Filter Bookmarks eliminate the need to manually adjust filters every time users need to view a dashboard’s data in a new context, allowing them to quickly access and reuse previously saved filter conditions across your dashboards.

Installation and configuration

Operating system and version support:

Linux - Latest

Windows - Latest

Filter Bookmarks uses a config.js file for installation and configuration. This file controls the global behavior across your entire Sisense instance.

To locate this file:

Go to the Admin tab > App Configurations > File Management

Continue to the plugins folder > QBeeQBookmarks folder > select the config.js file

You can edit the file's code directly in the user interface.

var settings = { 
menu: ["filter", "dashboard"],
sharingOptions: ["private", "shared", "public"], 
allowedUserGroupsForPublicBookmarkCreation: ["abc11"], 
sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter: ["*"], 
sharedBookmarksUserGroupsExcluded: ["Admins"], 
defaultDashboardConfiguration: true, 
enableGrouping: true, 
enableAutoGrouping: true, 
useEncrypted: true, 
passPhrase: '67566B59703373367638792F423F46D5A7134743777',
button_background_color: "#ffcb05", 
button_text_color: "#3a4356", 
font_family: "Open Sans", 
popup_text_color: "#505f7b", 
filterIconAlignment: "left",
}

Options

`menu`

An array which determines if the Filter Bookmarks icon is displayed in the dashboard header, in the filter panel, or both. Filter Bookmarks options will also appear in the three-dot menu. The values in the array are not required to be in a particular order.

The default icon can be changed by uploading an SVG file, named bookmark_icon.svg to the QBeeQBookmarks folder. You will be prompted to replace the existing file. The new icon image will be applied when the plugin is rebuilt, which should be done automatically.

Value	Behavior
`dashboard`	Displays as an icon in the header, and as an option in the header’s three-dot menu
`filter`	Displays as an icon in the filter panel, and as an option in the panel’s three-dot menu

`sharingOptions`

The options included in the array allows bookmarks to be shared with specific user groups.

When included in the array, the options are visible in the UI, but the list of eligible user groups is not displayed to users. The values in the array are not required to be in a particular order.

Value	Behavior
`private`	Displayed as an option to the user in the UI. Bookmarks are visible to the creator.
`public`	Displayed as an option to the user in the UI. Bookmarks are visible to all the users that have access to the dashboard or dashboard group.
`shared`	Displayed as an option to the user in the UI. Bookmarks are visible to all the users that are in the same user group as the user that created the bookmark. See Shared bookmarks for more information about using this configuration, behavior and use cases.

ℹ️

sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter and sharedBookmarksUserGroupsExcluded can be used with sharingOptions to further define sharing permissions based on Sisense user groups.

`allowedUserGroupsForPublicBookmarkCreation`

Defines an array of Sisense user groups which are able to create public bookmarks for all users. Any users who are not included in the defined user groups will be able to see and use public bookmarks, but will not have the option to create them.

⚠️

If the value for this setting is empty and sharingOptions array includes ’public’, this setting will be enabled by default for all users

`sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter`

ℹ️

To use this feature, `shared` must be included in the sharingOptions array

An array that specifies user groups to include access to shared bookmarks, allowing the use of wildcards. See Shared bookmarks for more information about using this configuration, behavior and use cases.

⚠️

If the user is part of several candidate user groups, the system will prioritize the first relevant group in the array order and share the created bookmarks with all members of this group.

`sharedBookmarksUserGroupsExcluded`

ℹ️

To use this feature, `shared` must be included in the sharingOptions array

An array that specifies groups to exclude from accessing shared bookmarks, allowing the use of wildcards. See Shared bookmarks for more information about using this configuration, behavior and use cases.

`defaultDashboardConfiguration`

Filter Bookmarks can be enabled or disabled globally for all dashboards using this configuration. Filter Bookmarks can be enabled or disabled for specific dashboards.

Value	Behavior
`true`	When set to true, Filter Bookmarks will be enabled by default on all dashboards in the deployment.
`false`	When set to false, Filter Bookmarks will not be enabled on dashboards in the deployment.

`enableGrouping`

Dashboard groups allow a Designer to manually create a group and apply the same bookmark across multiple dashboards.

Value	Behavior
`true`	Dashboard Designers will see the option to create dashboard groups under Manage Bookmarks.
`false`	The Manage Bookmarks option is not displayed to the user.

`enableAutoGrouping`

As new dashboards are created using the same data model, bookmarks will automatically be applied. Bookmarks can be disabled for specific dashboards if not needed.

ℹ️

Unlike Dashboard Groups, Autogrouping does not have a visible naming convention.

Value	Behavior
`true`	On creation, a bookmark will be duplicated and applied to all dashboards that are using the same data model.
`false`	On creation, a bookmark will only apply to the dashboard it was created for.

