Dynamic Dashboards in Salesforce represent a powerful feature that allows administrators to display data relevant to each individual user viewing the dashboard, rather than showing the same static data to everyone. This capability is essential for organizations that need personalized reporting expe…Dynamic Dashboards in Salesforce represent a powerful feature that allows administrators to display data relevant to each individual user viewing the dashboard, rather than showing the same static data to everyone. This capability is essential for organizations that need personalized reporting experiences while maintaining data security and relevance.
Unlike standard dashboards that run as a specific user and display that user's view of data to all viewers, dynamic dashboards run as the logged-in user. This means each person sees data based on their own security settings, role hierarchy, and sharing rules. For example, a sales manager would see their team's performance metrics, while a regional director would see aggregated data for their entire region.
Key benefits of Dynamic Dashboards include enhanced data security since users only access information they're permitted to view, improved relevance as each viewer sees personalized metrics, and reduced administrative overhead since one dashboard serves multiple users' needs.
To configure a Dynamic Dashboard, administrators navigate to the dashboard properties and select 'Run as logged-in user' option. This setting transforms a standard dashboard into a dynamic one. However, there are important limitations to consider. Salesforce editions determine how many dynamic dashboards an organization can create. Enterprise Edition allows up to 5, while Unlimited Edition permits up to 10 dynamic dashboards.
Additionally, dynamic dashboards cannot be scheduled for refresh or email distribution since they require an active user session. Users must have the 'View My Team's Dashboards' permission to leverage this functionality effectively.
Best practices include using dynamic dashboards for management hierarchies, sales teams tracking individual quotas, and service teams monitoring personal case metrics. Administrators should carefully plan which dashboards truly require dynamic functionality versus those that can remain static, optimizing the limited number of dynamic dashboards available within their Salesforce edition.
Dynamic Dashboards
What are Dynamic Dashboards?
Dynamic dashboards are a powerful Salesforce feature that allows dashboard viewers to see data according to their own security settings and access levels. Unlike standard dashboards that display data from a single running user's perspective, dynamic dashboards show each viewer their own personalized view of the data based on their role, permissions, and sharing settings.
Why are Dynamic Dashboards Important?
Dynamic dashboards solve a critical business challenge: the need to share a single dashboard design with multiple users while ensuring each person sees only the data they're authorized to access. This is essential for:
• Security Compliance: Users only see records they have access to view • Personalized Insights: Sales reps see their own pipeline, managers see their team's data • Efficient Administration: One dashboard serves many users instead of creating individual dashboards • Scalability: Reduces the number of dashboards needed in an organization
How Dynamic Dashboards Work
When you create a dynamic dashboard, you select "Run as logged-in user" or "Run as specified user" in the dashboard properties. The key distinction:
• Standard Dashboard: Always runs as one specified user - all viewers see that user's data perspective • Dynamic Dashboard: Runs as the logged-in user - each viewer sees their own data based on their security settings
The underlying reports still execute, but they filter results based on who is viewing the dashboard at that moment.
Limitations of Dynamic Dashboards
Understanding limitations is crucial for the exam:
• Each Salesforce edition has a maximum number of dynamic dashboards allowed • Enterprise Edition: 5 dynamic dashboards • Unlimited and Performance Edition: 10 dynamic dashboards • Dynamic dashboards cannot be scheduled for refresh or email distribution • They must be refreshed manually or viewed to see current data • Components on dynamic dashboards cannot be followed in Chatter
Setting Up a Dynamic Dashboard
1. Create or edit a dashboard 2. Click the dashboard properties or settings 3. Under "View Dashboard As" select the appropriate option 4. Choose "The dashboard viewer" for dynamic behavior 5. Optionally, select "Let dashboard viewers choose whom they view the dashboard as" for additional flexibility
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Dynamic Dashboards
Key Concepts to Remember:
• Dynamic dashboards run as the logged-in user, not a specified running user • They respect the viewer's sharing settings, role hierarchy, and field-level security • You cannot schedule dynamic dashboards for automatic refresh or email delivery • Know your edition limits - this is frequently tested • Dynamic dashboards are ideal when users need to see their own data on a shared dashboard
Common Exam Scenarios:
• A sales manager wants reps to see their own opportunities on a team dashboard - use dynamic dashboard • An executive wants a dashboard emailed weekly - cannot use dynamic dashboard • Organization needs more than 5 dynamic dashboards on Enterprise Edition - upgrade edition or reduce count
Watch for Trick Questions:
• Questions about scheduling or emailing dashboards - remember dynamic dashboards don't support this • Questions mixing folder permissions with dynamic dashboard functionality - these are separate concepts • Scenarios where a standard dashboard with a specific running user would be more appropriate
Best Practice: When reading exam questions, identify whether the requirement is about who sees what data (dynamic dashboard use case) versus automated delivery (standard dashboard use case).