Tables, KPI cards, key insights and text
Besides charts, a dashboard can hold tables, a strip of KPI cards, a Key insights section and text blocks you write yourself. This page covers the editor for each one, plus the glossary you can publish with the board.
All of these are edited in the dashboard editor by anyone with edit access to the board. Click the object on the canvas (or the Edit button on its hover toolbar) and its editor opens in the right-hand panel. Changes preview live on the canvas. Save changes keeps them and Cancel puts things back the way they were. In Preview and on the published board, clicking an object does not open an editor. See The dashboard editor for the editor as a whole.
Tables
Add a table from Add → Chart → Table, or ask the chat for one. To edit it, click the table on the canvas. The panel opens with the table's title, or Edit table if it has none. The footer reads "Numbers are always computed from your data — you shape how the table reads."
Choose a table layout: Summary, Cross-tab or Records
The first group in the panel is Layout. It sets the table's shape.
| Layout | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Summary | One measure aggregated by a dimension, with a % of total. |
| Cross-tab | A grid of one dimension against another. Pairs well with a heatmap. |
| Records | The raw matching rows, one per line, with no aggregation. |
Under Built from you pick the fields from dropdowns:
| Control | Layouts | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Dimension dropdown | Summary, Records | The dimension the rows are grouped by. |
| Two dimension dropdowns | Cross-tab | The rows and the columns of the grid. When you switch to Cross-tab, the rows take the current dimension and the columns take the next one. |
| Measure dropdown | All | The number in the cells. |
| Sum / Average | Summary, Cross-tab | How the measure is rolled up. |
| Rows (stepper) | Summary, Records | How many rows show, from 3 to 25. The default is 10, or 12 for a Records table. |
| Sort rows | Summary | High → low (default) or Low → high. |
Cross-tab tables have no row count or sort. The panel cannot choose which source columns a Records table lists, or their order. Ask the chat to change those.
For example, to show revenue for the top 5 regions, choose Summary, set the dimension to Region and the measure to Revenue, set the Rows stepper to 5, and keep Sort rows on High → low.
Format table columns
Open the Style group for table-wide options:
- Totals row: adds a totals row. On by default for Summary and Cross-tab tables.
- Zebra striping: shades alternate rows. On by default. It is turned off while any column uses a heatmap.
To format one column, click its header in the preview (Live preview · click a column to format it). The column inspector opens:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Column name | Renames the column header. |
| Move left / Move right | Changes the column's position. |
| Hide column | Removes the column from the table. Not available on the last remaining column. |
| Format | Number, Currency or Percent (numeric columns). Currency uses the board's currency symbol, or $ if none is set. |
| Decimals | 0, 1 or 2 (numeric columns). |
| Align | Left or right. Numbers align right by default. |
| Data bar (bars icon) | Draws a bar in each cell, sized by its value (numeric columns). |
| Heatmap (flame icon) | Shades each cell by its value (numeric columns). |
Some formatting is on from the start: in a Summary table the second column gets a data bar, and in a Cross-tab the numeric columns get a heatmap.
In a Summary table, Add column adds the next unused measure as an extra column. The button disappears when there are no measures left.
The panel has no way to bring back a hidden column once you save. If you hide one by mistake, click Cancel before saving.
KPI cards
Click the KPI strip on the canvas to open Edit KPIs. Here you edit, add and remove the cards. The panel says: "The number is always computed from your data — you choose the metric, format and labels."
Change the look of the KPI strip
Look sets the card style: Cards, Accent, Tinted or Strip. It applies to the KPI strip on every page and saves as soon as you pick it, without waiting for Save changes.
Let readers see the rows behind a card
Under Readers can, the See the rows toggle lets a reader click a card to see the records behind it. It applies to the whole strip, and only signed-in viewers get it. It appears only where the board can serve rows.
Add, remove and edit KPI cards
The Cards list shows every card. A star marks the highlighted card. Click a card to edit it, click Add KPI to add one, or click its bin (for example "Remove West revenue") to delete it. The count at the foot of the panel reads, for example, "4 of 8 cards".
Each card has these fields:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Metric | The measure the card shows. The value is always aggregated from the data. |
| Aggregation | Sum (default), Average, Min, Max, Count, Distinct, Median or Std dev. Distinct counts unique values. |
| Label | The card's caption. |
| Decimals | 0, 1 or 2. |
| Prefix / Suffix | A symbol before or after the number, such as $ or %. Clear the box to show no symbol. |
| Show delta | Shows the ↑ / ↓ % change against last month. On by default. |
| Sparkline | Shows a small trend line under the value. On by default. If sparklines are turned off for the page, this is disabled with "Sparklines are hidden for this page — ask the assistant to show sparklines." |
| Highlight | Makes this the hero card. Only one card can be highlighted. |
Limits: a strip holds up to 8 cards, and at least one card must remain. A board that already has more than 8 shows its own count as the limit.
Limit a KPI card to some rows
Rows this card reads shows which rows feed the card, for example "Every row" or "Region = West". Click Add condition to add a field, an operator and a value; sample values appear as chips you can click. Conditions you leave half-finished are dropped when you save.
For example, to show West-region revenue on its own card, click Add KPI, set Metric to Revenue and Label to "West revenue", then add the condition Region = West.
Some card settings are only available through the chat, not the panel: which direction counts as good (this sets the delta color), averages per entity, and a card icon.
