Salesforce dashboards turn a stack of reports into a single visual snapshot, pipeline by stage, deals by rep, cases by priority, all on one page. The Lightning dashboard builder supports up to 20 components per dashboard, multiple chart types, dashboard-level filters, and dynamic dashboards that show each user their own data.

Here’s how to build one from scratch.

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1. Build the Source Reports First

Every dashboard component is powered by a saved report. Before you build the dashboard, build (or identify) the reports you’ll use:

• Each component can pull from one report.
• Reports must be summary, matrix, or joined to power most chart types. Tabular reports work only for table components and require a row limit.
• Reports must be saved in a folder the dashboard’s running user can access.

If you don’t have the source reports yet, see how to create a report in Salesforce. Build at least 3-6 reports before starting the dashboard so you have material to work with.

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2. Create the Dashboard

1. Click the Dashboards tab. If you don’t see it, use the App Launcher.
2. Click New Dashboard in the top-right.
3. Enter a Name and optional Description.
4. Pick a Folder. Save to Private Dashboards for personal use, or a shared folder if others should see it.
5. Click Create.

The dashboard builder opens with a blank canvas (a 12-column grid in Lightning).

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3. Add Components

Components are the individual charts, tables, metrics, and gauges on the dashboard.

1. Click + Component at the top of the builder.
2. In the Select Report dialog, pick a saved report. Use the search bar or browse folders.
3. Click Select.
4. Choose a component type from the icons at the top:
   • Vertical Bar / Horizontal Bar: comparing categories
   • Stacked Bar: categories with a sub-breakdown
   • Donut / Pie: share of total
   • Line: trends over time
   • Funnel: pipeline stages
   • Scatter: two-variable relationships
   • Metric: single number (e.g., “Total Pipeline: $4.2M”)
   • Gauge: progress against a target with thresholds
   • Table: list of records or rows from a report
5. Configure the component on the right:
   • X-axis and Y-axis (for charts)
   • Display Units (Auto, Thousands, Millions)
   • Sort By
   • Title and Subtitle
   • For tables: which columns to show, max rows
6. Click Add.

The component lands on the canvas. Drag the corners to resize and drag the body to reposition. The grid snaps to 12 columns wide.

Repeat for as many components as you need, up to 20 per dashboard.

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4. Add Dashboard Filters

Filters let viewers slice the entire dashboard by a single field, e.g., “show me Q2 only” or “show me West region only”, without editing the dashboard or its source reports.

1. Click + Filter at the top of the builder.
2. Choose a field. The field must exist on every source report you want the filter to affect.
3. Add filter values: up to 50 per filter, including a default “All” option.
4. Optionally name the filter (e.g., “Region” instead of the raw field name).
5. Click Apply.

You can add up to 5 filters per dashboard, with up to 50 values each. Filters appear as pills at the top of the dashboard. Components from reports that don’t include the filtered field stay unaffected.

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5. Choose Running User and Dynamic Dashboards

Every dashboard has a running user: the user whose permissions and sharing rules determine what data appears. By default, dashboards run as the user who created them.

Set the running user

1. In the builder, click the gear icon > Properties.
2. Under View Dashboard As, choose:
   • Me: dashboard always shows the creator’s data.
   • Another person: pick a specific user (e.g., the VP of Sales).
   • The dashboard viewer: each viewer sees their own data. This is a dynamic dashboard.

Dynamic dashboards

Dynamic dashboards let one dashboard serve every rep on the team, each sees their pipeline, their cases, their leads, with no per-rep cloning required.

• Edition gating: Dynamic dashboards are available in Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions.
• Limits per edition (default; admins can request increases):
  • Enterprise: 5 dynamic dashboards per org
  • Performance / Unlimited: 10 dynamic dashboards per org
• Limitations: dynamic dashboards can’t be saved to private folders, can’t be scheduled for automatic refresh, and can’t be followed in Chatter.

If you hit the dynamic dashboard cap, the standard workaround is a standard dashboard with a User filter: slightly less elegant but no edition limit.

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6. Save, Refresh, and Subscribe

Save

1. Click Save in the top-right of the builder.
2. Click Done to exit the builder and view the dashboard.

Refresh

Dashboards show data from the last refresh, not real-time. To pull fresh data:

• Manual refresh: click the Refresh button at the top.
• Scheduled refresh: click the dropdown next to Edit > Subscribe. Each subscription refreshes the dashboard before emailing.
• Automatic refresh on open: not available, subscriptions or manual refresh are the only ways to update data.

Subscribe

1. From the dashboard view, click the dropdown arrow next to Edit.
2. Click Subscribe.
3. Set:
   • Frequency: Daily, Weekly (pick day), Monthly (pick day)
   • Time
   • Recipients: yourself, other users, roles, or public groups
4. Click Save.

Subscribers receive an email with the dashboard image. Each user gets the dashboard with their own running-user view (for dynamic dashboards) or the static creator view (for standard dashboards).

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7. Share via Folder

Folder access controls who can view and edit the dashboard.

1. From the Dashboards tab, click All Folders.
2. Find the folder, click the dropdown, and choose Share.
3. Add users, roles, or public groups with one of three access levels:
   • Viewer: can view and refresh
   • Editor: can edit components
   • Manager: can delete and reshare
4. Click Done.

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Quick Reference: Component Types

Type	Best for	Source report format
Metric	Single KPI (e.g., total pipeline)	Summary or matrix
Gauge	Progress vs. target	Summary
Vertical/Horizontal Bar	Comparing categories	Summary or matrix
Stacked Bar	Categories with sub-breakdown	Matrix
Donut / Pie	Share of total	Summary
Line	Trends over time	Summary or matrix
Funnel	Pipeline stages	Summary
Table	Top N records or detail rows	Tabular (with row limit), summary
Scatter	Correlation between two metrics	Matrix

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Edition and Feature Gating

Feature	Editions
Standard dashboards	All paid editions
Dynamic dashboards	Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, Developer
Dashboard subscriptions	All paid editions
Dashboard filters	All paid editions (up to 5 filters, 50 values each)
Components per dashboard	Up to 20
Filter values per filter	Up to 50
Reports per dashboard	One source report per component

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Which Approach Should You Use?

• Personal pipeline tracker? Standard dashboard, running user = Me, save to Private Dashboards.
• Team dashboard where everyone sees their own data? Dynamic dashboard (Enterprise+).
• Executive dashboard with org-wide totals? Standard dashboard, running user = an exec or sysadmin with broad access, save to a shared folder.
• Need fresh data every morning? Subscribe to the dashboard with a daily 7am schedule.
• Bumping into the 20-component cap? Build a second dashboard and link to it from a Rich Text component.

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Dashboards are great when you remember to check them. The pipeline metrics that matter usually come up in conversation or email anyway. Carly is an AI assistant that connects to 200+ apps including Salesforce and handles the repetitive work for you, like pulling daily pipeline numbers and dropping them into Slack or your inbox.

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