A manual table in the context of Business Intelligence (BI) refers to a data table or dataset that is created and maintained through direct, manual data entry by a user, rather than being automatically loaded or extracted from source systems (like databases, ERP systems, or external files).

Common Use Cases

• Reference/Lookup Data: Creating small, static tables that hold categories, key descriptions, or mapping information that doesn't exist in the main operational systems. For example, a table mapping internal product codes to standardized categories for reporting.

• Goals and Targets: Inputting business goals, targets, or budgets that need to be compared against actual performance data, especially if those figures are not stored in an integrated financial system.

• Small, Supplemental Datasets: Adding small amounts of non-system data that are crucial for context or analysis, such as an internal review team's assessment (e.g., status classifications or comments) on automatically collected process data.

• Proof of Concepts or Prototypes: Quickly creating a table to test a visualization or report structure without setting up a full data connection.

How it works in Webdashboard

Webdashboard can connect to your SQL database(s) using SQL Authentication, Service Principal, or Webdashboard-Access.

As a portal administrator, you select the tables you want to make available for editing. Webdashboard will automatically generate an editable interface for those tables.

Important: Make sure the tables you make available have proper database constraints (such as maximum length, data types, and nullable settings). If a user attempts to add a value that is not allowed by the database, Webdashboard will display the exact error message to help them fix it.

Step 1: Connect to a Database

1. Navigate to Settings -> Manual tables in the main menu.

2. Click the Add DB Connection button.

3. Choose your authentication type.

   • Note: Ensure that the Service Principal or database user has at least db_reader and db_writer rights on the database.

4. Click Save. Webdashboard will automatically perform a validation check to ensure your connection settings are correct.

Step 2: Select Tables

Once your database is successfully connected, you can choose which tables to manage:

1. Click the Table button next to your database connection.

2. Check the boxes for the specific tables you want to make accessible. They will instantly appear in the manual tables menu on the left.

• Additional Actions:

  • Edit (Pencil icon): Change the database information and settings.

  • Key icon: Update the password or client secret.

  • Trash can icon: Remove the database connection entirely. This will also remove all underlying tables and security configurations connected to it.

Step 3: User Access & Permissions

Instead of just granting full edit access, you can now customize the exact permissions each user or group has for a specific manual table.

1. In the left-hand menu under Manual Tables, select your table.

2. Click the Security button (shield icon) next to the table to configure user access.

    

   

    

3. Search for a specific user or group and add them.

4. Use the toggle switches to define their granular access rights (as shown in the screenshot below):

   • Read (Lezen): Allows the user to view the table data.

   • Create (Aanmaken): Allows the user to add new rows to the table.

   • Update (Bijwerken): Allows the user to edit existing data.

   • Delete (Verwijderen): Allows the user to remove rows from the table.

Configure precise CRUD permissions (Read, Create, Update, Delete) for individual users and groups in the manual tables security panel.

Importing Data via Excel or CSV

To save time when managing large amounts of data, you can now populate or update your manual tables in bulk using an external file.

1. Open the manual table you want to update from the left menu.

2. Click the Import button at the top of the table view.

3. Select and upload your Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file.

4. Map the columns from your file to the corresponding columns in your database table.

Tip: Ensure the data formatting in your Excel or CSV file matches your database constraints (e.g., date formats, maximum character lengths, and required fields) to avoid import errors.