Dynamic Dashboard
A Dynamic Dashboard is a Salesforce dashboard that displays data based on the security profile of the user viewing it, not a single fixed running user.
Definition
A Dynamic Dashboard is a Salesforce dashboard that displays data based on the security profile of the user viewing it, not a single fixed running user. Each viewer sees only the records they have access to, gated through their profile, role, sharing rules, and territory assignments. This contrasts with a standard dashboard, which always runs as the same predefined user (the dashboard''s Running User), and so shows the same data to every viewer regardless of permissions.
Dynamic Dashboards are how Salesforce supports manager dashboards in role hierarchies: a sales director sees all their team''s deals, while each rep sees only their own. The same dashboard, viewed by different users, shows different data. There are licensing constraints (Enterprise Edition gets 5 Dynamic Dashboards by default; Unlimited gets 10) and the dashboard cannot be scheduled for email refresh, which are the two trade-offs that make Dynamic Dashboards a deliberate choice rather than the default.
How Dynamic Dashboards differ from standard dashboards
The Running User concept
Every Salesforce dashboard has a Running User: the user whose security profile filters the underlying data. Standard dashboards have a single fixed Running User (typically a senior leader or an integration user), and every viewer sees the same data through that user''s lens. Dynamic Dashboards swap this out: the Running User is whoever is currently viewing the dashboard. The data filters dynamically per viewer.
Use cases that need a dynamic running user
Manager dashboards: a regional VP sees their region''s pipeline; each rep sees their personal pipeline; HR sees all employees; a contractor sees only their assigned cases. Same dashboard, different visible data. Without Dynamic Dashboards, you would need one dashboard per viewer permission profile, which is unmaintainable at scale.
Licensing limits and counting toward the quota
Dynamic Dashboards count against an org-level limit. Enterprise Edition: 5 Dynamic Dashboards included; Unlimited and Performance: 10 each. Additional Dynamic Dashboards are available as add-ons. The limit applies to active dashboards; deactivating a dashboard frees its slot. The limit is intentional: Dynamic Dashboards are more expensive to compute than standard dashboards because each viewer triggers fresh queries.
What Dynamic Dashboards cannot do
Two important limitations. First, Dynamic Dashboards cannot be subscribed to or scheduled for email refresh. The dashboard exists only when a user views it; without a viewer, there is no data to email. Second, follow features (Chatter feed) and subscription-based features that depend on a fixed Running User do not work. Standard dashboards are the right choice if these features matter.
Performance considerations
Each viewer of a Dynamic Dashboard triggers fresh queries against the underlying objects, scoped to that user''s sharing. Heavy reports filtered by lots of fields can slow down for individual viewers, especially when sharing rules are complex. Salesforce caches dashboard results aggressively, but cache invalidation happens whenever the underlying data or sharing changes. Plan dashboard complexity around the slowest expected viewer.
Building Dynamic Dashboards in Lightning versus Classic
In Lightning Experience, the Dynamic Dashboard option is set when creating or editing a dashboard: View dashboard as, then Logged-in user. The toggle is in the dashboard properties. In Classic, the View dashboard as setting is similar but labeled differently. Both interfaces support the same underlying capability.
Sharing the Dynamic Dashboard with the right audiences
A Dynamic Dashboard is shared with users like any dashboard: via folders, sharing rules, or Lightning Experience sharing settings. The viewer''s sharing access to underlying records is what filters the data; sharing the dashboard itself just grants permission to open it. Users without record access see the dashboard but empty components, which is usually surprising and undesirable. Plan dashboard sharing carefully.
How to build a Dynamic Dashboard in Lightning Experience
Building a Dynamic Dashboard takes the same time as building any dashboard. The Dynamic part is a single toggle in the properties. The harder work is designing the underlying reports to surface useful data per-viewer.
- Create the underlying reports
Build the source reports first. A Dynamic Dashboard typically uses reports that filter by My records or My team''s records (Owner = $User.Id, Owner = $User.Manager.Id, or via record-level sharing). The reports must respect the viewer''s permissions, so design them to use $User merge fields where appropriate.
- Create the dashboard
From the App Launcher, open Dashboards. Click New Dashboard. Give it a name and pick a folder to save it in.
- Set View dashboard as to Logged-in user
In the dashboard properties (gear icon), set View dashboard as to Logged-in user. This is the key step that makes the dashboard Dynamic. Save.
- Add components
Drag chart and table components onto the dashboard. Each component picks a source report. The Dynamic property carries through; viewers will see only the records each report scope allows them to see.
- Share the dashboard with the right audience
Set folder sharing or dashboard-level sharing to grant access to your viewers. Profiles, public groups, or roles all work.
- Test as different users
Use Login As (or test accounts with different profiles) to confirm each viewer sees the right data. A rep should see only their pipeline; their manager should see all team pipelines; a leader should see the whole region.
Each viewer sees data filtered by their own access. The Dynamic Dashboard setting.
All viewers see data filtered by the named Running User. The default for non-Dynamic dashboards.
Each viewer sees data through the dashboard creator''s lens. Less common; usually a setup mistake.
Controls who can open the dashboard. Distinct from the data-access filter.
- Dynamic Dashboards cannot be emailed or scheduled. If stakeholders need a weekly dashboard digest, you need a standard dashboard or a custom email workflow.
- Each org has a Dynamic Dashboard limit (5 on Enterprise, 10 on Unlimited). Hitting the limit means converting non-essential dashboards back to standard.
- Performance can suffer for individual viewers with complex sharing. A user with access to 200,000 records may experience slow rendering compared with a user with access to 200 records.
- Subscribers and Chatter-feed integrations do not work on Dynamic Dashboards. The dashboard has no fixed Running User, so subscription-based features cannot bind to anyone.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Dynamic Dashboard.
- Dynamic DashboardsSalesforce Help
- Running User for DashboardsSalesforce Help
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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