Product updates

Append data to a dataset

We’ve just released one of the most highly requested improvements to our Datasets API - the ability to append new records to a dataset without replacing all of the existing ones.

This makes it substantially easier to integrate with data sources that don’t provide access to historic data, as you no longer have to manage that state yourself. Every time you have new data, simply send it to us and we’ll take care of adding and updating the records in your dataset.

Support for the new append method is available in both our Node and Ruby client libraries, and you can read more about how to use it on our developer site.

Dashboard headings

We’ve just released an update to our text widget that now enables you to add simple, clear headings to groups of widgets, or your dashboard as a whole. Headings have a larger font size than widget titles, and are useful for adding extra context to your metrics that can be seen from a distance.

Within our text widget you’ll now see the option to create headings that are 1, 2, 3 or 4 widgets wide, or ‘full width’ for larger dashboards.

Filter a Dataset

When building a widget from a Dataset, you’ll now be able to apply filters to the underlying data. Filters make it possible to use a single, large dataset to create a variety of more specific widgets.

For example, a Dataset that contained worldwide sales data could be filtered to show ‘Total Sales from US and UK’, or ‘Average deal size for non-US countries’, alongside aggregate statistics such as ‘Total worldwide Sales’.

You can currently filter on string fields, and we plan to support more types soon.

Multi-Series Column Charts

Today we’ve released a new visualization type for our Spreadsheets integration. You can now plot up to three series on the same chart. This is particularly useful for when you want to track the same metric for multiple segments over time.

Column chart visualization

Today we’re rolling out some major improvements to our column chart visualisation. These include:

Better handling of date and time data

When displaying data plotted against a date or time, column charts will now label axes much more intelligently in order to prevent overcrowding in your widget. For example, if you’re configuring your widget to show weekly data over a year-long period, the column chart may now label each month (rather than every single week), depending on how large the widget is.

In addition, column charts will now handle data points at irregular intervals and missing values much more effectively.

Scaling based on size of data set

When plotting a large set of data, columns within the chart will now scale down to fit within the space available, meaning it’s much easier to display most or all of your dataset within your visualization.

New tooltip

When building a dashboard, hover over a data point on your column chart with your mouse and you’ll notice a new tooltip that displays the exact value that’s plotted.

To begin with just widgets built with our Spreadsheets and Salesforce integrations or our API will be upgraded, with our other integrations following in the coming weeks.

Spreadsheets Text Widget

We’ve just added the text visualization to our Spreadsheets integration! You can use it to display the latest cell in a selection, or loop through the most recent five.

We use it at Geckoboard to show our “What’s new” updates and customer feedback on our Development Team dashboard.

Combined with Google Sheet’s IMPORT features it opens up a multitude of opportunities for what you can display on your board.

Enjoy!

Subscribe to product updates

You can now keep track of updates to Geckoboard by subscribing to our What’s New RSS feed. Just click the Subscribe to updates button at the top of the What’s New section to grab the feed, or paste this link into your RSS reader of choice (eg Feedly).

Preview the contents of a dataset

You can now remind yourself of the structure of a dataset, preview the records in there, and see how long it’s been since it was last updated. This is particularly helpful when you start working with a dataset you’ve not touched in a while, and need a reminder of what’s in it. You can access the dataset preview from the dataset options menu in the navigation bar.

Comparison styling available on Datasets line charts

You can now set comparison styling on one of a line chart’s series. It’s perfect for showing period-over-period comparisons, as it keeps the emphasis on the present period while still giving a point of reference. You’ll find the option in the new Series options menu by clicking the three dots next to any series.

Line chart upgrade

Today we’ve begun rolling out the latest version of our line chart to all our integrations. We’ve started with Mixpanel, but will be rolling out to all our integrations over the next week. Find out more about the change in this blog post.