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What is Real-Time Dashboard?

Real-Time Dashboard is Microsoft Fabric's solution for live monitoring and visualization. It helps you turn streaming data into actionable insights quickly, so you can monitor operational signals, spot changes as they happen, and respond without delay. Designed for operations managers, data analysts, and business users, Real-Time Dashboard enables users to monitor, analyze, and act on live data streams through interactive, continuously updating visualizations that surface insights and anomalies as they happen.

This overview explains what Real-Time Dashboard is, what it's used for, and the capabilities that make it useful for real-time decision-making.

Screenshot of a real-time dashboard in Fabric displaying sample bike data.

You can also embed a Real-Time Dashboard in your own web application by using Fabric Embedded. This approach lets users interact with live data directly within your application, while Microsoft Fabric continues to enforce authentication and permissions. For more information, see Fabric Embedded.

Key features

  • Live data monitoring: Real-Time Dashboard supports optional live refresh, so dashboards automatically update as new data is ingested or at configured intervals. Alternatively, you can keep dashboards static and trigger updates manually. This feature enables timely visibility into changing conditions, trends, and anomalies.

  • Interactive exploration: Dashboards support analysis directly within visuals, so you can:

    • Slice and dice by time or other custom dimensions to focus on key metrics.
    • Apply filters or drill down on chart elements to refine other visuals or dive deeper into the data.

    These capabilities let you explore and refine insights without leaving the dashboard experience.

  • Copilot-powered authoring and exploration: Real-Time Dashboard leverages Copilot to streamline both dashboard creation and data analysis through natural language interactions.

  • Proactive monitoring and automation: Real-Time Dashboard integrates with Data Activator to support event-driven workflows, so you can:

    • Define thresholds for key metrics.
    • Trigger alerts when conditions are met.
    • Initiate automated actions such as notifications or workflows.

    This feature helps you move from passive monitoring to proactive management and response, so critical events are addressed promptly.

  • Version control and lifecycle management: Integrate dashboards with Git-based workflows so you can:

    • Sync dashboards with GitHub or Azure DevOps for version control and collaborative development.
    • Track changes and manage dashboard versions effectively.
    • Collaborate with team members while maintaining a clear history of modifications.

  • Data sharing and collaboration: Use safe collaboration to share dashboards securely without exposing the underlying data. This feature gives more people visibility while preserving data security and governance.

  • Visual customization and conditional formatting: Customize the appearance and behavior of dashboard visuals, and apply conditional formatting to highlight values with colors, tags, and icons based on rules you define. This feature helps you draw attention to the values that matter most.

  • Time series analysis: Use the Time series visual and KQL time series capabilities to explore how data changes over time, spot trends, and drill into specific entities or time ranges. This feature helps you go beyond simple monitoring to deeper trend analysis.

Supported data sources

Real-Time Dashboard integrates with several data sources so you can monitor and visualize real-time data from multiple platforms. For the full list of supported data sources, see Real-Time Dashboard supported data sources.

Supported visuals

Real-Time Dashboard supports most visualizations available through the render operator, as well as several dashboard-specific visuals. For the full list of supported visuals, along with common use cases and visual examples, see Real-Time Dashboard supported visuals.

Get started

To create a dashboard, start with one of these options:

  1. Manually create a dashboard:

    • Set up the Real-Time Dashboard step by step.
    • Manually select and configure data sources.
    • Write Kusto Query Language (KQL) queries to retrieve and visualize data in dashboard tiles, or use Copilot directly in the tile editor to author or modify queries with natural language.
    • Design and organize the layout of your dashboard.

  2. Use Copilot to generate a dashboard.

    • Select a data source, use natural language prompts, and Copilot automatically generates a Real-Time Dashboard as a starting point.
    • Customize the generated dashboard by modifying queries, adding or removing tiles, and adjusting the layout to fit your needs.

Related content

After you set up your dashboard and understand the basics, explore these resources to get more value from Real-Time Dashboard:

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