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Transitioning to the new Explore dashboard builder: Your questions answered

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Hello, Zendesk community! Now that we’ve released the new Explore dashboard builder, we've revised our plan and put together this post to give you a comprehensive overview and to address any concerns you might have. 

Before you start, watch this five-minute demo to get a quick overview of the new intuitive and dynamic dashboard builder.

Why have we introduced a new dashboard builder?

The move is driven by our commitment to simplifying how dashboards are built. Many of you shared how the classic experience has a steep learning curve. With the new dashboard builder, we want to provide a flexible, user-tailored experience that gives control and visibility to editors. This new experience represents our commitment to empowering you to create dashboards you're proud to share.

What’s the process for transitioning to the new dashboard?

The transition is taking place using a phased approach over a 12-month period from November 4, 2024 to help you prepare and adapt to the new interface gradually.

We’ll keep you updated during the transition about what you can expect in each phase to guide you through this change. In the meantime, here is a high-level overview of the transition plan:

  • Phase 1 - Beta dashboard builder GA release (4 months): The GA release of our new dashboard builder includes a host of exciting features like tabs, exports, schedules, and the ability to link filters across different datasets.
    During this phase, while users have the option to continue using the classic builder, it's important to note that our primary focus will be on the development and improvement of the new dashboard builder. As a result, there will be certain limitations for those continuing with the classic experience:
    • Only highly impactful bugs will be fixed in the classic builder
    • No enhancements will be made to the classic builder
    • Product documentation will refer to the new dashboard builder with minimal documentation for the legacy dashboard builder.
       
  • Phase 2 - Transitionary period (4 months): Following the GA release of the new dashboard builder, there will be a transitionary period of approximately four months.
    During this time, you’ll still be able to edit your dashboards using the classic builder, but you won’t be able to create brand-new dashboards with it. This transitionary period will enable you to gradually adapt to the new interface and take advantage of its enhanced capabilities at your own pace.
    At this stage, you’ll also know how your shared dashboards are being used and will be able to identify the relevant dashboards you want to rebuild using the new dashboard builder.
     
  • Phase 3 - View-only access to classic dashboards (4 months): After the transitionary period concludes, dashboards built with the classic builder will remain accessible to all users who have access, but the capabilities will be limited to view-only mode, as edit access to the classic builder will be removed. View-only mode for dashboards built in the classic builder will remain in place for another four months.
     
  • Retirement of the classic view-only experience: In order to be transparent about our future plans, four (4) months after the start of the "View-only access to classic dashboards" phase, we will fully retire the classic dashboard. This means that the classic dashboard will no longer be available for use after this period.

This phased approach is represented in the visual below.

 

Your questions answered

Following the original announcement, you also raised a number of questions. We've addressed the most common questions below:

Has phase 1 already started?
Yes! As of 4 November 2024, the new dashboard builder is released to GA.

Is there be a tool to help in migrating dashboards built with the classic builder?
Yes, we have developed a tool that will allow you to quickly import reports from an existing dashboard built with the legacy dashboard builder. A beta version of the tool allowing to migrate a single dashboard will be available at the GA of the new dashboard builder. Other improvements will follow post-GA.

What is the timeframe for accessing existing dashboards created with the classic builder?
You will be able to access the existing dashboards created with the classic builder until the end of phase 3, which marks the retirement of the classic view-only experience. This phase is expected to occur approximately one year after the GA of the new dashboard builder.

What features are available at GA?
Many of the features you’ve requested will be available, including:

  • Exports in CSV and Excel formats
  • Scheduled dashboards
  • Tabs
  • Linked filters across different datasets
  • Excluding reports from being filtered
  • Importer tool (Beta)
  • Filtered views (Bookmarks)

Will bookmarks be available?
A similar implementation of Bookmarks, named “Filtered views”, is now available. Filtered views make it easy to switch between different sets of filters on a single dashboard tab. A filtered view can be set as a default filtered view for a specific tab as it was possible previously with bookmarks.

Watch this three-minute demo to learn more about filtered views.

