--- title: "About Screen Objects – Types, Roles, and Capabilities in Board" slug: "about-screen-objects" description: "Explore Screen Objects in Board: how they display data, act as navigation or editing elements, how they’re configured, and how they interact with Screens, Containers, and the Data Model." tags: ["Screen Objects", "Data Visualization", "User Interaction"] updated: 2026-09-08T08:58:19Z published: 2026-09-08T08:58:19Z canonical: "help.board.com/about-screen-objects" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.board.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # About Screen Objects Screen **Objects** are widgets that display data or other types of information within a Screen; they are the primary components which populate a Screen. Users with a Developer license or a Power User license can create and maintain Screens, and configure Objects on those Screens in order to display relevant information for user analysis. The Planners can also interact with Objects in a number of ways, depending on their License, Role, security permissions and the configuration of the single Object and/or Screen. Some Objects, however, are or may not be interactive at all. Objects take different forms and deliver different functions: - they can **visually represent data** (such as the [Data View](/v15/docs/the-data-view-object), [Flex Grid](/v15/docs/about-the-flex-grid-object), [Charts](/v15/docs/the-chart-object), [Gauges](/v15/docs/the-gauge-object)), - they can act as **navigational elements** within a Capsule (such as a [Menu](/v15/docs/the-menu-object), [Label](/v15/docs/the-label-object) or [Button](/v15/docs/the-button-object)), - they can **filter data** on a Screen/Container (such as the [Pager](/v15/docs/the-pager-object), the [Selector](/v15/docs/the-selector-object), the [Calendar](/v15/docs/the-calendar-object)), and - they can allow the users to **manipulate data** (such as the [Entity Editor](/v15/docs/the-entity-editor-object), the Data View with [Data Entry](/v15/docs/about-data-entry-and-advanced-transaction-object-ato) enabled or Buttons that trigger [Procedures](/v15/docs/procedures-1)). Other Objects allow you to **embed external web pages** on a Screen ([Web Viewer](/v15/docs/the-webviewer-object)), show **custom annotations** ([Dynawrite](/v15/docs/the-dynawrite-object)) or **expand the Screen design area** in order to add more Objects to a single Screen ([Containers](/v15/docs/about-containers)). Objects and Object formats can be copied across Screens, even if they are not in the same Capsule. Once added to a Screen, Objects can be resized and moved anywhere within the Screen design area. ![Objects.eg](https://cdn.document360.io/8d6f1ae8-0cac-4d0d-a208-6245b83df94a/Images/Documentation/Objects.eg.gif) ## Options common to all Screen Objects Each Object has its own specific settings and configuration options. However, all Objects share the following set of common features and properties, located in the [Object Properties panel](/v1/docs/design-and-play-mode#object-properties-panel) to the right of the Capsule workspace in Design Mode when an Object is selected: - **"Data" section** - **Master**. If enabled, click on an Entity member, a series, a category or a marker (if available) to update the data displayed by all other Objects on the Screen in order to show only the data relating to the clicked item. The Master Object result is similar to applying a [Screen Selection](/v15/docs/about-the-select). > [!NOTE] > *The Master Object is only available for data visualization Objects located in the* first group of the Screen Object list *(Objects Data View to Tree).* - **Disable Drill down**. Disables the drill-down functionality on the selected Object, both in Design Mode and Play Mode. > [!NOTE] > *Disable Drill down is only available for data visualization Objects.* - **Object toolbar settings**. Allows you to enable the toolbar in Play Mode, pin it so that it is always available, and choose a dark color theme. - **"Design" section** - **Position and size.** The configuration of the Object's position on the Screen, its size, and a rotation angle. - **Colors**. The Object's elements' colors or background image configuration. - **Border**. The Object's border style configuration. - **Font**. Font configuration: text font family, font size, and color. - **Effects**. The Object's transparency configuration. In Play Mode, the Object will appear opaque until you hover over it. - **"More" section** - **On-Screen tips.