Key insights
The Key insights section lists findings Mammoth computes from your data. Click it on the canvas to open Edit key insights. You choose how many show and which kind come first. "Pin to lock it above the line, hide to drop it — every number stays computed from your data."
To turn the section on or off, use Design → Format → Sections (see Dashboard themes).
Choose how many key insights show
- Look: List, Tinted, Cards, Numbered or Banner. Like the KPI look, it saves immediately and applies to every page.
- How many: a − / + stepper showing how many are shown and how many are available. The minimum is 1. The maximum is the number available, so hiding insights lowers it.
Choose the focus of key insights
Focus decides which kind of insight ranks first:
| Focus | What it favors |
|---|---|
| Auto | Mammoth picks the most newsworthy mix for this data. |
| Leaders | Who's winning and by how much: ranks, gaps, dominance. |
| Momentum | What's moving: growth, spikes, month-over-month shifts. |
| Risk | What needs attention: laggards, declines, concentration. |
| Mix | A balanced spread across every kind of insight. |
Pin or hide a kind of insight
What will appear lists the insights in ranked order, with a cut line after the number you chose to show. Each row has a type tag (leader, gap, momentum, laggard, concentration, peak, quality or spread) and Pin and Hide buttons.
- Pin keeps that insight above the cut line.
- Hide drops it. Hidden insights move to the Hidden tray, where Show brings them back.
Pin and Hide act on the type tag, not on a single row. Hiding one momentum insight hides every momentum insight, so think of it as "hide this kind of insight".
If nothing matches, the list reads "No insights match — try a different focus, or unhide some below."
When the title band uses the board's lead insight as its subtitle, that insight appears under In the header instead of in the list. To list it in the section again, edit the title band and clear Use the board’s lead insight (see Title band and cover page).
Some boards have insights written for them by the AI. For those, the panel shows only the count and the note "These insights were written for this dashboard. Choose how many appear." There is no Focus, Pin or Hide.
Text blocks
A text block holds words you write: a note, a caveat, a source line, next steps. It is not read from the data, so filters never change it.
Add one from Add → Chart, then the Text tile. Searching the gallery for "caveat", "methodology", "source" or "note" also opens the Text tile with that style already chosen. To edit a text block later, click it on the canvas.
Text block styles
Pick a Style:
| Style | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Heading | Dividing the page. Type and a rule, not a card. |
| Lead | The board's answer in one sentence, above everything. |
| Note | Commentary on what the numbers mean. This is the default. |
| Callout | A limit on what the numbers cover (a caveat). |
| Reference | How something was counted (methodology). |
| Source | Where the data came from. |
| Steps | What happens next, and who is doing it. |
| Ask | A question a reader can run for themselves. |
Write and format the text
- Heading (optional, up to 120 characters). Not shown for the Heading and Ask styles.
- Text, with Formatting buttons for Bold, Italic, Link and Bulleted list (no list for Source). You can also type the markup:
**bold**,_italic_,-for list items and[links](url). - Steps style: one row per step (up to 200 characters) with an Owner box (up to 60). The owner is free text, not an assignment.
- Ask style: Questions, one per line. A new blank row appears as you type. A reader who clicks a question opens the Q&A page with it already asked. If the board has no Q&A page, the questions show but don't click through. See Explore and Q&A.
An empty block can't be added. The footer reads "Write something to add it".
Insert live tokens in text
A live token is a placeholder the board fills in every time it renders, so the line never goes out of date. Click { } ("Insert something the board fills in") in the text editor and pick one. The same button is on a chart's Add a caption box (see Editing a chart).
| Token | Fills in |
|---|---|
{updated} | When this board was last built |
{filters} | What the reader has filtered to |
{range} | The period the data covers |
{rows} | How many rows it covers |
{dataset} | The dataset this board reads |
For example, a Source block reading "Data from {dataset}, updated {updated}" stays correct after every refresh.
The menu only offers tokens this board can answer. For example, there is no {range} on a board without a date field. If any token in the text can't be resolved, the whole text shows "(couldn’t be determined)", and hovering it explains which token the board cannot determine. Braces that are not tokens print as ordinary text.
Publish a glossary with the dashboard
A glossary publishes definitions of your terms with the board. Readers get:
- a Glossary link in the header that opens the list of terms;
- the first use of each term on the board underlined, with its definition on hover;
- a printed Glossary section at the end of the last content page, for PDF and print.
To set it up, click the title band, then under What a reader can ask use Publish a glossary. Next to it are the term count ("No terms yet" when empty) and Edit terms.
Edit terms opens the Glossary dialog ("These definitions travel with the board"):
- Each row has a Term and "What it means on this board", with a Remove bin.
- Add a term adds a row.
- Restore from context appears when the board's attached context files define terms. If you have made edits, it asks "Replace every term with the context's definitions?" first.
- Cancel / Save.
How it behaves:
- The Publish a glossary checkbox stays disabled until there is at least one term. Edit terms is always available.
- Saving a list with terms turns publishing on. Saving an empty list turns it off.
- Rows with only a term or only a definition are dropped when you save, with a message such as "One unfinished term was not saved".
- Until you edit the list, the board publishes the terms from its context files and follows changes to them. Terms from context show the context's name as their source. After your first edit, your list is used as it is, and rewording a context term removes its source credit.
See Context for context files.