---
title: Control a dashboard
description: Control an InfluxDB dashboard in the InfluxDB user interface (UI).
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/dashboards/control-dashboard/
estimated_tokens: 819
product: InfluxDB Cloud (TSM)
version: cloud
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/dashboards/control-dashboard/
date: '2022-11-02T13:33:24-05:00'
lastmod: '2022-11-02T13:33:24-05:00'
---

1. In the navigation menu on the left, select **Boards** (**Dashboards**).

   Dashboards

2. Double-click a dashboard name to open it, and then do any of the following:

   * [Add a cell](#add-a-cell)
   * [Add a note](#add-a-note)
   * [Select a timezone](#select-a-timezone)
   * [Manually refresh a dashboard](#manually-refresh-a-dashboard)
   * [Automatically refresh a dashboard](#automatically-refresh-a-dashboard)
   * [Select the time range](#select-the-time-range)
   * [Add variables](#add-variables)
   * [View in presentation mode](#view-in-presentation-mode)
   * [Toggle dark mode and light mode](#toggle-dark-mode-and-light-mode)

### Add a cell

1. Click  **Add Cell** in the upper left hand corner to open the Data Explorer and configure a new cell for your dashboard.
2. Click **Name this cell** , and enter a cell name.
3. Create and submit your query.
4. Click the **✓ check mark** in the upper right hand corner to add the cell to the dashboard.

For details on using the Data Explorer, see [Explore metrics](/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/explore-metrics/).

### Add a note

1. Click  **Add Note** to add a note cell to your dashboard.
2. Enter your note in Markdown in the left pane. A preview appears in the right pane.
3. Click **Save**.

### Select a timezone

* From the timezone drop-down list, select the timezone to use for the dashboard–**Local** (default) or **UTC**.

  <img width="282" src="/img/influxdb/2-0-controls-timezone.png" alt="Select timezone">

### Manually refresh a dashboard

* Click the refresh button () to manually refresh the dashboard’s data.

### Automatically refresh a dashboard

1. Click **Set Auto Refresh**, and then configure the following options:
   * Select **Indefinite** to automatically refresh continuously, or select **Custom** to set a time to stop automatically refreshing.
   * **Refresh Interval**: Enter how frequently the dashboard should refresh.
   * **Inactivity Timeout**: Set how long the user should be inactive for the dashboard to time out and stop automatically refreshing.

2. Click **Confirm** to save your changes.

### Select the time range

1. Select from the time range options from the list.

2. Select **Custom Time Range** to enter a custom time range with precision up to nanoseconds.
   The default time range is 5 minutes.

   > [!Note]
> The custom time range uses the selected timezone (local time or UTC).

### Add variables

* Click **Show Variables** to display variables available for your dashboard. For details, see [Use and manage variables](/influxdb/cloud/visualize-data/variables/).

### View in presentation mode

* Click the ellipsis button, and then select **Presentation Mode** to enter presentation mode. Presentation mode lets you view a dashboard in full screen, hiding the left and top navigation menus so only the cells appear. This mode might be helpful, for example, for stationary screens dedicated to monitoring visualizations.

### Toggle dark mode and light mode

* Click the ellipsis button, and then select the moon or sun icons to toggle your dashboard between **dark mode** and **light mode.**

  <img src="/img/influxdb/2-0-controls-dark-light-mode.png" width="54" alt="Dark &amp; light mode">

[dashboards](/influxdb/cloud/tags/dashboards/)