The Basics of Creating a Flex Dashboard

Creating a Flex dashboard is a crucial step in turning your markdown file into a visually appealing and interactive presentation. The key to making this happen lies in the header of every markdown file, which starts with a header. It's essential to understand that the output line plays a significant role in determining how everything in your markdown file is interpreted and what type of output is produced when you knit the document.

The Output Option: A Game-Changer

One of the most critical aspects of creating a Flex dashboard is choosing the right output option for your markdown file. You may have noticed that the output was set to HTML document or perhaps PDF document in your previous experiences with markdown. This option determines how everything in your markdown file is interpreted and what type of output is produced when you knit the document. It's not hard to guess how we make our markdown file become a Flex dashboard; it all comes down to changing the output type to "Flex: Dashboard".

The Magic of Flex: Dashboard Syntax

When you set the output option to "Flex: Dashboard", your markdown file will be interpreted as Flex dashboard syntax. This is where the magic happens, and your markdown file starts to transform into a Flex dashboard. A Flex dashboard is made up of charts, and each chart fills one box in the dashboard layout. The way to indicate a chart in your R markdown file is with a triple pound sign (###). Everything below this symbol and above the next will be included in a single chart. This can usually include a single R chunk, but it can also include text.

Adding Titles and Text

The title of the chart can be included on the same line as the triple pound sign, which adds an extra layer of customization to your Flex dashboard. You can add text, charts, and even other elements like titles or legends to make your dashboard more engaging.

Columns in Flex Dashboards

One of the most exciting features of creating a Flex dashboard is arranging your charts into columns. Every chart is in exactly one column, but you have the option to specify columns directly using a series of 14 or more dashes in Flex dashboard syntax. This means that all charts between one column header and the next will be laid out in that column. You can add a name for the column and options later on the line above the dashes, which will not appear anywhere in your dashboard.

Adding Names to Columns

When you specify columns using dashes, it's a good idea to add a name for the column and any additional options. This will help you create a clear and organized layout for your charts. The name of the column will be included at the top, making it easy to identify which chart belongs where.

Creating Flex Dashboard Templates

If you're new to creating Flex dashboards, you might find it helpful to use a template. You can create a Flex dashboard template in R Studio by choosing "File" > "New File" > "R Markdown", then selecting the "Flex: Dashboard" template. This will give you a head start on creating your own Flex dashboard.

Putting It All Together

Now that we've covered the basics of creating a Flex dashboard, it's time to put this knowledge into practice. We'll be using a publicly available data set from a bike share service in the San Francisco area, which has records for all bike trips taken from station to station with locations and times. This data will appear in many of the exercises, giving you hands-on experience with creating your own Flex dashboard.

In conclusion, creating a Flex dashboard is a powerful way to turn your markdown file into an interactive and visually appealing presentation. By understanding the output option, Flex dashboard syntax, columns, and templates, you'll be well on your way to creating stunning dashboards that will engage your audience and convey your message effectively.

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or just column will suffice you can create a flex dashboard template in our studio by choosing file new file our markdown then from template flex dashboard and okay if you have at least one chart and the appropriate output in the header all you have to do is knit and you'll have a dashboard for this course we'll be using a publicly available data set from a bike share service in the San Francisco area it has records for all bike trips taken from station to station with locations and times you'll see this data appear in many of the exercises time to put this into practicenow we're going to talk about the basics of how a Flex dashboard is put together the little piece of magic that turns our markdown into a Flex dashboard is in the header every our markdown file starts with a header and the key part for us is the output line if you've used our markdown before you may have noticed that the output was set to HTML document or perhaps PDF document this option determines how everything in your our markdown file is interpreted and what type of output is produced when you knit the document so you might have guessed how we make our our markdown file become a Flex dashboard we change the output type to flex underscore dashboard you'll usually see this as output : Flex dashboard double colon flex underscore dashboard which makes it extra clear that this output option comes with a Flex dashboard our package with this option set your our markdown file will be interpreted as Flex dashboard syntax a Flex dashboard is made of charts every chart fills one box in the dashboard layout the way to indicate a chart in your R markdown file is with a triple pound sign everything below one of these and above the next will be included in a single chart usually this is a single R chunk but it can also include text the title of the chart can be included on the same line as the triple pound sign charts are arranged in columns every chart is in exactly one column but a column can contain multiple charts you can create a dashboard without specifying columns and all charts will stack up in a single column by default however usually you'll want to specify the columns directly columns are created using a series of 14 or more dashes in Flex dashboard syntax all charts between one column header and the next will be laid out in that column you can add a name for the column and options which we'll talk about later on the line above the dashes but the name will not here anywhere in your dashboard a specific name might be helpful for you or just column will suffice you can create a flex dashboard template in our studio by choosing file new file our markdown then from template flex dashboard and okay if you have at least one chart and the appropriate output in the header all you have to do is knit and you'll have a dashboard for this course we'll be using a publicly available data set from a bike share service in the San Francisco area it has records for all bike trips taken from station to station with locations and times you'll see this data appear in many of the exercises time to put this into practice\n"