# Adding widgets to dashboards


Dashboards help you visualize data through widgets - configurable components that display your cost and usage information. Each dashboard can contain up to 20 widgets, combining multiple visualizations into a single view. Widgets help you analyze cost and usage through charts and tables.

You can create custom widgets to display specific data or add predefined widgets. Each widget can be customized using filters and time ranges. For dashboard-level control, you can apply a global date range filter that affects all widgets simultaneously. Alternatively, you can configure individual widgets to use different time ranges, providing flexibility in how you view and compare data. The dashboard layout is also customizable - you can adjust widget sizes and positions to create your ideal view.

For example, you might create a dashboard to track cost optimization efforts by combining Savings Plans coverage and utilization charts with cost and usage data across different services and Regions. These combined visualizations help you analyze spending patterns and make data-driven financial decisions.

**To add a widget**

1. Open the Billing and Cost Management console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/costmanagement/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/costmanagement/).

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Dashboards**.

1. Create a new dashboard or choose an existing dashboard.

1. Choose **Add widget**, and then choose one of the following:
   + **Custom widget** - Create a new visualization.
   + **Predefined widget** - These widgets are preconfigured for the most common use cases and can be further customized to serve your reporting needs.

1. In the widget panel, drag the widget onto the dashboard.
**Note**  
The default visualization is a bar chart.

1. In the **Edit widget parameters** panel, configure the following:
   + Time period and granularity
   + Group by dimensions
   + Filters
   + Cost aggregation and other data settings

1. To change the visualization type:
   + Choose the vertical three dots in the upper right corner of the widget.
   + Choose **Change visualization type**.
   + Choose **Line chart**, **Bar chart**, **Stacked bar chart**, or **Table**.

**Note**  
Autosave is enabled by default, so all changes are saved automatically.

# Customizing dashboards


After adding widgets, you can customize your dashboard layout and settings. You can drag widgets to different positions and resize them to emphasize important information.

Time periods can be managed at both the dashboard and widget level:
+ Set a dashboard-level time period that applies to all widgets. This setting affects all widgets temporarily and resets when you leave or refresh the dashboard.
+ Configure individual widget time periods. These settings are saved with each widget and persist when you return to the dashboard.

# Understanding widget types


Dashboards help you monitor and analyze your AWS costs, usage, and resource commitments. Two types of widgets are available: custom widgets that you configure from scratch to track costs, usage, and commitment metrics, and predefined widgets that come with preset cost breakdowns over time.

[\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/cost-management/latest/userguide/dashboard-widget-types.html)

Each of these widgets can be customized to show the data most relevant to your needs, allowing you to create comprehensive and insightful dashboards.