Pro · Lesson 4 of 9
A dashboard is saved questions, shared filters, and an optional delivery schedule.
Sign in to save your place.
A dashboard is a noticeboard. Each card is one question pinned to the board. A filter is a sticky note on the board, such as 'only this month', and each card can choose to obey that note. A subscription is the board arriving in someone's inbox on a schedule.
Create a dashboard in a collection, then add saved questions. Resize cards so the most important number is readable without scrolling on a laptop. Link a dashboard filter to each card that should obey it. A date filter does nothing until you connect it to a date column on that card. A text filter connected to the wrong field will silently show the unfiltered chart.
Current Metabase dashboards can use tabs when one page would be too long. Keep one decision on each tab. Click behavior can send a reader from a card to another dashboard or a question, filtered by the value they clicked.
| Control | What it changes | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard filter | Values passed into linked cards | Link it to the right field on every card |
| Auto refresh | How often open browsers re-query | A short interval loads the warehouse |
| Subscription | A scheduled email or Slack post | It sends the data to that channel |
| Click behavior | Where a click goes | Pass the clicked value as a filter |
A subscription renders the dashboard and sends it. Anyone on that list sees the numbers even if they cannot sign in to Metabase. Treat the recipient list like a permission. Send a filtered subscription when a team should see one region, and confirm the filter is locked so they cannot widen it.
Alerts belong on a single question that crosses a line, such as a count of failed jobs. A dashboard subscription is the regular report. An alert is the exception.
Caching repeats a result so the warehouse is not hit on every view. A cached number can be stale. Set the cache where freshness is allowed to lag, and leave operational alerts uncached or on a short period.
One dashboard filter updates every card, and a subscription delivers the result.
Step 1 of 3A dashboard filter is wired to a column on each card it should affect.
Edit dashboard → Add filter → Date → link to Orders.Created At
Step 2 of 3When someone picks a value, every linked card reruns its question with that value.
Date = Last week → all four cards refresh
Step 3 of 3A subscription sends the dashboard by email or Slack on a schedule, with the filter values you saved.
Sharing → Subscriptions → Every Monday 09:00 → #sales
Put two saved questions on one dashboard. Add a date filter and connect it to both. Open the dashboard, change the filter, and confirm both cards move. Then create a subscription to yourself and check that the filter you intended is the one that was sent.
Checked against vendor documentation in October 2026. Screens and plan names still change, so confirm the control in your own instance.