A workbook is a document made from your Eido data. Where a dashboard is a screen you look at, a workbook is something you send: a monthly service report for a customer, a patching summary for a change board, a compliance pack for an auditor. You lay it out from headings, paragraphs and widgets, and Eido turns it into a PDF with the figures as they stand at that moment.
Workbooks is in the sidebar for everybody who can sign in. A workbook belongs to the person who created it. Only its owner can change, schedule or delete it.
The Workbooks page#
Each workbook is a card.
| On the card | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Shared | The owner has shared it. |
| Scheduled | It is emailed on a schedule. Hover over the badge for how often. |
| A person’s name | The owner. |
| Edit | Opens a workbook you own in the builder. |
| View | Opens somebody else’s shared workbook, read only. |
| The bin | Deletes the workbook. Only on your own. |
Search workbooks… searches names and descriptions. New Workbook opens an empty builder.
Build a workbook#
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Press New Workbook and name it
Type the name into the box at the top. A workbook cannot be saved without one.
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Add sections
Use the buttons beside Add section:. Each press adds a section to the bottom of the document.
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Fill each section in
See the table below.
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Arrange them
Drag a section by the dotted handle at its top left to move it. The bin at its top right removes it.
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Press Save
The builder does not save as you go. Press Save before you leave the page.
The kinds of section#
| Section | What it adds | What you can set |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | A heading. | The text, a level from H1 to H6, and left, centre or right alignment. |
| Text | A paragraph. | The text, its alignment, and a size: Small, Normal or Large. |
| Widget | A table, bar chart, pie chart or tile of live data. Up to three side by side. | See below. |
| Page break | Starts a new page in the PDF. | Nothing. |
| Divider | A horizontal line. | Nothing. |
Widgets#
A widget section starts with one empty widget. Hover over it for its tools.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| The two-pages icon, Choose an existing report | Opens the list of reports you can see in Query Hub. Pick one and press Use report. |
| The pencil, Edit widget | Opens the query builder, to build the widget from nothing or change the one that is there. It is the same builder as in Query Hub. See Building a query. |
| The alignment buttons | Place the widget to the left, centre or right of its space. |
| The bin, Remove column | Removes this widget from the row. Only there when the row has more than one. |
Above each widget is a title (Add a title) and below it a description (Add a description), each with its own alignment. If you choose an existing report and the title is empty, the report’s name is used. The description is the place for the sentence that says what the reader should take from the chart.
The plus at the right of the row adds another widget beside the first. A row holds up to three.
Style the document#
Style opens Document style, which controls how the PDF looks.
| Group | Settings |
|---|---|
| Page | Size (A4 or Letter), Orientation (Portrait or Landscape), Accent colour and Font colour. |
| Cover page | Switch it on for a first page showing the workbook’s name. Add a Subtitle, switch Show date on or off, and upload a Logo. |
| Page header | Header text and a Header logo, repeated at the top of every page. |
| Page footer | Footer text, and Show page numbers. |
A logo has to be under 1MB. Press an uploaded logo to replace it, or the bin beside it to remove it.
Press Done to close the panel, then Save to keep the changes.
Export to PDF#
Press Export PDF. The file downloads once it has been made.
- Save first. The PDF is made from the workbook as it was last saved, and the button is unavailable until a new workbook has been saved once.
- The data is fresh. Every widget is run again when the PDF is made.
- It shows what you are allowed to see. When you export, the widgets are limited to the devices, users and customers your role allows.
- Tables are trimmed to fit a page. A table in a PDF shows up to 500 rows and the first 8 columns. For a long list, send the report itself as a CSV instead. See Saving and exporting reports.
- Charts are redrawn for print. A chart in the PDF has the same figures and colours as on screen, but is not interactive and can look slightly different.
Share a workbook#
Switch on Shared in the toolbar and press Save. The workbook then appears on the Workbooks page for your colleagues, who can open it with View and export it. They cannot change it.
If you manage several customers, a workbook belongs to wherever you were working when you created it. One created while working inside a customer is listed only for people working inside that customer.
Email a workbook on a schedule#
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Press Schedule in the toolbar.
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Switch on Email this workbook on a schedule.
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Choose a Frequency, then when:
Frequency Then set Daily Hour (UTC), from 0 to 23. Weekly Day of week. Monthly Day of month (1-28). -
Leave Send a copy to me (the owner) on, or switch it off to send only to others.
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Under Additional recipients, type each email address and press Add. A schedule needs at least one recipient.
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Press Done, then Save.
The PDF arrives as an attachment to an email titled “Scheduled Workbook” followed by the workbook’s name. Weekly and monthly workbooks are sent just after midnight UTC on the chosen day.
A scheduled workbook is made as its owner. It holds the data the owner is allowed to see, whoever receives it, and it stops being sent if the owner’s account is removed or suspended.
Workbooks built by Odie#
If Odie is switched on, you can ask him to put a workbook together for you. While he works, the builder shows “Odie is building this workbook” and new sections appear as they are added. When it has finished, press Start editing and the workbook is yours to change. See Odie.
Questions#
Why is Export PDF greyed out?#
The workbook has never been saved. Name it and press Save.
Why does the PDF not show the change I just made?#
The PDF is made from the saved workbook. Press Save, then Export PDF.
Why is my table cut short in the PDF?#
Tables in a PDF stop at 500 rows and 8 columns. Tick fewer columns in the widget and filter it down to the rows that matter.
Why can I only view a workbook?#
It belongs to somebody else. Only the owner can change it.
Why can I not add a fourth widget to a row?#
Three is the most that fits across a page legibly. Add another widget section underneath.
I left the page and my changes are gone. Can I get them back?#
No. The builder saves only when you press Save.