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Auto-update data in visualizations

How to keep your data up to date in Reports and Dashboards

Jennifer Funk avatar
Written by Jennifer Funk
Updated over 3 weeks ago

When enabled, Auto Update automatically refreshes your visualizations to use the most recent data available in the mySidewalk Data Library—without requiring any manual updates or republishing on your part.

Auto Update addresses a common challenge for mySidewalk users who need their published assets to stay current with minimal effort. However, there are some cases when you might want to keep the data fixed, and we provide you that choice.

With Auto Update, you can choose whether each dataset in a visualization should:

  • Automatically update to the latest available data (Auto Update enabled)

  • Remain fixed with the specific data you selected (Auto Update disabled)

    • Note: Some datasets will update regardless of your selection because we replace old values with new values when we make the update.


How Auto Update Works

What Gets Updated

  • Data Values Only: When more recent data is added to our library, the visualization automatically updates to display these newer values.

  • Preserves Your Design: All styling choices, color schemes, labels, and other customizations remain exactly as you created them.

  • Text Doesn't Change: Accompanying text in your Reports or Dashboards will never update automatically. (Below are some tips for keeping text aligned with data when auto-update is enabled.)

Visual Indicators

  • Inside the visualization editor, a blue Auto Update icon appears next to data selections where this feature is enabled, letting you know at a glance which datasets will update automatically.

  • See the section below, Enabling Auto Update, for more detail on how to interpret the visual indicators in different visualization types. There's some variation.

Update Process

  • Updates happen automatically in the background when new data becomes available in our system.

  • No manual intervention or republishing is required to keep your Reports and Dashboards current.

  • While we send emails when new data is added to our library, there are currently no personalized notifications when specific visualizations are updated.

Important Limitations

  • System Data Only: Auto Update only works with data from the mySidewalk Data Library. It cannot be applied to data you've uploaded — yet.

  • Current Data Only: The feature can only be applied to the most recently available data - data marked "current" in mySidewalk, not to historic or projected datasets. The purpose of the feature is to ensure the most current data is always visualized, so only current data can be kept current.

  • Exception Datasets: Some datasets in our system will always update regardless of your Auto Update selection. This is because we replace this data in our system when we update it (vs append the new time period). The current list (which is subject to change) includes:

    • Area

    • BLS Months

    • Broadband

    • CDC WONDER pooled years.

    • EPA EJ SCREEN

    • Change over time between 2 ACS estimates

    • FEMA NRI

    • US Census ACS 5-year Estimates

    • Projected Census data

    • LODES 10-year change over time

    • NANDA Parks

    • School Proficiency Index

    • USPTO (patents)


Enabling Auto Update

Auto Update is designed to be straightforward to use across all your visualizations in Reports and Dashboards. Here's how to enable and manage this feature:

For New Visualizations

Auto Update is enabled by default when you create a new visualization or add a new variable using any "current" data (the most recent available data for that dataset) from the mySidewalk Data Library.

Note: You can change this default setting in your user preferences. Under your profile picture, select Your Preferences, check Default auto-update: Off, and Save settings. Now when you create a new visualization/add a new variable, Auto Update will not be enabled by default.

For Existing Visualizations

You can easily enable Auto Update on visualizations you've already created:

  1. Open the Report or Dashboard containing the visualization

  2. Open the editor for the visualization you want to enable

  3. Locate and check the Auto Update checkbox(es)

  4. Save your changes

Visual Reference

  • For bar charts, pie charts, and time series: The Auto Update checkbox is at the component level. This is because all the variables in one of these charts are part of the same data group and source, so they update together.

  • For all other chart types: The Auto Update checkbox appears at the variable level, since the variables in these visualizations can belong to multiple data groups with different time elements and update schedules.

    • For convenience, you can select Auto Update at the component level for most of these charts too, which will enable every "current" variable.

Note: Remember that Auto Update can only be enabled for current data from the mySidewalk Data Library. The checkbox will not appear for historical, projected, or uploaded data.


Disabling Auto Update

You may want to disable Auto Update for certain visualizations, such as when you need to preserve a specific time period for comparison:

  1. Open your Report or Dashboard in edit mode

  2. Select the visualization you want to modify

  3. Uncheck the Auto Update checkbox

  4. Save your changes


Best Practices

To get the most out of the Auto Update feature, we recommend following:

When to Use Auto Update

Auto Update is ideal for:

  • Public-facing dashboards that need to display the most current information available

  • Ongoing monitoring reports that track trends over time

  • Regular briefings where stakeholders expect the latest data

  • Community information portals that serve as authoritative data sources

When to Consider Disabling Auto Update

Consider disabling Auto Update for:

  • Point-in-time analyses that reference specific data periods

  • Benchmarking projects where comparing against a fixed baseline is important

  • Historical records that should remain unchanged over time

  • Presentations or reports that include specific data points in the narrative

Aligning Text Content with Auto-Updating Data

Auto Update only refreshes the visualization data, not any accompanying text in your Reports or Dashboards. To maintain consistency:

  • Use general language in your narrative that doesn't reference specific numbers or years that might change with data updates

  • Regularly review your Reports and Dashboards when data updates to ensure text and visualizations remain aligned

  • Consider adding notes in your text explaining that visualizations automatically update as new data becomes available

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