`useEncrypted`

The encryption setting for data stored in the bookmark collections. The default value is set to `false` to ensure compatibility with legacy collections created prior to this feature. Encryption only needs to be configured once, which will encrypt existing bookmarks, and all new bookmarks.

💡

It is recommended to encrypt bookmark collections to prevent unauthorized access to data via the Custom Data API

Value	Behavior
`true`	The bookmark collection and its data is encrypted, stored as hashed data and can’t be decrypted without the passPhrase.
`false`	The bookmark collection is not encrypted. Data is stored as clear text in the database and queryable using the Custom Data API. This is not recommended.

`passPhrase`

The passPhrase is a string value used to encrypt or decrypt bookmark collections when useEncrypted is set to true.

Value	Behavior
`true`	The bookmark collection and its data is encrypted, stored as hashed data and can’t be decrypted without the passPhrase.
`false`	The bookmark collection is not encrypted. Data is stored as clear text in the database and queryable using the Custom Data API. This is not recommended.

🛑

Copy and store the passphrase key in a safe place. If the key has already been used to encrypt data you will not be able to decrypt without it.

`OnlyUseExistingFilters`

Changes to the dashboard’s data model may remove columns, and thus filters that have been included in Filter Bookmarks.

`button_background_color`

⚠️

This configuration is primarily relevant for Windows deployments. Linux deployments will use the Look and Feel/Themes. However if for any reason the branding information is not available, then these configurations will be applied.

Value	Behavior
Valid HEX code `#FFFFFF`	Defines the text color of the Bookmarks button on the dashboard header

`button_text_color`

⚠️

Value	Behavior
Valid HEX code `#FFFFFF`	Defines the text color of the Bookmarks button on the dashboard header

`font_family`

⚠️

Used to change the font-family for bookmarks plugin1wqq.

Value	Behavior
`font_family: "<font family name>",`	Defines the text color of the Bookmarks button on the dashboard header

`popup_text_color`

⚠️

This configuration is relevant for Windows deployments only. Linux deployments will use the Look and Feel/Themes.

Value	Behavior
Valid HEX code `#FFFFFF`	Defines the text color of the Bookmarks button on the dashboard header

`filterIconAlignment`

Specifies the location of the bookmarks icon in the filter panel.

Value	Behavior
`left`	Displays the icon left justified (Default), shown to the right of the Filters label
`right`	Displays the icon right justified, shown to the left of the + icon

Using Filter Bookmarks

Enabling Filter Bookmarks

To enable or disabled Filter Bookmarks for a specific dashboard:

Click the three-dot menu in the dashboard header or filter panel, determined by the menu configuration

Toggle the switch for Enable Bookmarks

Managing Bookmarks

Shared bookmarks

Shared bookmarks allow you to control bookmark sharing by leveraging native Sisense user groups. It ensures bookmarks are shared only with designated groups. This is particularly useful for OEMs serving multiple customers with diverse data access needs by creating bookmarks that are shared only with designated user groups.

sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter and sharedBookmarksUserGroupsExcluded can be combined to target specific groups while excluding others.

sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter

Specifies user groups to include access to shared bookmarks, allowing the use of wildcards. This is suggested when group naming conventions are consistent.

Example

The current user belongs to the following groups: Admins, Customer_3, and AllCustomers. The configuration for sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter is set to: ["Admins", "AllCustomers"].

When this user creates a shared bookmark, it will be visible to all members of the Customer_3 group who have access to the dashboard. This happens because the system prioritizes the Customer_3 group as the relevant group for sharing, even though the filter specifies "Admins" and "AllCustomers." The user's membership in Customer_3 ensures the bookmark is shared appropriately.

sharedBookmarksUserGroupsExcluded

Specifies user groups to exclude and prevent sharing bookmarks with irrelevant groups, allowing the use of wildcards. This is suggested when naming conventions are inconsistent or non-existent

Example

The current user belongs to the following groups: Admins, Customer_3, and AllCustomers. The configuration for sharedBookmarksUserGroupsFilter is set to: ["Customer_*"].

When this user creates a shared bookmark, it will be visible to all members of the Customer_3 group who have access to the dashboard. This is because the filter pattern ["Customer_*"] matches all user groups starting with "Customer_", and Customer_3 is the group that fits this pattern for the current user.

Dashboard groups

ℹ️

When enabled, Dashboard groups are only available to Designers

Create a dashboard group

To create a dashboard group:

Click the three-dot menu in the dashboard header or filter panel

Select Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks

Create a unique group name

Add a dashboard to a group

⚠️

Dashboard group names are unique and case sensitive, and groups are not displayed on creation. To avoid inadvertently creating a new group, refer to a dashboard that you know is part of the group using Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks

To add a specific dashboard to an existing group:

Click the three-dot menu in the dashboard header or filter panel

Select Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks

Type the name of the dashboard group

Click Add

Remove a dashboard from a group

Click the three-dot menu in the dashboard header or filter panel

Select Bookmarks

Toggle the switch for Enable Bookmarks

Delete a dashboard group

⚠️

When a dashboard group is deleted, the association between the dashboard and the group will be removed, but the bookmark will be retained, and can be added to additional group in the future.

