, and languages to limit duplication of dashboards 

Do you end up with many copies of the same dashboard because your different users want to see their dashboards using their color schemes and their naming conventions?  Plus, does it need to support multiple languages?

Below is an example that uses the metadata plugin, themes, and language preferences to take 6 dashboards down to 1.

Scenario

I have a standard dashboard that all of my customers will use;  It will be run by both English and French users.  I have 2 large customers (Coke and Pepsi - only used for illustration purposes and not real customers) who want to view that same dashboard but want it to use their terminology for both their English and French users and their color scheme.   

Using no configuration within Sisense this would require 6 different dashboards to be created and maintained.  Below are the steps to create and maintain a single dashboard that has all the functionality of the above.

The Setup

1. Metadata plugin
The first step is to use the metadata plugin but we’ve modified it to separate out the translation into separate files from the logic (version used attached).  Take the attached metadata.zip file, add it to your plugins folder, and enable the plugin.

Files:

Enabled plugin

For the plugin, the logic to pick which language file is in the main.6.js file.  In the below example, if the user is in the Coke user group and their preferred language is French then use the cokeFrench translation (which is in the file CokeFrench.js). 

The terminology to use is in the language file itself (i.e. CokeFrench.js).  For example, the dashboard called “Test Branding” should be displayed as “Vraie magie” for users in the Coke group whose preferred language is French. 

2. User’s preferred language

All users should have their preferred language set within Sisense which will allow the plugin to choose which language to show.  

3. Themes

Themes allow the same dashboard to have a different look and feel for different users.  These are configured within the Admin panel of Sisense. 

Here we have a default theme along with new themes for Pepsi and Coke.

Sample of Pepsi and Coke themes with custom fonts, different color schemes, etc.

These themes will then be applied to user groups which will allow the same dashboard to have a different look and feel for each user group.

Results

The initial dashboard is shown in English below with all the terminology defined and changed by the metadata plugin marked with a circle.  

Regular user in English

Regular users using the French translations

Pepsi views in English and French using their dashboard name, widget title, dimension names and formula names. 

Coke views in English and French using their dashboard name, widget title, dimension names and formula names.


Success!  We have 1 dashboard to maintain and it can be viewed in 6 different ways.  

How you can test yourself

To test the above for yourself you will need to have the following setup:

• Test Branding dashboard (TestBranding.txt - rename to TestBranding.dash to import)
• Modified metadata plugin files (metadata.zip) installed and enabled
• Sample Healthcare data model which is deployed with Sisense
• Coke and Pepsi user groups with users in each.  You don’t have to have an English and French user as you can just modify the user’s language in the profile to see if the translation is working properly.
• Coke and Pepsi themes if you want to have a different look and feel for each user group