# Dashboard URL variables
<a name="v12-dash-dashboard-url-variables"></a>

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This documentation topic is designed for Grafana workspaces that support **Grafana version 12.x**.  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 10.x, see [Working in Grafana version 10](using-grafana-v10.md).  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 9.x, see [Working in Grafana version 9](using-grafana-v9.md).  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 8.x, see [Working in Grafana version 8](using-grafana-v8.md).

Grafana can apply variable values passed as query parameters in dashboard URLs. For more information, see [Manage dashboard links](v12-dash-manage-dashboard-links.md) and [Templates and variables](v12-dash-variables.md).

**Passing variables as query parameters**

Grafana interprets query string parameters prefixed with `var-` as variables in the given dashboard.

For example, in this URL: 

```
https://${your-domain}/path/to/your/dashboard?var-example=value
```

The query parameter `var-example=value` represents the dashboard variable example with a value of `value`.

**Passing multiple values for a variable**

To pass multiple values, repeat the variable parameter once for each value.

```
https://${your-domain}/path/to/your/dashboard?var-example=value1&var-example=value2
```

Grafana interprets `var-example=value1&var-example=value2` as the dashboard variable example with two values: `value1` and `value2`.

**Adding variables to dashboard links**

Grafana can add variables to dashboard links when you generate them from a dashboard’s settings. For more information and steps to add variables, see [Manage dashboard links](v12-dash-manage-dashboard-links.md).

**Passing ad hoc filters**

Ad hoc filters apply key or value filters to all metric queries that use a specified data source. For more information, see [Ad hoc filters](v12-dash-variable-add.md#v12-dash-variable-add-adhoc).

To pass an ad hoc filter as a query parameter, use the variable syntax to pass the ad hoc filter variable, and also provide the key, the operator as the value, and the value as a pipe-separated list.

For example, in this URL:

`https://${your-domain}/path/to/your/dashboard?var-adhoc=example_key|=|example_value` 

The query parameter `var-adhoc=key|=|value` applies the ad hoc filter configured as the adhoc dashboard variable using the `example_key` key, the `=` operator, and the `example_value` value.

**Note**  
When sharing URLs with ad hoc filters, remember to encode the URL. In the above example, replace the pipes (`|`) with `%7C` and the equality operator (`=`) with `%3D`.

**Controlling time range using the URL**

To set a dashboard’s time range, use the `from`, `to`, `time`, and `time.window` query parameters. Because these are not variables, they do not require the `var-` prefix.