A report is a single page. Here is an example.
A dashboard is a collection of pages. Here is an example.
mySidewalk has two different formats for presenting information: reports and dashboards. While they are similar, the key difference is in their functionality and organization.
How are they organized?
The difference between a report and a dashboard is the ability they provide to organize the story. Think of a dashboard as a combination of several different reports. When you make a report it is meant to focus on one topic - it’s succinct and persuasive. It can be in-depth and specific, but it probably won’t combine detailed information about more than one topic or story. Its purpose is to convey one message or idea on a single page.
A dashboard provides the whole picture. Dashboards have multiple pages or reports that break down several specific topics, each adding to the overall story of your community. The pages can be organized in ways that tell the story and provide specific insights on a variety of elements. Dashboards are more in depth than reports and provide structure to tell the whole story from different angles of a large, complex topic.
Here's an example of a dashboard. The listing on the left, circled in red, is the organization structure that comes with a dashboard (not found in a report). A report would only display one page.
Dashboards and reports both have access to the same data, the same data processing, and the same data displays.
Pro-Tip: Reports can be made individually or they can be combined in to a dashboard. Dashboard pages can also be exported to create an individual report page.