> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Manage dashboard settings and access
> Create shared dashboards, configure visibility and roles, manage defaults and sidebar links, and use dashboard row and bulk actions.
Use **Settings > Dashboards > Internal Dashboards** to manage dashboards built inside MSPortal. Use **Edit Settings** for sharing, roles and availability; use **Edit Dashboard** for widgets and layout.
**Audience:** MSP administrators with dashboard settings management access. Company users can [read available dashboards](/user-guides/dashboards/read-a-dashboard) and ask their MSP for access or configuration changes. Company administrators do not manage portal user permissions themselves.
## Find the right settings tab
| Tab | Purpose |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Internal Dashboards** | Dashboards built inside MSPortal, including personal, shared and system dashboards. The tab name does not mean every dashboard is restricted to MSP staff. |
| **External Dashboards** | Links or embedded dashboards from another service. These have separate URLs, company assignments and embedding requirements. |
| **Exclusions** | Shared widget-data exclusion settings. These affect applicable dashboard/report data across the tenant. |
This is an MSP-wide configuration catalog; selecting a company does not turn these settings into company-only changes.
The **Internal Dashboards** table shows Name, Description, Roles and Status. Badges identify **Personal**, **System**, **Default**, and **Sidebar** where applicable. **All roles** means no explicit role restriction; personal ownership and other access requirements still apply.
## Create a shared dashboard
1. Open **Settings > Dashboards > Internal Dashboards** and select **Add Dashboard**.
2. Enter a **Name** of up to 100 characters and an optional **Description** of up to 500 characters. Choose an **Icon**.
3. Keep **Shared Dashboard** enabled if others should use it.
4. If available, choose **Visibility**: **Both** or **Internal (MSP Team)**.
5. Under **Role Access**, select the intended **MSP Team Roles** and, when available, **Client Roles**. Leaving every role unchecked allows all otherwise eligible roles; it does not deny everyone.
6. Select **Create Dashboard**. This saves an active dashboard immediately and returns to the settings list.
7. Open the row's **… > Edit Dashboard** to add content, then use the editor's **Save**. See [Create and edit a dashboard](/user-guides/dashboards/create-and-edit-dashboard).
The settings creation dialog starts with sharing enabled. The separate plus control in the normal Dashboards reader creates a personal dashboard instead. New dashboards start empty; creation is not an unsaved draft.
## Choose visibility and roles
| Setting | Meaning |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Both** | The dashboard may be available to MSP and Company users, subject to sharing, role access, permissions and availability. It is not an external URL option. |
| **Internal (MSP Team)** | Company users cannot access the dashboard. Eligible MSP staff also need internal-dashboard read access. Client-role selections are removed when switching to this visibility. |
| Specific **Role Access** selections | Restrict an eligible shared dashboard to the selected roles. Confirm the result using the intended user's access. |
| No role selections | Removes explicit role restrictions. It does not override personal ownership, internal-only visibility or module permissions. |
Permission to configure internal visibility does not necessarily include permission to read internal dashboards. An administrator can create an internal dashboard and then lose it from the settings list. If this happens, do not create duplicates. Ask an MSP administrator with internal-dashboard read access to locate it and review your permissions.
Dashboard access does not grant access to every widget's module or underlying records. Check the saved dashboard in the intended company context. Use [Change a Company user's permissions](/user-guides/settings/change-company-user-permissions) for MSP-managed user access changes.
## Edit settings and availability
Select the dashboard name or **… > Edit Settings**. Change the required fields, then select **Save Changes**. **Cancel** closes the dialog without saving the edited values.
In addition to the creation fields, existing dashboards offer:
* **Enabled:** clear it to hide a custom dashboard from normal dashboard availability while retaining its configuration.
* **Pin to Sidebar:** add a shortcut in the main navigation.
* **Sidebar Label:** an optional label of up to 30 characters, shown when pinning is selected. A blank label uses the dashboard name.
These dialog controls wait for **Save Changes**. Row-menu actions described below apply separately. For a personal copy of a shared dashboard, use **Duplicate**. Review access after changing sharing; a personal dashboard needs an owner and is not made accessible simply by clearing Shared Dashboard.
System dashboards have additional restrictions: the settings dialog disables their Shared Dashboard and Enabled switches, and the normal row menu omits Disable and Delete. Use a custom copy for changes that should not alter a built-in configuration.
## Use row actions
Open **…** beside the exact dashboard:
| Action | Result and save behavior |
| ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **View Dashboard** | Opens the reader in a new tab, subject to access checks. |
| **Edit Settings** | Opens the settings dialog; use Save Changes. |
| **Edit Dashboard** | Opens the widget/layout editor; use its separate header Save. |
| **Duplicate** | Immediately creates a personal copy with “(Copy)” added to the name. Review its visibility and access independently. |
| **Set as Default** | Immediately makes an active dashboard the configured default and clears the previous internal or external default. |
| **Remove Default** | Immediately removes this dashboard's default designation. It does not choose a replacement. |
| **Pin to Sidebar** / **Unpin from Sidebar** | Immediately changes the main-navigation shortcut. Pinning does not grant access or make a dashboard the default. |
| **Disable** / **Enable** | Immediately changes a custom dashboard's availability without deleting its configuration. |
| **Delete** | Opens a named confirmation for a nonsystem dashboard. Cancel keeps it; confirm Delete permanently removes it. |
The quick pin action allows up to eight combined internal/external sidebar pins. If the limit is reached, unpin an unneeded shortcut first. A disabled or inaccessible dashboard may not appear to a reader even when it has a pin.
