Is it possible to pass the whole pageData object into a dashboard?

It seems like the answer to this is no since the options for dashboard context are the following:
Device Id
Device Tag
Device Attribute
String
or
Number

I thought I would ask because it would be useful to pass some of the pageData information on to a workflow (using a virtual button to submit this data) without having to explicitly tell the dashboard each string/number that I need from the pageData object at the dashboard context level but instead to pass the whole pageData object into context and then extract the parts that I need to deal with within the workflow.

@Leo_Bach1,

So, Dashboard Context is the only way to pass data from other places into a dashboard. Unfortunately, you are correct; you do have to specify each one. This is due for many reasons. But, the best one is the default for a context variable. If you allowed an object, and it wasn’t available for the dashboard when it loaded, this would result in an unusable dashboard. Instead, you can specify each one and defaults. I’m sure their other reasons our engineering team decided to go the explicit route.

But, if you can provide some more details of your use case and what you’re expecting, maybe I can recommend a more efficient way, or provide that feedback to our product team.

1 Like

Taron,
My use case is an attempt to use what I have already built and make it east on myself to not have to rework my dashboards (I appreciate you documenting how to use elements) in order to update the dashboard after user driven action from an input block and virtual button press.
I know you have voiced concerns and that there are other ways to accomplish this but I am running short on time to initial deployment, I have already spent three months getting to this point and I am at the limit of the things that I can ask my user to do to get started.

I really don’t want to create additional pages to handle user input but would like my users to do 90% of their work from a dashboard. My users already have enough to do just to get started monitoring their machines:

  1. Create an Account
  2. Verify Email
  3. Login
  4. Claim a Gateway
  5. Scan for Sensors on Said Gateway
  6. Create a Machine
  7. Assign Sensors to that Machine
  8. Setup Sensor Orientation
  9. Setup Sensor Alarm Limits

My goal was to pass the information about the experience user that is logged in along with their submission of the input block and within the workflow to use the http node to trigger a GET request to the same page with dashboard that they are on by using the already available client authorization token to do this within the workflow of the virtual button.

If I add any more setup headache or redirection to different setup pages then I fear my users will fall into the “unneccessary complex setup” camp and our offering will not be successful due to too much setup overhead.

I just wanted to make a note that I do appreciate all the help that you guys have provided in the documentation and the forum and my frustration comes from my current level of understanding and competence on the different areas required to use your platform. It is a very nice offering and I have 90% of what I need to impress my customers. Thanks for all your answers and time spent getting your less technically savvy customers up to speed.