---
title: Create custom data visualizations with dashboards
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/introduction-dashboards
---

Through our UI you can build and share tailored user-friendly charts and visualizations. Go to our dashboard capability to gather and chart the specific data you want to see, the way you want to see it, from anywhere in our platform.

## Why it matters [#dashboards-features]

With our dashboards you can customize and understand the data you collect. Explore your data and correlate connected sources with charts and quickly learn the state of your system and applications for faster, more efficient troubleshooting.

Use dashboards to:

-   Drive insight with custom, high-density interactive visualizations with a consistent UI.
-   Chart all the events and attributes from everywhere across our platform. For more information, see [Data collection](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/data-apis/understand-data/new-relic-data-types/).
-   [Add custom attributes](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/data-apis/custom-data/custom-events/apm-report-custom-events-attributes/#steps) or [send custom event types](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/data-apis/ingest-apis/event-api/introduction-event-api/#workflow) to most events in order to better understand your business, and see specific details about how your customers interact with your platform, such as page views, host transactions, etc.
-   [Manage your charts and dashboards](#get-started) easily using our quick-access CRUD menus and editing options.
-   Explore and contextualize data with [advanced tooltips and zoom-in functions](#key-visual-tools) to monitor what your systems are doing in real time.
-   Search your dashboards for attributes and metrics.
-   [Report custom data](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/data-apis/custom-data/get-custom-data-from-any-source/) to New Relic and your dashboards from any source.
-   Share dashboards with stakeholders outside your New Relic organization via [publicly accessible live dashboard URLs](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/share-dashboards-publicly).

## Get started with dashboards [#get-started]

Go to **[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com/all-capabilities)** and click on **Dashboards**.

In the dashboards index, you can view all the dashboards and data apps associated with your New Relic account. You can also view the [popular pre-built dashboards](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/prebuilt-dashboards/).

![Dashboards index](https://docs.newrelic.com/images/dashboards_screenshot-full_dashboard-index.webp "Dashboards index")

Go to **[one.newrelic.com > All capabilities](https://one.newrelic.com/all-capabilities) > Dashboards** to open the Dashboard index.

For each dashboard, the index displays the following information:

-   [Favorite status](#dashboards-favorite), indicated by a star
-   Name: The name of the dashboard
-   Account: The account the dashboard belongs to
-   Created by: The user who created the dashboard
-   Last edited: When the dashboard was last modified
-   Created on: When the dashboard was created

Here you can carry out the following actions:

**Create a new dashboard**

Follow these steps:

1.  Select the **+ Create a dashboard** button located at the top-right corner of the dashboards index.

2.  Select the **Create a new dashboard** option.

3.  Name your dashboard. [Names are searchable](#dashboards-search), so we recommend giving a meaningful name using words that will help you locate your dashboard easily. For example, you can use the name of your service or application.

4.  Select the account the dashboard belongs to. Choose carefully because **this action can't be modified**.

5.  Select the permissions you want for your dashboard. The [**Edit - everyone in account**](#dashboards-permissions) permissions are selected by default. Later, you can change them from the [settings menu](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#dash-settings) once you access the dashboard.

6.  Press **Create** to continue, or **Back** to return to the index.

7.  Click the **+ Add widget** button or click inside one of the quadrants to add a new widget. There are 2 options:

    -   **Add a chart**, where you need to use the [query builder](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/chart-builder/use-chart-builder/get-started/introduction-chart-builder).
    -   **Add text, images, or links**, where you'll add your widget using our [markdown editor](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#markdown).

    Alternatively, you can also create a new dashboard:

-   By [**duplicating**](#dashboards-clone) an existing dashboard.
-   From any chart: Copy any chart from any dashboard to a new or an existing dashboard.
-   From **[metrics and events](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/browse-data/introduction-data-explorer/)** or the [**query builder**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/query-builder/introduction-query-builder/): Add any chart you create from our querying features to a new or an existing dashboard.
-   From the [**explorer**](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/new-relic-solutions/new-relic-one/core-concepts/new-relic-explorer-view-performance-across-apps-services-hosts/): Take any custom view from the entity manager over to dashboards.

    To organize dashboards with multiple pages, see [Add pages to a dashboard](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#add-pages-edit).

**Duplicate a dashboard**

Click the  icon of the dashboard you want to duplicate and select the **Duplicate dashboard** option.

![Duplicate a dashboard](https://docs.newrelic.com/images/dashboards_screenshot-full_duplicate.webp "Duplicate a dashboard")

Go to **[one.newrelic.com > All capabilities](https://one.newrelic.com/all-capabilities) > Dashboards** to open the dashboard index and select the **Duplicate dashboard** option.

Follow these steps:

1.  Name your dashboard. The duplicated dashboard is named like the original dashboard followed by the word "copy". For example, if you duplicate a dashboard named `this is my dashboard`, the duplicate will be created as `this is my dashboard copy`. You can edit the name and change it.

2.  Select the account the dashboard belongs to. Choose carefully because **this action can't be modified**.

3.  Select the permissions you want for your dashboard. The [**Edit - everyone in account**](#dashboards-permissions) permissions are selected by default. Later, you can change them from the [settings menu](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#dash-settings) once you access the dashboard.