Default selection is shared configuration, not just a preference for the person selecting it. Readers still need access; the portal can fall back to another available dashboard, and navigation can remember a reader's last visit. Check both the default badge and the actual reader experience.
A duplicate copies the source's description, icon and layout, but starts as a personal dashboard. Do not assume it inherits the source's role restrictions, internal-only visibility, default or pin settings. Review **Edit Settings** before making the copy available to others.
## Update multiple dashboards
Select only the intended rows using their checkboxes. The header checkbox selects the current table page. Check the selected count in **Actions (n)** before proceeding.
| Bulk action | What to know |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Edit Permissions** | Opens a dialog. Select the replacement client roles and choose **Update Permissions**. This replaces existing role assignments; it does not merge with them. |
| **Enable** / **Disable** | Applies immediately to the selected rows. Use an exact selection; do not include system dashboards when changing custom-dashboard availability. |
| **Delete** | Deletes selected nonsystem dashboards immediately, without the named confirmation used by single-row Delete. System dashboards are excluded from deletion. |
Bulk **Edit Permissions** lists client roles and replaces the selected dashboards' existing assignments, including any MSP-role assignments. An empty replacement removes explicit role restrictions. Use individual **Edit Settings** when you need to preserve or configure both MSP and client roles.
Avoid changing tabs with an unfinished bulk selection. Clear the selection and confirm the target list before using another tab's actions.
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
| ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| A newly created internal dashboard disappears | Internal-dashboard read access is separate from visibility-management access. Ask an authorized MSP administrator to locate it; do not create it again. |
| Settings are visible but saving fails | Verify dashboard settings management access. Widget editing and duplication also use dashboard authoring permissions. |
| A Company user cannot see a shared dashboard | Enabled status, Both visibility, role restrictions, dashboard/module access, company scope and available data. |
| An MSP user cannot see a shared dashboard | Internal-read access where applicable and assigned MSP role visibility. Review the actual reader and sidebar. |
| Sidebar or default changes seem missing | Check the saved settings, active status and target user's access; a pin/default does not override permissions. |
| Identical role names appear more than once | Ask an MSP administrator to identify the intended role before assigning access. A matching name alone does not establish that two entries are the same role. |
| A role update reports success but access is unexpected | Reopen Edit Settings and confirm the saved roles before widening access. |
| A delete action removed fewer dashboards than selected | System dashboards are protected from deletion. Check the remaining rows. |
## Related guides
* [Create and edit a dashboard](/user-guides/dashboards/create-and-edit-dashboard)
* [Read and filter a dashboard](/user-guides/dashboards/read-a-dashboard)
* [Dashboards overview](/user-guides/dashboards/index)
* [Understand user access](/user-guides/account/understand-your-access)
For missing submitters, ticket types or recurring tickets, see [Understand dashboard exclusions](/user-guides/dashboards/understand-dashboard-exclusions). MSP staff can [configure exclusions](/user-guides/dashboards/configure-dashboard-exclusions) in Settings > Dashboards > Exclusions.
## Frequently asked questions
Open Settings > Dashboards > Internal Dashboards and choose the dashboard name or Edit Settings. Change sharing, visibility and Role Access, then select Save Changes.
No. It contains dashboards built inside MSPortal. Both visibility can allow eligible Company users; Internal (MSP Team) visibility is the MSP-only setting.
Add Dashboard in settings starts with sharing enabled. The plus control in the normal Dashboards reader creates a personal dashboard. Both creation actions save a dashboard immediately.
No. It removes explicit role restrictions and allows otherwise eligible roles. Ownership, visibility and module permissions still apply.
No. Both is audience visibility for a dashboard built inside MSPortal. External service URLs are configured under External Dashboards.
Permission to manage internal visibility does not necessarily include internal-dashboard read access. Ask an MSP administrator with that read access to locate it and review permissions; do not create duplicates.
No. Dialog changes need Save Changes. The row-menu Enable and Disable actions apply immediately.
No. Disabling a custom dashboard retains its configuration and changes availability. Enable makes it available again subject to access checks.
Use Pin to Sidebar in the row menu, or enable Pin to Sidebar in Edit Settings and Save Changes. The dialog also offers a Sidebar Label of up to 30 characters.
No. A pin is a navigation shortcut. Dashboard visibility, active status, ownership and role/module permissions still apply.
Set as Default clears the previous internal or external default. It is shared configuration, not just a personal viewing preference.
No. It removes that designation without choosing a replacement. Readers can fall back to another available dashboard.
In Settings > Dashboards > Internal Dashboards, open the row menu and choose Duplicate. It immediately creates a personal copy with (Copy) in the name. Review its settings before sharing.
Do not assume that. A copy starts personal; review its visibility, sharing, roles, default and pin settings independently before making it available to others.
Edit Settings changes metadata, sharing, access and availability with Save Changes. Edit Dashboard opens the widget/layout editor with its own header Save.
System dashboards are protected from deletion. The normal row menu omits Delete, and bulk Delete excludes system dashboards.
No. Single-row Delete opens a named confirmation. Bulk Delete applies immediately to selected nonsystem dashboards, so verify every selected row first.
No. Update Permissions replaces existing assignments on every selected dashboard. The bulk dialog lists client roles and can replace existing MSP-role assignments too.
Use individual Edit Settings to review both MSP Team Roles and Client Roles. Bulk Edit Permissions replaces assignments using its client-role selection.
No. All roles indicates no explicit role restriction. Personal ownership and sharing are separate access conditions.
Company administrators ask their MSP to change user permissions or dashboard access settings.
No. The underlying module permissions, integrations, company scope and data availability still apply.