Summary
Previews show you key data for a record of a model - e.g. at a glance you can view the most important information on your customer the Coca-Cola Company, or your End User Taylor Swift
You can design multiple Preview Templates per data model, and automatically apply the appropriate one via conditions based on the Planhat User (viewer) or properties of the record (e.g. the Phase that a Company is in)
This ensures you can always quickly see the most relevant information, enabling data-driven action
You can easily jump between Previews of different records (e.g. different Companies) without leaving the Page you're looking at
Who is this article for?
This article is particularly relevant to Planhat builders/admins who configure their tenant for their team (e.g. CS Ops)
Article contents
Introduction
This is a technical deep-dive article
Read on if you'd like to explore some specific details of Previews, focusing on designing custom layouts (Templates).
If you'd like an introduction to the general topic of Profiles, including Previews, please refer to our main article for an overview of the key points.
Planhat houses all of your customer data, of various types and from a variety of sources, so you can see a full 360-degree view of your customer base.
But how do you get quick insights on a particular record (e.g. a specific Company, End User or License etc.)?
And if what's significant can vary from record to record, or between different groups of viewers, how do you ensure the most relevant data is always shown?
Previews are the answer to all that! Previews show a curated display of data. Via Custom Preview Templates with conditions, you - as a Planhat admin - can define which data is shown where, and in which circumstances.
For models with time-series data (Company, End User, Asset and Project), you can even display Metrics data in Previews.
For models where you also have Full-Page Profiles, Previews are a great way to quickly view data when looking at a Page (e.g. a Data Table) without having to leave the Page.
What are Previews?
Previews are concise displays of data for one record of a data model at a time. For example, on the Company model, you could view a Preview of Ford, and then a Preview of Apple, and so on.
Here is an example of a Company Preview:
Previews are shorter, more condensed versions of Full-Page Profiles, which are currently only available for Companies, End Users (customers) and Users (you and your team).
When you open a Preview, the screen behind the Preview modal is not locked/grayed out - so, for example, if you're looking at a Company Data Table, you can still keep clicking on different Companies in the left-hand side of the screen to bring up their respective Previews on the right, all without leaving the Data Table.
The screenshot below shows a Preview on the right-hand side, and a Data Table underneath on the left.
Click the image to view it enlarged
As a Planhat admin, you can configure the layout of Previews - what is shown, and in what order.
You can have multiple different Preview Templates (variants/versions) for each data model, and which one is displayed for a record will depend on rules - criteria you define, based on either the model/record (so e.g. the Company Tier, Status or Phase, for Company Previews) or the Planhat User viewing it.
For Company, End User, Asset and Project - i.e. the data models that can have associated time-series data - you can include a "Metrics" section, and even choose which Metrics to display.
Why use Previews? And why customize them?
Previews are a fantastic way to quickly see key data on a particular record (e.g. a specific Company, End User, License, Opportunity or Asset etc.). With Previews, various types/sources of data on a record are compiled in one place - e.g. time-series data, revenue data, Conversation data and so on.
Previews are more simplified/condensed displays of data for a record compared to Full-Page Profiles. They are also available for more models than Full-Page Profiles. Remember that for models where Full-Page Profiles are available, Previews have the advantage that you can quickly open up the Previews for different records as you click them in a Page (e.g. a Data Table) without having to leave the Page.
Remember also that Previews can be customized - you can create multiple Preview Templates (layouts), and then set different criteria so the relevant Template is automatically applied in each situation. This is a fantastic way that you can personalize which data is displayed to suit either:
the record (e.g. for the Company model, this could be based on the Tier, Phase or Status),
or the viewer (e.g. Senior Leadership may want to see different data than CSMs, who want to see different data than Salespeople)
How to set up Custom Preview Templates
You configure Previews in the "Data" Global Tool for admins. You'll see this as its own icon in the top left of the gray bar (at the top of your tenant) if you have pinned it, or otherwise you can access it via the ellipsis.
Previews are classed as part of Profiles, so they are under the "Profile" tab for each model. Here we will focus specifically on the Previews part of the wider "Profiles" umbrella.
Firstly, select the model you want using the column on the left-hand side, and then click on the "Profile" tab
Click the image to view it enlarged
You'll see a list of Profile Templates. This may be simply the Default Profile, or also additional Custom Profile Templates if they have been created for that model in your tenant
Either click on the name of an existing Profile Template to edit it,
or click "+ New Profile" if you would like to create a new Profile Template
Either way, this will open up a modal. Click on the "Preview" tab
Click on the "+" symbol to the right of "Sections", or alternatively "+ Click to add a widget" if it's a new Preview
Select from Metrics, Labels, Description, Fields or Comments, as shown below, or your choice of "Related Objects"
Note that the widgets available to select from will vary depending on the model. You will see all of these for Company Previews, but for other models, not all will be applicable
The fields displayed in the "Fields" widget are configured in the "Field Groups" tab - for more information on Field Groups, see our separate article here
"Related Objects" means related records of the named model - so if it's a Company Preview and you select End Users here, the Preview will show End Users associated with that Company. You can include up to three of these other models here, from the "Related Objects" list
For "Metrics", you then select up to three Metrics (time-series data) in your tenant to display in the Preview - just use the easy checkboxes, and the search box at the top to find your chosen Metrics more quickly
To add additional widgets/sections, just press the "+" symbol again
You can drag and drop sections/widgets if you would like to change their order within a Preview Template
Next steps and further reading
Once you've configured the Preview Template itself, as described in this article, the next element for a Custom Template is to configure when it is automatically applied. This enables you to show different Preview Templates in different circumstances. For the Company model, these criteria would also apply to the associated Full-Page Profile. We describe these criteria in a separate article, here.
Remember you also need to configure your Field Groups, if you're including fields in your Preview Template. Again, we discuss these in a separate article, here.
