Data and Refresh
An AI Dashboard keeps layout (what generate produces) separate from data (live values from your devices). You control both from Admin: the prompt bar for layout, and the refresh control for numbers.
The refresh control has two halves. The refresh button reloads every widget now. The Auto refresh menu next to it holds Live, the default, and the interval options. Neither half regenerates the layout.
After generate
When a generate or refine finishes:
- Admin shows the new layout.
- Data loads automatically so charts and tables fill in.
- If charts stay empty, check devices and variable names, then press the refresh button or refine the prompt. See Empty charts below.
Live refresh
Live is the default: when the first data load names devices, the dashboard switches to Live on its own, in Admin and in TagoRUN. From then on, a widget reloads when one of the devices it reads receives data. Only the widgets whose devices and variables received data reload; the rest keep their values, and the layout never changes.
- Live is available when the latest data load returned widgets that read devices and no reason under States has ended it for this page load. While you have not picked an option in the Auto refresh menu, any data load that names devices switches the dashboard to Live. After you pick an interval or Off, a later load only makes Live available; it does not switch. When no widget reads device data, the menu shows Live as Unavailable with the reason, and auto refresh stays off.
- Picking an interval turns Live off, and picking Live turns the interval off. The choice is not saved: the next time you open the dashboard, it starts on Live again when it is available.
- Leaving the dashboard ends Live. Open it again and Live starts over.
- The refresh button still works while Live is on. Use it when you want every widget reloaded now.
Cadence and cost
Each update is a data read for the affected widgets. Writes are batched so a burst costs one read:
- Writes that arrive within a second share one refresh, and a steady stream of writes refreshes the dashboard at most once every 5 seconds.
- A full reload runs every 10 minutes while Live is on, so a device that joins a tag the dashboard reads starts updating within that time. A full reload also runs each time the connection opens or reopens, because nothing written while it was down is replayed.
- Every refresh is a data read, as the refresh button is: it counts toward the per-minute limit on data loads and toward the profile's data output (Data Output for Dashboards). A press of the refresh button while Live is on runs at once and counts toward the same 5-second spacing: the next Live refresh waits until 5 seconds after the press.
States
The refresh control shows the state of Live:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Live | Connected. The dashboard updates when new data arrives. |
| Reconnecting | The connection dropped and is being restored. Values stay on screen, and a full reload runs once it is back. |
| Unavailable | Live cannot run on this dashboard, or stopped for this page load. The menu shows the reason, and the entry is disabled. |
Reasons the menu shows with Unavailable:
- No widget on this dashboard reads device data. A later data load that names devices lifts it, and the default rule above decides whether the dashboard switches to Live.
- You no longer have access to the devices this dashboard reads. No device the dashboard reads can signal for the viewer anymore: each one lost Dashboard access, and no widget on a Normal or Blueprint dashboard the viewer has Access to shows it (Access and Limits).
- The live connection was closed. The session stopped verifying. Reload the page to try again.
- Couldn't connect for live updates. The retries ran out. Reload the page to try again.
Some older dashboards show Live as Unavailable with "No widget on this dashboard reads device data" although their widgets do. Their saved layout does not link each widget to the devices it reads, so there is nothing to match new data to. Refine or generate the dashboard again. The new layout is saved with those links, and the next data load makes Live available.
Interval refresh
Pick an interval in the Auto refresh menu to reload every widget on a timer instead of on device writes.
- Same idea as the refresh button: new numbers only, same layout.
- The interval applies while the view is active; leaving the dashboard stops the timer for that session.
- Pick an interval that matches how often your data actually updates. Aggressive intervals burn more data output for little gain when values change slowly.
Use an interval when the dashboard reads no device data, so Live is unavailable, or when you want every widget to reload on a fixed schedule. Exact interval options follow the Admin UI for this dashboard type.
Generate vs refresh
| Action | Layout | Data |
|---|---|---|
| First open / navigate back | Shows the last generated layout | Loads data for that layout |
| Live refresh | Unchanged | Reloads the widgets that received new data; reloads every widget when the connection opens and every 10 minutes |
| Refresh button or interval refresh | Unchanged | Reloads every widget |
| Successful generate / refine | Replaces the layout | Loads data for the new layout |
| Failed generate | Previous layout stays | Unchanged until a successful generate |
Generating always replaces the presentation. If charts look wrong after a refine, press the refresh button first, then adjust the prompt if the layout is still off.
Empty charts
If the layout renders but charts or tables are empty:
- Confirm devices and variables exist under the names you used in the prompt.
- Check that the profile can read those resources.
- Press the refresh button once after devices report new points.
- Refine the prompt to name the correct variables, tags, or time window.
Data reads count toward normal dashboard data usage. See Data Output for Dashboards.