** Enable to create a custom mouse-over tooltip. An icon will appear over the Object in Play Mode, and when the user hovers over the icon a message will appear. This is helpful for directing the user or communicating with others who will access the Screen. Access the options by enabling "On-Screen tips". - **Tip type**. Choose the format of the tooltip that displays to the user, either "Dialog" or "Balloon". - *Dialog*. Shows message in a popup window. - *Balloon*. Shows message in a text bubble over the Object. - **Content**. Write the message of the tooltip which will display when the user hovers over the icon. - **On-Screen element**. Choose the Format of the element: "Icon" or "Text or Number". - *Icon*. Customize the displayed icon. - *Choose icon*. Choose the icon you want to display for the mouse-over tooltip. - *Text or Number*. Customize the Text or Number. - *Text or Number*. Write in what you would like the element to say. - *Background*. Choose the background color of the tooltip. - *Icon*. Choose the icon, text, or number color. - *Enable animation*. Enable, and the element will pulse to draw the user's attention. - **Hover tooltip**. Write a message that will appear to the user when the mouse hovers over the Object. ### Configure Multiple Objects You can also select multiple Objects to configure them at once. In this case, only properties common to all of those selected Objects will be available. See [Add and remove Objects](/v1/docs/add-and-remove-objects) and [Configure Screen Objects](/v1/docs/configure-screen-objects) for more details. ### Available Screen Objects In a Capsule, Developers can add the following Screen Objects to a Screen: Data Objects: - [**Data View**](/v15/docs/the-data-view-object) - [**Smart Import**](/v15/docs/the-smart-import-object) - [**Flex Grid**](/v15/docs/about-the-flex-grid-object) - [**Charts**](/v15/docs/the-chart-object) - [**Cartesian**](/v15/docs/cartesian-chart-properties) - [**Pie**](/v15/docs/pie) - [**Waterfall**](/v15/docs/waterfall-chart-properties) - [**Radar**](/v15/docs/radar-chart-properties) - [**Bubble**](/v15/docs/bubble-chart) - [**Bullet**](/v15/docs/bullet-chart) - [**HeatMap**](/v15/docs/heatmap) - [**TreeMap**](/v15/docs/treemap) - **Geo Maps** - [**Google Maps**](/v15/docs/the-google-maps-object) - [**Open Street Map**](/v15/docs/the-openstreetmap-object) - [**SVG map**](/v15/docs/svg-map-1) - [**Gantt**](/v15/docs/the-gantt-object) - [**Gauge**](/v15/docs/the-gauge-object) - [**Card**](/v15/docs/the-card-object) - [**Tree**](/v15/docs/the-tree-object) --- Interaction Objects: - [**Selector**](/v15/docs/the-selector-object) - [**Pager**](/v15/docs/the-pager-object) - [**Entity Editor**](/v15/docs/the-entity-editor-object) - [**Timebar**](/v15/docs/the-timebar-object) - [**Calendar**](/v15/docs/the-calendar-object) - [**Text Analytics Search**](/v15/docs/the-text-analytics-search-object) --- Navigation Objects: - [**Label**](/v15/docs/the-label-object) - [**Button**](/v15/docs/the-button-object) - [**Menu**](/v15/docs/the-menu-object) --- Content Objects: - [**Dynawrite**](/v15/docs/the-dynawrite-object) - [**Web Viewer**](/v15/docs/the-webviewer-object) --- Container Objects: - [**Containers**](/v15/docs/about-containers) - [**Tab**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#tab-container) - [**Transition**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#transition-container) - [**Panel**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#panel-container) - [**Matrix**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#matrix-container) - [**Book**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#book-container) - [**Tile View**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#tile-view-container) - [**Expander**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#expander-container) - [**Responsive**](/v15/docs/containers-features-and-properties#responsive-container) A Screen is a workspace within a Capsule that hosts Screen Objects such as Charts, Tables, Buttons, and Selectors, configured through Layouts to display and interact with data from one or more Board Data Models. In Design Mode, a Screen serves as the design canvas where Screen Objects are placed and configured. In Play Mode, it becomes the interactive interface for navigation, filtering, drilling, and data exploration, subject to permissions as granted through the Security Profiles. See also: - [About Design and Play Modes](/v14/docs/design-and-play-mode) - [Capsules in Design Mode](/v14/docs/capsules-in-design-mode) - [Capsules in Play Mode](/v14/docs/capsules-in-play-mode) A Developer (aka Designer / Builder / Maker / Power User) is a licensed user profile with elevated privileges. Developers focus on working in Design Mode to create and configure Capsules, Screens, Layouts, and Screen Objects, including properties, drills, toolbars, navigation, Presentations