This documentation relates to Gadgets and Dashboards 3.0.x
If you are using an earlier version, please view the previous versions of the Gadgets documentation and select the relevant version.

This page tells you how to change the way a gadget looks and behaves on your dashboard, based on the configurable properties supplied by the gadget.

On this page:

Hiding or Changing the Color of the Gadget's Frame

You can change the color of the frame surrounding a gadget on your dashboard. You can even hide the gadget's frame altogether, so that it only shows when you move your mouse pointer over the gadget. In the screenshot below, the top two gadgets have hidden frames. The frame for the top gadget on the left is not visible. The frame for the top gadget on the right is currently visible because the mouse pointer is hovering over the gadget.

To hide or change the color of a gadget's frame,

  1. Go to the dashboard by clicking the 'Dashboard' link or the 'Home' link at the top left of the screen.
  2. The dashboard will appear, looking something like the screenshot below. Move your mouse pointer over the gadget you want to change. If the gadget's frame is hidden, the frame will appear now.
  3. Click the dropdown menu icon at top right of the gadget frame.
  4. The dropdown menu will appear, as shown in the screenshot below. Click the color you want for your gadget's frame. To hide the gadget's frame, select the white color box with the red line through it.


Screenshot: Hiding or changing the color of a gadget's frame

Minimising and Expanding a Gadget

You can shrink (minimize) a gadget on your dashboard so that it displays only the top bar of the gadget frame.

  • If you minimize a gadget that has a hidden frame, the gadget will not be visible on the dashboard until you move your mouse pointer over the gadget. See the section above on hiding or changing the color of the gadget frame.
  • You can minimize/expand a gadget even if you do not have update permissions on the dashboard.
  • The minimize/expand setting is stored in a cookie, and is not saved to the dashboard server.

To minimize a gadget,

  1. Move your mouse pointer over the gadget you want to change.
  2. The gadget menu icons will appear. Click the dropdown menu icon at top right of the gadget frame.
  3. The dropdown menu will appear, as shown in the screenshot above. Click 'Minimize'.

To expand a gadget that has been minimized,

  1. Move your mouse pointer over the gadget you want to change.
  2. The gadget menu icons will appear. Click the dropdown menu icon at top right of the gadget frame.
  3. The dropdown menu will appear. Click 'Expand'.


Screenshot: A minimized gadget (Introduction Gadget)

Opening the Maximized or Canvas View of a Gadget

Some gadgets allow you to expand themselves so that they take up the entire space allowed by the dashboard. This is also known as 'canvas view'.

  • The maximized or canvas view of a gadget often provides additional functionality, i.e. more than is available in the standard view of the gadget.
  • This is not the same as minimising and then expanding a gadget (see above).
  • Only some gadgets provide the maximized or canvas view.
  • You can open the canvas view of a gadget even if you do not have update permissions on the dashboard.
  • The maximized/canvas view setting is stored in a cookie, and is not saved to the dashboard server.

To open the maximized or canvas view of a gadget,

  1. Move your mouse pointer over the gadget you want to change.
  2. The gadget menu icons will appear. Click the maximize icon at top right of the gadget frame. This icon will appear only if the gadget provides a maximized or canvas view.
  3. The gadget's maximized view will open, as shown in the screenshot below.

To close the canvas view and return to your dashboard,

  1. Click the 'Restore' option at the top right of the screen, or the 'Restore' icon at top right of the gadget frame.


Screenshot: The maximized or canvas view of a gadget

Editing a Gadget's Settings

Some gadgets provide specific properties or settings that you can edit. These settings will be different for each gadget. For example, a gadget may allow you to customize its welcome message, or to define the server where the gadget will find its information.

To edit a gadget's settings,

  1. Move your mouse pointer over the gadget you want to change.
  2. The gadget menu icons will appear. Click the dropdown menu icon at top right of the gadget frame.
  3. The dropdown menu will appear. Click 'Edit'.
  4. A panel will open, showing the settings offered by the selected gadget.
  5. Adjust the settings as required then click 'Save'.

Notes about Different Dashboards

Differing Look and Functionality

The screenshots on this page show the basic Atlassian dashboard layout. The layout will be similar in all applications that support the new Atlassian Gadgets framework. However, there may be slight differences in the look and feel for a particular application and some applications may have additional functionality. For example, JIRA will allow you to create multiple dashboards on separate tabs. The extra functionality is described in the documentation for the application concerned.

Permission to Update a Dashboard and its Gadgets

Your ability to update the gadgets on a dashboard depends on the application hosting the dashboard. Most applications will require you to log in before you can update the dashboard. Your ability to update the dashboard may then depend on the permissions assigned to your username.

Visibility of Your Changes

Who will see the changes you have made to the dashboard? This depends on the application hosting the dashboard:

  • In most cases, you will need to log in to the application before you can update the dashboard, and your updates will apply only to your personal dashboard.
  • Some applications allow dashboards that are shared by groups of people. If you have permission to update a shared dashboard, the other people sharing the dashboard will see your changes too.
  • If you have permission to update an application's default dashboard, your changes to the default dashboard will be seen by anyone who views that dashboard.

When you minimise/expand a gadget or open the canvas view, the dashboard will 'remember' the change by saving the setting in a cookie. The change is not saved to the dashboard server. This has a few implications:

  • The minimise/expand/canvas setting does not affect other users, regardless of your permission level.
  • You can minimise/expand gadgets or open the canvas view on any dashboard you can view, regardless of whether you have permission to update the dashboard.
  • If you switch browsers or computers, each browser and computer will store independent minimise/expand/canvas states.
RELATED TOPICS

Gadgets and Dashboards User Guide

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