Creating Cards in Visualize

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Article Goal

Learn how to create Cards in Visualize, including assigning actuals, series, and targets to compare values against performance benchmarks.

What Are Cards?

Cards are a type of visualization that display a numeric value with context, such as grouping by a category or comparing against a defined target. They’re great for quick “at-a-glance” performance indicators.

Use Case: A business manager could build Cards to track freight totals by employee, with a target of 10,000. Each card instantly shows how an employee is performing relative to the benchmark.

Why Create Cards?

• Provides clear performance indicators in a simple visual format

• Highlights whether actual values are above or below a defined target

• Easy to interpret at a glance, making them useful for dashboards

Note: Cards can include both raw values (actuals) and calculated targets, allowing deeper insight without complex reports.

Where Are Cards Created?

Cards are created inside the Visualize Designer in VDM. From here, you can add a Card element, drag in data fields, and set calculated targets.

Download Sample

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Steps to Create Cards

Step 1: Open Visualize Designer

Launch VDM and click on Visualize Designer from the main screen.

Step 2: Add Cards

Click the Cards icon to insert a new Card element into the workspace.

Step 3: Assign Fields

• Drag the field you want to measure into Cards Actual (e.g., Freight).

• Drag the grouping field into Cards Series (e.g., EmployeeID).

Step 4: Add a Calculated Field for Target

• Right-click in the fields list and select Add Calculated Field.

• Right-click the new field, rename it to Target, then choose Edit.

• Define the target value (e.g., 100).

Step 5: Assign the Target

• Drag the Target field into Cards Target.

• Use the dropdown to change the target from Sum to Max.

Optional Step: Format the Card Values

• Right-click on the actual field (e.g., Freight) and select Format.

• Set Format Type to Number.

• Enable Include group separator for readability.

Tip: Always format values when dealing with large numbers. Proper formatting improves readability and ensures your dashboard is easy to interpret at a glance.

Example Output

The example below shows Cards displaying the sum of Freight by EmployeeID compared against a target of 10,000. Each card highlights employee freight totals and whether they meet or fall short of the target.

Article Summary

Creating Cards in Visualize provides a fast and effective way to show key metrics and compare them against defined goals. By combining actual values with calculated targets, users can quickly assess performance by category. For example, Freight totals by EmployeeID can be compared against a benchmark, helping managers identify over- and under-performers at a glance.

Use Case: Use Cards on a dashboard to show department sales totals with a target line, enabling leadership to track progress toward company goals in real time.