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Create an admin template dashboard

An admin template is a dashboard the admin authors and assigns to one or more groups. The first time a member of an assigned group opens MyDash, they get a personal copy of the template's layout. Their copy is independent — they can edit, add, and remove widgets without affecting the template or other users.

When to use this​

  • You want every member of a group to start with the same dashboard (KPIs, mandatory tools, brand tiles).
  • You're rolling out MyDash for the first time and don't want users to face an empty grid.
  • You manage a multi-tenant Nextcloud where each tenant gets a different starting layout.

Goal​

Author a template, assign it to a group, and verify a member of that group lands on a fresh copy on first login.

Prerequisites​

  • You must be a Nextcloud admin.
  • The target group exists in Nextcloud (occ group:add my-group if not).

Steps​

1. Open MyDash admin settings​

Avatar → Administration settings → MyDash.

2. Scroll to Admin templates​

The section lists every existing template with name, assigned groups, and edit / delete actions.

Admin templates list

3. Click Create template​

The template-create modal opens. Required fields:

  • Name — internal label for admins. Not user-visible (the user sees a regular dashboard with whatever name you set there).
  • Group order priority — comma-separated group ids in priority order. The resolver picks the first group in this list that the user belongs to.

Create template modal

Optional fields:

  • Compulsory widgets — list of widget IDs that users cannot remove from their copy. Useful for mandatory KPI cards.
  • Lock layout — when on, users get view_only permission on their copy (no drag/resize/add/remove). They still see all the data, just can't reshape it.

4. Save and edit the template's layout​

Saving creates the template row. Click Edit layout on the new template — MyDash opens a regular dashboard editor scoped to the template. Add widgets, position them, configure them — exactly like editing a personal dashboard.

Edit template layout

5. Verify with a test user​

occ user:add testuser (or pick an existing member of the assigned group). Log in as that user and open MyDash. The first visit clones the template into a personal dashboard named My Dashboard (default) — visible in MY DASHBOARDS in the sidebar.

Test user lands on cloned template

Behaviour notes​

  • One-shot clone, not a live link. The user's copy diverges from the template the moment either side changes. Editing the template later doesn't push changes to existing copies — only new users get the latest.
  • Compulsory widgets stay compulsory across the clone. They render with a small lock icon in the user's view; Remove is greyed out.
  • Multiple groups → priority list wins. A user in groups engineering and marketing with priorities [engineering, marketing] gets the engineering template even if marketing's was created later.
  • No matching group → fallback resolver. Users who match no template land on the seven-step default-resolution chain: pin → group default → admin defaults → first available.

Common issues​

SymptomFix
Test user sees the empty state, not the templateThe user isn't actually in the assigned group, or the group isn't in the priority list. Check occ user:info.
Template's compulsory widget shows up but user can remove itCheck the compulsory flag is set on that placement (isCompulsory=1 in oc_mydash_widget_placements).
Template edits aren't propagatingExpected. Templates are clone-on-first-login, not live.

Reference​