Click the three-dot menu in the dashboard header or filter panel

Select Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks

Click the trash can next to the group name

Autogroups

When Autogrouping is enabled in the configuration file, it automatically applies bookmarks across all dashboards using the same data model.

If you manage multiple dashboards with the same data model, Autogrouping removes the manual effort of creating distinct dashboard groups, ensuring a seamless and efficient workflow.

Autogrouping and Filter Behavior Across Dashboards

If you have multiple dashboards using the same data model, Autogrouping helps by automatically organizing them—eliminating the need to manually create separate dashboard groups.

Multi-data source example

Consider a scenario where a dashboard has three different data sources:

Northwind

Northwind, E-commerce

Northwind, E-commerce, Sales

With Autogrouping enabled, bookmarks created for each dashboard will be visible and shared across all dashboards. This means:

Applying filters on Dashboard 3 will affect Dashboards 1 and 2, since they share some data sources.

Applying a filter on Dashboard 1 (which has only one source) will still impact Dashboards 2 and 3 because they contain the same data source (Northwind).

Controlling Filter Behavior

To limit filters to only those that match the existing data sources on each dashboard, use the OnlyUseExistingFilters option. This ensures that dashboards apply only relevant filters and avoid unwanted data inclusion.

Encrypting and decrypting Filter Bookmark collection

ℹ️

Script files have been provided for you, and can be found in File Manager > Plugins > QBeeQBookmarks asdashboard_encryption_script.txt and dashboard_decryption_script.txt

To encrypt bookmark collections:

Set useEncrypted to true in the config.js file

Create a new dashboard

Navigate to the three-dot menu > Edit Script

Paste the script code from dashboard_encryption_script.txt file

Update the passphrase to match the value in the config.js file

Click Save and refresh the page

Delete the dashboard

When saved, this code will update the bookmark collections from all dashboards.

To decrypt bookmark collections:

Set useEncrypted to false in the config.js file

Create a new dashboard

Navigate to the three-dot menu > Edit Script

Paste the script code from dashboard_decryption_script.txt file

Update the passphrase to match the value in the config.js file

Click Save and refresh the page

Delete the dashboard

When saved, this code will update the bookmark collections from all dashboards.

Filter Bookmarks for embedded dashboards

If you are embedding your dashboards and hiding the header and/or the filter panel, you can still provide the Filter Bookmarks feature by adding a QBeeQ Bookmarks widget to your dashboard.

The Bookmarks button, on click, opens the Filter Bookmarks dialogue, on the Bookmark List tab.

The Create Bookmarks button, on click, opens the Filter Bookmarks dialogue, on the Add New Bookmark tab

To add Filter Bookmarks to an embedded dashboard:

Create a new widget on the dashboard

Select QBeeQ Bookmarks from the dropdown list

In the Design Panel,

Setting	Behavior
Bookmarks List Button Label	The text displayed on the button. Changing the text does not change the interaction/functionality.
Create Bookmarks Button Label	The text displayed on the button. Changing the text does not change the interaction/functionality.

By default, both the Bookmarks and Create Bookmark buttons will display. In the designer panel, you can control the display label for each button.

Using Filter Bookmarks

Accessing Filter Bookmarks

Depending on the configuration, accessing Filter Bookmarks can be accessed from the dashboard header, filter panel or their respective three-dot menus.

Bookmarks list

To view the list of bookmarks available to you, click the icon. Toggle between My Bookmarks and Other Bookmarks to see all bookmarks available to you.

Creating a new bookmark

Before creating a new bookmark, select and apply any filters to the dashboard that should be included as part of the bookmark.

⚠️

Bookmarks are not editable after creation. If changes are required, the bookmark must be deleted and recreated.

To create a new bookmark:

Click on the bookmark icon

Click on the Add New Bookmark tab

Provide a unique name for the bookmark

Set the visibility as Public, Private or Shared

Click Add to save your bookmark

Filters can then be removed and/or changed to create additional bookmarks.

Deleting a bookmark

To delete a bookmark:

Open the Bookmarks List

Locate the bookmark you want to delete

Click the trash can icon next to the bookmark

When a bookmark is deleted, it will be immediately removed from the Other Bookmarks list for all users.

Usage Analytics

Usage Analytics is available as a CSV download for Designers or Admins. The CSV contains information about all Filter Bookmarks that have been created and stored on the server. This file includes meta data about individual Bookmark Filters (id, type, dashboardId, createdBy, etc.), user groups and shared user groups.

To generate a usage analytics CSV:

Click the three-dot menu on the dashboard or in the filter panel

Go to Bookmarks > Usage Analytics

When clicked, the file will automatically download.