Best practices: Resolution (Timeframe)

This article will guide you on how to configure resolution (timeframe) on different parts of the platform, such as chart, value and map widgets, as well as reports.

Datacake has a time-series database framework, which organises data into time buckets. These buckets help in managing and querying data efficiently over various periods of time.

Selecting the right resolution is very important for dashboard performance. You should choose a timeframe that not only presents the most relevant information but also maintains the dashboard's responsiveness and efficiency. A higher resolution (i.e., more granular data points) can provide detailed insights but may slow down performance due to the larger volume of data being processed.

That is why we advise you to opt for the smallest practical resolution that still captures the essential details of your data. This approach ensures that viewers access the most critical information without compromising the dashboard’s overall performance.

Datacake will allow you to select a specific resolution on Value, Chart and (device dashboard) Map Widgets, as well as on your automated reports.

Setting Resolution on Value, Chart and Map Widgets

The Chart, Value and Map Widgets come with options to set up a custom time range. You will find them when entering the edit modus of your dashboard and on your widget's configuration under Timeframe.

You will find specific documentation for each of the widgets here:

pageValue WidgetpageChart WidgetpageMap Widget

Take into consideration that the Map Widget on Device Dashboards is the only that has historical data. Historical data is not available on Global Dashboards. For that we have developed side-dashboards, that will allow to click on a specific device and show the device's dashboard on the right side of the screen.

Relative Time Range Options

You can select between a range of relative time range options. This allow you to select a fix-sized window of time that will move in the future. We suggest you to use them. Some of the available options are:

startOfHour, startOfDay, startOfYesterday, startOfWeek, startOfLastWeek, startOfMonth, startOfLastMonth, startOfYear, startOfLastYear, 30 minutes ago, an hour ago, a day ago, 7 days ago, a week ago, a month ago, last year, now

Some examples may be:

• Rolling the last 24 hours: From: 24 hours ago or 1 day ago -> Until: now

• Rolling this week: From: 7 days ago or a week ago -> Until: now

• Rolling from the start of the week until now: From: startOfWeek -> Until: now

The next step after entering the timeframe is selecting the resolution. You can enter manually a specific amount of Minutes or Hours.

Remember that the platform makes an effort to fetch the data from the time-series database, so be mindful when selecting a large timeframe and a very low resolution, since this will affect negatively the performance of your dashboard.

If you still don't know how to select the timeframe and resolution to work the best, you can enable on the Chart Widget the "Allow timeframe selection on dashboard" option you will find under Appearance. This will allow your customers to select the timeframe on the frontend and the resolution set up as default is the ideal resolution. Otherwise we recommend you skipping to the

Daily Trends with High Resolution

or

Weekly Or Monthly Overviews

Absolute Time Range Options

You can also select an absolute time range, which means you can enter a specific date. However, this is only recommended if the time range selected is static.

Never select From: *specific date* -> Until: now. This will cause problems, since the specific date will stay static. Every day that passes will be one more added day of data that the dashboard will have to fetch, which might become unsustainable and your dashboard will start having extremely long loading times.

Daily Trends with High Resolution

We recommend to use high resolution data (like resolutions within minutes, for example 5 minutes) only in combination with time frames that go back to maximum of 48 hours. So you could set up a chart for a high resolution trend for the last 24 hours with the following settings: 24 hours ago to now with resolution of 5 minutes.

Weekly Or Monthly Overviews

Once you have set up a chart with high resolution for the last 24 hours, you can duplicate that widget and set the time frame to a lower resolution with larger time frame, like 14 days ago or 31 days ago to now with a resolution of 24 hours, 12 hours or 4 hours.

If you set up a chart for a monthly overview we recommend using 24 hours as the resolution.

You might want to select "Bar Chart" as the visualisation type as this makes more sense for higher resolutions.

Setting Resolution on Reports

As per the resolution on widgets, resolution in reports determines the level of granularity of the data presented and plays a crucial role in both the accuracy of the information and the performance of the report.

The chosen time range should align with the report’s purpose. Shorter time ranges can be combined with higher resolution to capture more data details. However, longer time ranges should be better combined with lower resolution to enhance performance and readability.

Only use "Raw Data" when selecting short time ranges (Max. 2 days, depending on the amount of data included in the report). Otherwise, your reports will take several minutes to be sent.

You can read more about Reports and it's configuration here:

pageReports

Common Use Cases and Examples

Datacake reports can serve various purposes. For instance, using reports as a backup method is a common practice. In those cases, where the main goal is to maintain a reliable record rather than detailed analysis, setting a lower resolution is necessary. Daily reports with lower resolution are recommended for backup purposes because they provide sufficient overview while minimising system load and storage requirements.

For more analytical needs, where trends and changes over time are more critical, weekly, monthly, or even annual reports can be configured. In these cases, setting a higher resolution period is beneficial. For example, weekly reports might track more granular changes in a production process, monthly reports could monitor broader trends in sales performance, and annual reports might focus on year-over-year growth comparisons. Each of these reports would benefit from a resolution that matches the goal—capturing enough detail to inform decisions without overwhelming the system or the end-user with excessive data.

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