Infor SyteLine4 min readNetray Engineering TeamUpdated March 4, 2025

How to Build Dashboard Widgets in SyteLine

SyteLine dashboard widgets provide at-a-glance visibility into manufacturing operations directly on user homepages. These widgets pull real-time data from IDOs and display it as charts, gauges, lists, and summary tiles that update automatically. Building effective widgets requires understanding SyteLine's Homepage framework, IDO query configuration, and visualization component options to deliver actionable insights to plant managers and production supervisors.

Creating Homepage Widget Definitions

Dashboard widgets in SyteLine are built using the Homepage Widget Designer accessible from the Administration menu. Start by defining a new widget with a unique identifier, display title, and target user group assignment. Select the widget type from available options including Chart, Grid, Gauge, Count, and HTML. Each widget type supports different visualization styles suited to specific data patterns. Chart widgets support bar, line, pie, and area chart types for trend and distribution analysis. Grid widgets display tabular data with sorting and filtering capabilities for detail-level monitoring.

Access Homepage Widget Designer from Administration > Homepage Configuration menu
Define widget metadata including unique ID, display name, description, and refresh interval
Select widget type matching your data visualization needs: Chart, Grid, Gauge, or Count
Assign widgets to user groups using SyteLine role-based security for targeted information delivery

Configuring Widget Data Sources with IDOs

Each widget connects to a SyteLine IDO that provides the underlying data. Configure the widget's data source by selecting the appropriate IDO such as SLJobOrders for production data, SLItems for inventory metrics, or SLCustomerOrders for sales analytics. Define property collections specifying which IDO fields to retrieve, and apply filter expressions to limit data to relevant records. For aggregate widgets showing counts or sums, configure the AggregateFunction property with Sum, Count, Average, Min, or Max operations. Set the RecordCap property to limit data retrieval to 500-1000 records for optimal widget load performance.

Select IDOs like SLJobOrders, SLItems, or SLCustomerOrders matching your widget's data domain
Define property collections to retrieve only the specific fields needed for display
Apply filter expressions using IDO filter syntax to scope data to current site, date range, or status
Configure aggregate functions and set RecordCap to 500-1000 for responsive widget performance

Styling and Deploying Widgets to Homepages

Customize widget appearance by configuring color schemes, chart axis labels, and threshold indicators that align with your company's visual standards. For gauge widgets, define Green, Yellow, and Red zones corresponding to target, warning, and critical thresholds for metrics like on-time delivery or scrap rate. Deploy widgets to homepages through the Homepage Layout Configuration, arranging them in a grid layout with configurable column spans. Set automatic refresh intervals between 60 and 300 seconds based on data volatility and server capacity. Test widgets across different screen resolutions to ensure readable display on both desktop monitors and shop floor displays.

Configure color schemes and threshold zones for gauge widgets with Green, Yellow, and Red ranges
Set chart axis labels, legends, and data point formatting for clear data communication
Arrange widgets in Homepage Layout Configuration using column-span grid positioning
Set refresh intervals between 60-300 seconds balancing data freshness against server load

Frequently Asked Questions

How many widgets can a SyteLine homepage display?

A SyteLine homepage supports up to 12 widgets in a grid layout, though 6-8 widgets provides the optimal balance of information density and readability. Each widget consumes server resources on refresh, so homepages with more than 8 widgets should use longer refresh intervals of 180-300 seconds. Widget grid layouts support 1, 2, 3, or 4 column configurations depending on screen resolution.

Can widgets display data from multiple SyteLine sites?

Yes, widgets can display multi-site data by configuring the IDO query without a site filter or by using cross-site IDOs that aggregate data across 2-10 plant databases. For separate database deployments, you need custom SQL views with linked server queries feeding a reporting IDO. Multi-site widgets typically require 3-5 seconds initial load time compared to 1-2 seconds for single-site widgets.

How do I troubleshoot widgets that show no data?

Start by verifying the IDO data source returns records using the IDO Request Tester utility. Check that filter expressions match current data, particularly date ranges and status values. Verify the user running the widget has security permissions on the underlying IDO and database tables. Check the SyteLine application server logs for IDO timeout errors, which commonly occur when RecordCap is not set and the query returns over 10,000 records.

Key Takeaways

1Creating Homepage Widget Definitions: Dashboard widgets in SyteLine are built using the Homepage Widget Designer accessible from the Administration menu. Start by defining a new widget with a unique identifier, display title, and target user group assignment.
2Configuring Widget Data Sources with IDOs: Each widget connects to a SyteLine IDO that provides the underlying data. Configure the widget's data source by selecting the appropriate IDO such as SLJobOrders for production data, SLItems for inventory metrics, or SLCustomerOrders for sales analytics.
3Styling and Deploying Widgets to Homepages: Customize widget appearance by configuring color schemes, chart axis labels, and threshold indicators that align with your company's visual standards. For gauge widgets, define Green, Yellow, and Red zones corresponding to target, warning, and critical thresholds for metrics like on-time delivery or scrap rate.

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