and Procedures. They can additionally access Data Model design (Entities, Relationships, Cubes) and limited System Administration. Compared to a Planner in Play Mode and User Mode (Presentations), this role performs structural editing rather than interaction-only analysis. A Power User is a type of license that provides unrestricted access to Capsules (navigation and development) but does *not* permit modifications to the underlying Data Model design (Cubes, Entities, Relationships). A Role defines a set of permissions and functional capabilities that determine what a user can do within the platform. Roles are the cornerstone of Board’s security and access-control model, governing actions such as designing Data Models, editing Capsules, running Procedures, or accessing specific functionalities like Data Entry or Layout editing. Each user is assigned one or more Roles, either directly or through membership in a Group. A Role encapsulates privileges related to both administrative functions (for example, system management, license administration) and application-level features (for example, planning, reporting, or workflow execution). In Cloud environments managed through the Subscription Hub, Roles can be associated with permissions for specific tenants, Data Models, or resources. A Role differs from a Group in that the Role defines *what actions* *a user can perform*, while the Group defines *to which data or environments* *those actions apply*. An Object (aka Screen Object) is a visual or interactive component that can be placed on a Screen or within a Capsule that displays data or provides interaction (e.g. Charts, Tables, Selectors, Buttons, Labels), driven by a Layout and configurable with common properties. - A Layout Object is not a "Screen Object" in the same sense. It is the query definition attached to other Screen Objects about which Cubes, Entities, and calculated fields to retrieve and how to aggregate them. - A Dataset Object provides a semantic layer definition for data reuse across functionalities. It is also not a Screen Object, but is used for shared data access purposes in Board Foresight and the Microsoft365 Excel Add-in. So while Layouts and Datasets are called "objects" in a broad sense, they differ from UI Objects because they do not directly appear on Screens (they don’t render visuals themselves) and instead represent data definitions or structured query artifacts within the Board ecosystem. A Board Capsule is a free, unstructured environment for ad-hoc analysis. It is essentially a container of Screens and Procedures where users build, view and export business reports, charts, data tables, and navigation flows that dynamically query the underlying Data Models. In practice, a Capsule is the closest thing to what other software platforms might call an application or workspace. This makes Capsules both a packaging unit for Board applications and the day-to-day environment through which Planners can interact with analysis, planning, and forecasting. The Capsules are designed and configured in *Design Mode* by users with a Developer license, and operated with execution-time selections and filters in *Play Mode* by users with a Planner license. A Container in Board is a special Screen Object that can hold and organize other Objects (and even nested Containers) on the same Screen, enabling layouts such as Tab, Panel, Matrix, Book, Tile view, Transition, Expander or Responsive displays. Containers help manage screen space efficiently, enable Object grouping, and support limited navigation (e.g. switching tabs, sliding panels) without over-crowding a Screen. The Data View object is an interactive table-style Screen Object that displays data from Cubes or Algorithms through a defined Layout. It enables users to explore, analyze, and update data directly within dashboards or reports, subject to their security profiles and roles. Key features include dynamic sorting, filtering, grouping, and hierarchical expansion, allowing users to navigate large datasets intuitively. Drill-down and drill-through options reveal detailed layers or linked reports, while Fast Search accelerates filtering. When Data Entry is enabled, users can input or spread values directly into Cubes, using Algorithms for calculated results. Designers can apply Color Alerts, conditional formatting, totals, custom headers, and hyperlinks for clarity and interactivity. The Data View also supports exporting to Excel, PDF, or CSV. ## Related - [Sliding panels and toolbar enhancements](/sliding-panels-and-toolbar-enhancements.md) - [Configure Screen Objects](/configure-screen-objects.md) - [Capsules in Design Mode](/capsules-in-design-mode.md)