Tile types.

Four tile types cover almost every dashboard. Each one wraps a cell type from your notebooks; the dashboard adds layout and presentation around it.

Chart

A chart tile takes its rendering straight from a chart cell — same Plotly figure, same interactivity (hover, zoom, legend toggle). The tile adds a frame, an editable title, and respect for the grid bounds.

Chart tiles also work over plain code cells whose output is a Plotly figure. If your code cell does fig = px.line(...) and shows the figure, you can pin it like a first-class chart.

A line chart tile with hover tooltip and legend toggle, set on a 6x4 grid cell./docs-images/dashboards/chart-tile.png
Chart tiles keep Plotly interactivity inside the tile frame.

Table

Table tiles render a DataFrame as a virtualized table. Sort by clicking a header, search with the toolbar, copy cells with Cmd+C. Big tables scroll smoothly — the same virtualization the SQL cell result viewer uses.

  • Compact — denser rows, smaller font; fits more in a narrow tile.
  • Comfortable — default; easier to scan.
  • Pinned columns — pick which columns stay visible when scrolling horizontally.

KPI

KPI tiles distill a single numeric value. The source cell can be a SQL cell that returns one row with one column, a code cell whose last expression is a number, or any DataFrame with one number you point the tile at via column picker.

Configurable extras:

  • Format — currency, percent, integer, scientific, or custom ($.2s style).
  • Delta vs. previous — compare against a prior run. Up arrow + color when increasing, sign-flipped if you want lower-is-better.
  • Sparkline — optional trend line below the number, taken from the same source.
Four KPI tiles in a row across the top of a dashboard, each with a value, delta, and sparkline./docs-images/dashboards/kpi-strip.png
The classic KPI strip: total, delta vs. last week, tiny sparkline.
-- Source cell for a "Monthly revenue" KPI
SELECT sum(amount) AS revenue
FROM orders
WHERE created_at >= date_trunc('month', now());

Markdown

Markdown tiles render a markdown cell's output verbatim. Use them for section dividers, context notes, or call-outs explaining the numbers around them. They support the same syntax as markdown cells — including math and images.

Tip

A single markdown tile spanning all 12 columns makes a great section break inside a long dashboard — "Acquisition", "Retention", "Revenue" with a one-sentence framing under each.

Picking the right tile

  • One number? KPI.
  • A trend? Chart.
  • A list someone needs to scan? Table.
  • Words? Markdown.

Up next: Filters and Sharing. Back to the Dashboards overview.