Setting up variables for dashboard queries

To add a variable

1. On any dashboard, click Dashboard settings .
2. On the left navigation bar, click Variables.
3. On the Variables page, click New.

4. Depending on the variable type that you select, add the remaining options. For more information about variable types, click here.

5. Click Add.
6. On the left navigation pane, click Save dashboard.

To manage variables

On a dashboard, click Dashboard settings.

On the navigation pane, click Variables, and perform the following tasks:

On the navigation pane, click Save dashboard.

To configure the variable for supported report formats

As a tenant administrator or editor, configure the supported report formats for any of the out-of-the-box BMC Helix ITSM Printable dashboards or any custom dashboard using the supported_report_types variable. After you specify the supported report formats by using this variable, users will only see those formats when they download or schedule reports:

1. On a dashboard, click Dashboard settings .
2. On the navigation bar, click Variables.
3. Click supported_report_types variable from the list of variables.
4. From the Hide menu, select Variable.
5. In the Values separated by comma field, specify the supported report types, separated by commas, and click Update. 
   For example, specify PDF,XLS,CSV to enable users to download dashboards or schedule reports in all three formats. 

To filter the Service Dashboard by services

As a tenant administrator or editor, filter the Service Dashboard by services. By default, the Service Dashboard displays data for the business services that are present in your tenant. By using variables, you can choose to display the metrics either for business or for technical services. 

1. On the Service Dashboard, click Dashboard settings .
2. On the navigation bar, click Variables.
3. Create a new variable and configure the following options:
   • Name—Specify a name for the variable.
     For example, let's specify serviceName as the name of the variable.
   • Type—Select Query.
   • Label—Specify a label. 
     For example, let's specify Service Name.

   • Query—Specify the following query to display the business services in your tenant:

     smartgraph,{"query":"search BusinessService show #id,name","displayName":"name"}
4. Click Update.
   
   

Examples

• Specify the following query to display the list of business services that are mentioned in the query:

  smartgraph,{"query":"search BusinessService where name in ['KM Service', 'Windows Service'] show #id,name","displayName":"#id"}

  where the data is displayed for the KM and Windows services.

• Specify the following query to display all the business services that contain Windows in their names:

  smartgraph,{"query":"search BusinessService where os_type has subword "Windows" show #id,name","displayName":"#id"}

To display the filter data with NULL values

As a tenant administrator, filter data that contains NULL values in a dashboard. This information can help you identify missing data or incomplete records in a dashboard. 

1. On a dashboard, click Dashboard settings .
2. On the navigation bar, click Variables.
3. On the Variables page, click the appropriate filter variable for which you want to filter the data.
4. In the next screen, select Include all option and enter the following GUID in the Custom all value field:
   'ARJDBC6460AC66AB204CA7BE8869BB9AF532F9'
5. Select Apply > Save dashboard.