Overview
Mango by Radix IoT offers several ways to display data: dashboards, Platform Manager views, and watch lists. Each serves a different purpose. Choosing the right one avoids duplicate work and delivers the best experience for each audience.
Dashboards
Dashboards are custom-built pages using drag-and-drop widgets. They are the most flexible option.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Best for | Custom operational views, KPI displays, site overviews |
| Builder | Drag-and-drop widget designer |
| Data binding | Direct point references, or tag-driven: a Tags watch list chosen in the designer's Choose a watch list, with widgets taking their point from it by name through Point from watchlist |
| Permissions | Per-page — the controls are labelled View page and Edit page |
| Skill level | Beginner to advanced depending on widget complexity |
When to use: You need a fully customized view with specific widget layouts, charts, gauges, images, or interactive controls.
Platform Manager Views
Platform Manager provides standardized, template-driven views designed for fleet management. The views are pre-built; what fills them is a combination of your point tags and the point names configured in the device type’s layout. Both have to line up — correct tags with non-matching point names produce an empty view and no error.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Best for | Fleet overviews, multi-site monitoring, standardized KPI pages |
| Builder | Configuration > Device type, superadmin only — you define point groups by point name. KPIs are set at Configuration > Global and Site, and each one reads a single point tagged deviceType = GLOBAL, or SITE plus the site's site tag. The tag keys are not configurable: the module always queries site, deviceType and deviceID |
| Data binding | Tag query on site, deviceType and deviceID (matched against the Site and Device type XIDs) plus a match on point name against the layout’s configured names |
| Permissions | Inherits from data point and role permissions |
| Skill level | Intermediate — requires a consistent tagging strategy |
When to use: You manage many similar devices across sites and want a consistent look without building individual dashboards for each one.
Watch Lists (as Views)
Watch lists aren't technically "views" but many operators use them as real-time monitoring screens.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Best for | Quick, tabular real-time monitoring of selected data points |
| Builder | Select points by name, tag filter, or query |
| Data binding | Direct point references or tag queries |
| Permissions | Per-watch-list read and edit permissions |
| Skill level | Beginner |
When to use: You need a quick, no-design-needed table of live values for monitoring or troubleshooting.
Decision Guide
| Scenario | Best Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Custom operations center display | Dashboard | Full layout control with mixed widget types |
| Fleet view of 50 identical generators | Platform Manager | Auto-populates where tags and layout point names both match; one template covers all |
| Quick check of 10 critical points | Watch List | Fastest to create; no design needed |
| Site-specific overview with branding | Dashboard | Full customization including images and styles |
| Standardized device detail page | Platform Manager Device details, arranged by the device type's Layout tab | Consistent format across all devices of same type |
| Ad-hoc troubleshooting view | Watch List | Create in seconds; discard when done |
Combining Approaches
Most deployments use all three:
- Platform Manager for fleet-level monitoring — General overview, Site overview, and Device details
- Custom dashboards for specialized displays — control room screens, executive summaries
- Watch lists for operator troubleshooting and ad-hoc monitoring
Summary
Use dashboards for custom views, Platform Manager for standardized fleet management, and watch lists for quick tabular monitoring. Most deployments benefit from all three working together.