Splitting parameter connections

To split a parameter connection, you must have the Edit permissions. After you switch your dashboard to edit mode, the Widget Communication option is available on the Actions menu on the toolbar or on the Edit tab on the Mac menu bar.

You can split a parameter connection so that two instances of a widget communicate separately.

For example, you have two widgets: Region and Sales. When you select a region in one widget, a chart in the second widget updates to display the sales for that region. You can compare the sales for two different regions. The first step is to add a second instance of each widget to the dashboard. The dashboard then contains four widgets. But if you select a region in any of the two Region widgets, both charts update to display sales for that region. So, the second step is to split the parameter connection so that the first Region widget only updates the first Sales widget and the second Region widget only updates the second Sales widget.

  1. In Edit mode, click the Actions menu on the application toolbar or click the Edit tab on the Mac menu bar.
  2. Select Widget Communication.
  3. Click Advanced Options.
  4. Expand the parameter connection in the Connections pane.
    The four parameters of the connection are listed: two from the Region widget and two from the Sales widget.
  5. Drag one of the region parameters from the parameter connection to the New Parameter Connection field.
    A second region parameter connection is created, with the same name as the first.
  6. Drag one of the chart parameters from the parameter connection onto the second region parameter connection.
    The connections pane displays two parameter connections, each with two parameters.
In the dashboard, you can now select different regions in the two Region widgets. The two charts update independently.
Note: To make it easier to identify the widgets in the Widget Communication dialog box, you might rename the widgets on the dashboard. You can also rename the connections in the Widget Communication- Advanced Options dialog box.