Widgets Overview

A Widget is the smallest unit of an INTERA Dashboard: one visual component, placed inside a Frame, showing one thing the role using that Dashboard needs to see.

This page describes the Widget types INTERA supports, how a Widget is configured, and the display rules that keep a Dashboard readable when Widgets fed by several integrations sit next to each other. For how Widgets are arranged into pages and Frames, see Dashboards. For the underlying Metric and DataSource schemas, see Reference.

Where a Widget sits

Every Widget lives inside a structure with four levels:

Dashboard
  Page
    Frame
      Widget

The Dashboard belongs to a business role. The Page separates one responsibility from another. The Frame groups Widgets that belong to the same subject. The Widget shows the value, the list or the chart itself.

Widget types

Different Widget types are designed for different kinds of information. Choosing the right type matters more than styling: a value that needs a decision should not be buried in a table, and a table of records should not be reduced to a single number.

Metric Widget

A Metric Widget displays one Metric value. Depending on the Widget and the Metric definition, it may show the display name, the current value, the unit or currency, health, trend, threshold state and the last-update status.

Overdue Balance

€184,250
↑ 6.2% vs last month
Health: 62%

Status Widget

A Status Widget shows a state rather than a number: Online, Offline, Warning, Critical, Ready, Delayed. The current state should be recognisable at a glance, and the same state should look the same on every Dashboard in the installation.

Asset Widget

An Asset Widget displays one Asset and the values attached to it. It is useful where a specific business object needs dedicated attention.

Vessel:          MV Example
Health:          82%
VSAT:            Online
Open Incidents:  2

Asset List Widget

An Asset List shows many Assets in a compact operational view, one row per Asset. It is the right choice when users need to scan a fleet, a customer base, a set of network sites or a supplier list and find the exceptions.

Vessel      Health   VSAT      Certus    Usage   Incidents
MV Alpha    92%      Online    Online    72%     0
MV Beta     61%      Online    Offline   88%     2
MV Gamma    28%      Offline   Online    95%     4

Each row may be organised into display groups, so related values appear together — for example the Asset name in the first group, VSAT status and usage in the second, Certus status and usage in the third, open incidents in the fourth. A health indicator in the row lets users separate healthy Assets from those that need attention without reading every column.

Grid and table Widget

A Grid Widget displays records returned by a DataSource in table form. Use it when the individual record matters, not only the aggregate.

Invoice   Customer   Due Date   Amount    Status
100221    ACME       10.08.26   €4,200    Overdue
100228    Delta      12.08.26   €8,100    Overdue

Depending on the Widget version, a Grid may support column selection and reordering, sorting, paging, quick search, filtering, grouped output, cell formatting, status icons, images and responsive sizing.

Chart Widget

Charts are for patterns over time — revenue trend, ticket volume, availability history, usage growth, health history. Use a chart where the shape of the line adds information. Do not use one simply because the data can be charted.

Configuring a Widget

To add a Widget to a Dashboard:

1. select the target Frame;
2. choose Add Widget;
3. select the Widget type;
4. select its source — a Metric, a DataSource or an Asset Group;
5. configure the title, visible fields, formatting, filters and sorting;
6. select the required size;
7. save.

Which settings a Widget offers depends on its type. In YAML, the same Widget is a short block inside its Dashboard page:

widgets:
  - id: overdue_invoices
    type: metric_card
    size: half
    title: Overdue Invoices
    metric: finance.overdue_invoices

Dashboard and Widget configuration can be edited visually, but YAML remains the authoritative representation. If a visual editor cannot safely interpret a configuration, it may switch that Dashboard to YAML-only editing. Administrators should avoid editing YAML directly unless they understand the configuration structure.

Size and layout

A Widget declares the space it needs, and the Frame arranges the Widgets it contains. Give large Widgets — grids, charts, asset lists with many columns — enough width to be read without horizontal scrolling, and keep single values compact so several fit on one line. On narrow screens Widgets stack, so the reading order of a Frame should still make sense in a single column.

Formatting and colour

Widgets may support bold text, indentation, alignment, colour, number, date and currency formatting, and header visibility. Formatting should improve readability, not add decoration.

Colour is most useful when it carries a consistent operational meaning — healthy, warning, critical, offline. If red means critical in one Widget, it should not mean a neutral category in the Widget beside it.

Click behaviour

A Widget may define an action for when a user clicks it: open another Dashboard page, open a detailed view, show Asset information, or open an external URL where supported. The available actions depend on the Widget and the INTERA version. Use click behaviour to build a summary-to-detail path: the overview shows what needs attention, the click shows why.

Empty and error states

A Widget must stay understandable when there is no data. No critical incidents is better than a blank area, and an empty state should distinguish between no matching data, a DataSource failure, a pending synchronisation and a permission issue.

When a Metric or DataSource fails, the Widget must say so. Do not display 0 when the real condition is Synchronization failed — zero and unavailable are different answers, and a role that cannot tell them apart will trust the Dashboard once and stop.

Checklist

• the Widget type matches the kind of information shown;
• the title uses business language, not a technical field name;
• units, currency and the time period are visible;
• health and trend are not confused with each other;
• colour means the same thing across the Dashboard;
• the empty state and the error state are both handled;
• data freshness is shown where it affects a decision;
• the Widget was tested with realistic data, not only with a sample row.