Are existing reports compatible with the new builder?
Yes, all existing reports are compatible with the new builder.

Will you delete existing reports after the retirement of the classic view-only experience?
No, we won’t. Your existing reports will be accessible via the report builder and new dashboard builder and won’t be impacted by this plan.

Can you provide some guidance on how to migrate dashboards?
Yes, see this article for help.
At a very high level, you will be able to:

  • Identify your most-used dashboards
  • Determine whether any of them are similar enough that they would be good candidates to be combined into a single dashboard with dashboard restrictions
  • Use the importer tool to quickly import reports from an existing dashboard

Can Professional Services help to rebuild dashboards?
Yes, they will be available as a paid service. We will share more details about their availability and pricing after the GA. 

How is this different from migrating from Insights?
It is very different as you won’t have to rebuild any reports. Instead, you can quickly import the existing ones to a new dashboard.
 

Your feedback matters

Please share your thoughts in the comments below. We'll incorporate your feedback into continuous improvements to the new dashboard builder. 

We're excited about the improvements the new dashboard builder brings and look forward to supporting you through this transition. Thank you for being a valued member of our Zendesk community.

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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • 334e5d db5546

    Dear customers,

    I'm excited to share some important updates regarding the transition from our classic to the new dashboard builder!
     

    Firstly, we have a revised General Availability (GA) date for the new dashboard builder, which is now set for Q4 2024. 
     

    Here are more details on the most important features:

    1. Bookmarks (now "Filtered views") available before the GA: We're rebuilding Bookmarks and they will now be named "Filtered views" to better reflect their functionality. These will be rolled out before the GA date, so you will be able to start using this feature soon!
       
    2. Beta Version of the Importer Tool at GA: With the GA of the new dashboard builder, we will provide a beta version of the importer tool. This will allow you to migrate a single dashboard and import the sharing recipient. We will next focus on enabling the migration of a set of dashboards together.
       
    3. Change Attribute and Image Component available post GA: We’ve heard your feedback and decided to rebuild these features in the new experience. While we don’t have an ETA yet, they will be part of the post GA scope of the new dashboard builder

    We are incredibly grateful for your patience and understanding as we make these necessary enhancements. Your feedback has been invaluable in this journey.
     

    Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.
     

    Regards,
    Walter

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  • 334e5d db5546

    We recognize that bookmarks serve many important use cases.

    Bookmark is a vital use-case. We operate 10 zendesk instances with several different custom dashboards in each, these custom dashboards are being pre-filtered and scheduled daily/weekly/monthly to stakeholders, mind that it's not possible to schedule a pre-filtered dashboard without bookmarks. if you want your clients to transfer to the new view/tool etc please make sure that vital capabilities will be there from day1. 

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  • 334e5d db5546

    Bookmarks or a similar feature will be available post-GA.

    When? Agent online time has been a "high priority" and to be released soon for more than 4 years now. Removing bookmarks, which Zendesk themselves have been urging us to use, pretty much kills any usefulness of the dashboards. So how long is Zendesk planning on keeping Explore useless?

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  • 334e5d db5546

    Hi there, thank you for your continued notes and feedback. I want to confirm that this feedback is being logged for our PM team to review and respond. Thank you again. 

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  • 334e5d db5546

    Hi there, thanks for the update. 

    There are two things that concern us a little, I'm hoping you can please comment on them. 

    1. Bookmarks related. We have the same use case as one of the posters above. A lot of our DBs, where we use bookmarks, are scheduled to end users(our partners) as a PDF file, our understanding the new DB restrictions feature doesn't solve this problem for end users. How do we go about that? This is a business critical for us feature.  

    2. You mentioned above about a tool that will help with migration. However, it sounds the tool will only be available by end of phase 3. Whereas, in phase 3 old DBs will be restricted to view-only. Does that mean that there potentially will be a gap during phase 3 when old DBs aren't migrated due to the tool not being available yet, and the same time, we can't do anything with old DBs as they are in a view-only mode? 

    Thanks

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