Custom Dashboard Builder – Scaler

Purpose of this article

This guide shows you how to build custom dashboards in Scaler's Analytics Portal using pre-made charts from Scaler or by creating your own custom visualizations. You'll learn how to configure layouts, add metrics, apply filters, and download dashboard data.

This feature is available to Scale licence clients only. If you are interested in access, please contact your Account Operations representative to discuss upgrading your package.

When to use this tool

You want to create focused views of specific metrics for your team or executives

You need to combine multiple charts into a single reporting view

You want to visualize data by property type, country, or portfolio groupings

You need to compare assets side-by-side or track trends over time

You're building recurring reports that need consistent chart configurations

Accessing the Dashboard Builder

Navigate to Analytics Portal → Company or Portfolio level → Dashboard (left navigation).

Dashboards created at either level are available company-wide. The data aggregation adjusts automatically based on whether you're viewing at the company or portfolio level.

Creating a new dashboard

Click Manage dashboards (top right)

Click Create new dashboard

Enter a Dashboard name and Description

Click Save

Each dashboard appears as a separate tab at the top of the Dashboard view.

Managing existing dashboards:

Reorder: Drag the six-dot icon on the left

Edit or delete: Click the three-dot menu on the right

Configuring dashboard layout

When editing a dashboard, you'll configure the layout using horizontal sections.

Adding sections:

Click Add section

Choose how many charts to display in that section (1–4 charts)

Repeat to create multiple horizontal rows

Managing sections:

Reorder sections: Drag the six-dot icon on the left

Delete sections: Click the trash icon on the right

Adding pre-made charts

Pre-made charts are existing Scaler charts from the Performance Dashboards.

In the Edit view, browse the Existing Charts panel on the left

Search for specific metrics using the search bar

Drag a chart from the panel into your layout section

To remove a chart: Click the X in the top-right corner of the chart

Each chart shows:

Chart name (top)

Description (below in lighter text) — explains what the chart displays

Creating custom charts

Custom charts let you choose exactly how to visualize your data, with proper aggregation logic for accurate cross-asset analysis.

Step 1: Choose your data view

Click Custom Charts → Create new custom chart, then select:

Trend over time: Metrics aggregated across all assets, shown annually (line graph format)

Asset comparison: Individual asset values side-by-side (bar graph format)

Property type distribution: Metrics grouped by property type

Country distribution: Metrics grouped by country

Click Continue.

Step 2: Configure chart type and name

Enter a Custom name (optional — defaults to the view type from Step 1)

Choose a Chart type:

Bar: Comparisons and distributions

Line: Time series or trends

Area: Cumulative data or filled trends

Click Continue.

Step 3: Select metrics and customize

Choose your metric: Select from the dropdown (e.g., Energy use intensity, Energy scope 1 GHG location-based)

Add additional metrics (optional): Click Add metric to layer multiple datasets

Customize colors: Click the color icon to change metric colors

Toggle legend: Show or hide the legend

Click Save

Why custom charts matter:

When you aggregate metrics across multiple assets, Scaler applies the correct calculation method automatically:

Intensity metrics use area-weighted averages (accounts for building size differences)

Scores use GFA-weighted averages

Percentages use simple averages

This ensures your grouped views and trend charts show accurate, meaningful data — not misleading sums.

Example: Creating a property type energy comparison

You want to compare Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across property types.

Select Property type distribution

Choose Bar chart type

Select Energy scope 1 GHG location-based as your first metric

Add Energy scope 2 GHG location-based as your second metric

Customize colors so Scope 1 and Scope 2 are visually distinct

Save and drag into your dashboard layout

Applying filters

Click the Filter button (top right) to apply filters to your dashboard.

Available filters match those in Scaler's Performance Dashboards (e.g., country, property type, asset characteristics).

When you apply a filter, all charts on the dashboard adjust to show only the filtered data.

Downloading dashboard data

Download entire dashboard:

Click Download (top right) to export the full dashboard as an image.

Download individual charts:

Hover over a chart and click the cloud-with-arrow icon (top right of the chart) to:

Download as CSV: Export the underlying data points

Download as image: Export the chart visualization

Managing dashboards

Access Manage dashboards (top right) to:

View all company dashboards

Create new dashboards

Reorder dashboards (affects tab order)

Edit or delete existing dashboards

Note: Dashboards are shared company-wide. Any dashboard you create is visible to others in your organization.

Troubleshooting & common mistakes

Chart doesn't appear after dragging → Make sure you've dropped it into a configured section (sections must have 1–4 chart slots defined)

Filters not applying → Ensure you've clicked Apply after selecting filter options

Custom chart shows unexpected values → Check that you've selected the correct aggregation view (trend/comparison/distribution) in Step 1

Can't find a pre-made chart → Use the search bar in the Existing Charts panel — chart names may differ slightly from Performance Dashboard labels