Frequently Asked Questions

What is the relationship between Dashboards, Panels, and navigation?

The navigational structure is strongly encouraged to flow from Dashboard objects as top-level navigation items to Panel objects as sub-navigation items as in the current implementation. Template tags are provided to automatically generate this structure.

That said, you are not required to use the provided tools and can write templates and URLconfs by hand to create any desired structure.

Does a panel have to be an app in INSTALLED_APPS?

A panel can live in any Python module. It can be a standalone which ties into an existing dashboard, or it can be contained alongside others within a larger dashboard “app”. There is no strict enforcement here. Python is “a language for consenting adults.” A module containing a Panel does not need to be added to INSTALLED_APPS, but this is a common and convenient way to load a standalone panel.

Could I hook an external service into a panel using, for example, an iFrame?

Panels are just entry-points to hook views into the larger dashboard navigational structure and enforce common attributes like RBAC. The view and corresponding templates can contain anything you would like, including iFrames.

What does this mean for visual design?

The ability to add an arbitrary number of top-level navigational items (Dashboard objects) poses a new design challenge. Horizon’s lead designer has taken on the challenge of providing a reference design for Horizon which supports this possibility.