4.  Press **Create** to continue, or **Cancel** to return to the index.

5.  You'll see a short message at the bottom-right corner to inform you that the dashboard has been created. You'll see 2 buttons, **Open** and **Dismiss**.

    > #### 💡 TIP
    >
    > The index displays dashboards according to [sorting](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/introduction-dashboards/#dashboards-search). To quickly find your duplicated dashboard, sort the dashboards by creation date. The new dashboard appears on top.

**Delete a dashboard**

Click the  icon of the dashboard you want to delete and select the **Delete** option.

You can only delete a dashboard if you created it, or if it has **Edit - everyone in account** permissions. For more information, [see the permissions information](#dashboards-permissions).

You can also delete a dashboard from the [settings menu](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#dash-settings) of a dashboard.

**Import a dashboard**

You can import a dashboard as JSON when you want to modify an out-of-the-box dashboard at the code level. For example, if you want to create a custom dashboard by merging two existing dashboards together, you can modify a base dashboard’s JSON and then import it back to New Relic.

To import a dashboard as JSON:

1.  Go to **[one.newrelic.com > All capabilities](https://one.newrelic.com/all-capabilities) > Dashboards**.
2.  Open an existing dashboard’s JSON by click the **...**, then select **Copy JSON**.
3.  Go back to the **Dashboards** page.
4.  In the top-right corner, click **Import dashboard**.
5.  Paste your JSON code.
6.  Choose the account and permission settings for the dashboard. You can’t change the account once you’ve set it, but you can [change the permissions](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#dash-settings) at any time.
7.  Click **Save**.

**Mark a dashboard as favorite**

Clicking the star icon next to a dashboard toggles on or off the favorites. When you click it, the icon turns yellow. When you favorite a dashboard, it's grouped with other favorite dashboards at the top of the list.

To remove a dashboard from your favorites, select the star icon again.

**Search and sort dashboards**

You can **search** dashboards by dashboard name, tags, and author using the search box above the index.

![Searching dashboards](https://docs.newrelic.com/images/dashboards_screenshot-crop_sort-menu.webp "Searching dashboards")

You can also **sort** the dashboards in the index. By default, dashboards you edited recently are at the top of the index in both the [favorited and non-favorited sections](#dashboards-favorite). To change this order, you can sort both sections by any of the columns in the index, your most recent sort is displayed next time you access New Relic.

**See metadata and tags**

Click the  icon of the dashboard you want to see its metadata and tags and select the **See metadata & tags** option.

## Dashboard permissions [#dashboards-permissions]

Dashboards have three types of permissions:

-   **Edit - everyone in account**: All users have full rights to the dashboard.
-   **Read-only - everyone in account**: All users are able to see the dashboard, but only you've full rights to work with the dashboard. Other users can access the dashboard but are not able to edit or delete it, although they can duplicate it.
-   **Private**: Only the owner of the dashboard can see the dashboard. Everything but the metadata is hidden.

When you [create a dashboard](#dashboards-create-new) using the **Create a dashboard** button or by [duplicating](#dashboards-clone) another dashboard, it will have **Edit - everyone in account** rights by default. Later, you can change them from the [settings menu](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/manage-your-dashboard/#dash-settings) once you access the dashboard.

-   **Account association**: Every dashboard is a resource that belongs to the account in which it was created. This association does not change. If the account to which it belongs is canceled, any dashboards within it will no longer be accessible.
-   **User ownership**: The user ID that creates a dashboard is its owner. Ownership determines who has the right to manage the dashboard's permissions.

For example, If the owner user ID is deleted, the dashboard is not removed from the account it belongs to. It persists with its last-known permissions, but because the owner is gone, those permissions can no longer be managed or changed. The solution to this would be to [duplicate the dashboard](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/introduction-dashboards/#dashboards-clone) and the user that does that will be the owner of the duplicate. If the original dashboard that was duplicated is **Edit - everyone in account** then it can then be deleted. If the If the original dashboard that was duplicated is **Read-only - everyone in account** then you would need to [reach out to support] \(/docs/licenses/license-information/general-usage-licenses/global-technical-support-offerings/#support-channels) and request to have it deleted. The dashboard's unique entity ID will be need to be provided in that request.

## Create and manage dashboards via API [#nerdgraph]

You can use [our NerdGraph API](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/apis/nerdgraph/examples/nerdgraph-dashboards) to create and manage dashboards. Our API gives you access to more features than the UI: for example, you can create dashboards with data from multiple accounts.

You can also [add tags with NerdGraph](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/new-relic-solutions/new-relic-one/core-concepts/use-tags-help-organize-find-your-data/#add-tags). You can filter your dashboards using tags, which can be helpful to identify users, accounts, locations, and more.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Do you use Datadog to monitor your infrastructure and want to try out New Relic's monitoring capabilities for free? [See our guide](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/tutorial-dd-migration/migrating-from-dd/) on how to migrate from Datadog to learn how.