---
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: 1201
product: InfluxDB Cloud (TSM)
version: cloud
---

# Control a dashboard

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**.
    
    ![Select timezone](/img/influxdb/2-0-controls-timezone.png)

### 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.
    
    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.**
    
    ![Dark & light mode](/img/influxdb/2-0-controls-dark-light-mode.png)

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