Persistent favorites, image thresholds, and button view updates in Business Variable 3.4.0

We are happy to announce the release of the Business Variable panel 3.4.0. This release includes the following updates:

• TreeView: Data Source for favorites
• TreeView: Use Custom image for the Grafana Thresholds
• TreeView: Collapse/Expand on initial load
• TreeView: Tabs order
• Button view: Reset button
• Button view: Scrollbar
• Multiple-selection variables: Unselect with Ctrl key

Grafana Catalog

The plugin was updated in the Grafana Plugins catalog on August 26, 2024.

Downloads

The Business Variable plugin touched the sky with a rip-roaring 1,000,000 downloads! 👏

The Business Variable panel was downloaded more than 1,000,000 times.

TreeView: Data Source for favorites

Previously, the Business Variable panel stored the selected favorites in the browser, which is an excellent solution in many cases. However, some users use multiple devices and browsers to work with the Grafana dashboard or need to clear their cookies often.

For these users, we added a new section, Favorites, where they can configure storing the favorites in a data source.

Data Source option allows to store your favorites in a data source.

SQL to create the table used in the illustration above:

CREATE TABLE favorites (
    id serial primary key,
    variable text NOT NULL,
    value text NOT NULL,
    user_id integer NOT NULL
);

Example of how the favorites table can be populated:

id	variable	value	user_id
2	device	Device5	1
3	device	Device3	1

Get items query

select * from favorites where user_id=${__user.id};

Add item query

INSERT INTO favorites(variable, value, user_id)
VALUES ('${payload.variable}', '${payload.value}', ${__user.id})

Delete item query

DELETE FROM favorites WHERE id=${payload.id}

TreeView: Custom image for the Grafana Thresholds

Grafana Thresholds functionality provides a better visual representation of data on your dashboard. To enhance it, we added the possibility of specifying an SVG image instead of a simple colored circle!

Specify image for a better visual thresholds representation.

TreeView: Collapse/Expand on initial load

It is a self-explanatory option. You can regulate your TreeView's appearance after the dashboard is open.

Collapse or expand on initial load.

TreeView: Tabs order

In case of multiple tabs, you can specify their order in the Tab order parameter:

• In order. The tabs will always be displayed in the same order as they are in the panel options.
• Selected first. The selected tab will always be displayed first.

Specify the order of the tabs.

Button view: Reset button

In the Button view, you can use the Reset selection button(x) to unselect everything in one click.

Use the reset selection button to unselect everything in the Button view.

Button view: Scrollbar

It is a nice change for user experience enhancement. A scrollbar automatically appears in the Button view when needed.

A scrollbar automatically appears in the Button view when needed.

Getting Started

The Business Variable panel can be installed from the Grafana Catalog or utilizing the Grafana command line tool.

For the latter, please use the following command.

grafana cli plugins install volkovlabs-variable-panel

Tutorial

This video reviews the latest features introduced in Business Variable 3.0.0.

Daria demonstrates many new options for the Minimize mode, such as

• allow empty value,
• allow custom values,
• maximum visible values.

For the Table mode, she explains how to display total and selected counts. Further, Daria introduces a Slider mode and touches upon the TreeView layout improvements and advanced features.

New features and updates in Business Variable 3.0.0.

For the all plugin options overview, please refer the other video.

Variable Panel for Grafana. New features and updates in 2.3.1.

We have many other tutorials that you can find helpful. You can review all related to this plugin tutorials here.

Release Notes

Features / Enhancements in 3.4.0

• Added panel options for changing tabs order (#193)
• Updated the local storage key for favorites (#194)
• Update to Grafana 11.1.4 (#195)

Features / Enhancements in 3.3.0

• Added data source use for favorites (#184)
• Updated documentation (#185)
• Added scrollbar for button view (#187)

Features / Enhancements in 3.2.0

• Updated video tutorial (#166)
• Updated E2E workflow using Docker (#173)
• Added image threshold style for showing status in Table view (#170)

Features / Enhancements in 3.1.0

• Added collapse/expand rows option on initial load (#159)
• Updated Selection Behavior using Ctrl key (#160)
• Updated Grafana 11.0.0 and dependencies (#161)
• Added Reset button for button view (#162)
• Updated selection for variables with key/value pair (#165)

Always happy to hear from you

• Ask a question, request a new feature, and file a bug with GitHub issues.
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