Add Dynamic Text to Publications

Dynamic text is user-built data-driven text that is linked to a data discovery. The text includes dynamic PQL or MDX functions in order to obtain and display the required information. When the publication is rendered, it will show the current data-driven values of the given dynamic functions.

Dynamic text offers a way to draw attention to insights that require attention, placing the data-driven content on the publication page.

There are two ways to add dynamic text to your publications:

Note: dynamic text supports grid visuals only.

Add Dynamic Text from Illustrate

You can easily add dynamic text from Illustrate by locating it in the Content panel in Publish. As with adding any other visuals to your publication, simply find the required text in the folder tree and drag it onto the page.

Configure Dynamic Text in Publish

You can build dynamic text from on the fly within Publish.

  • Add a text box to the page and write the required text
  • Highlight the text that should be dynamic
  • Use the dynamic text function in the text ribbon to replace the relevant text with dynamic values
  • From the content tree in the lower panel, select the required grid, and then choose the specific cell(s) that should be injected into the text
  • To learn about the functions and formats available in the Formula panel, click here.

Add a Text Box

Add a static text box by clicking the text box icon (green highlight below) from the canvas menu. Alternatively, right click to open the text box menu where you can select a static text box or a graphic text box.

After you select the text box, the canvas will be highlighted in blue; left click on the location where the text box should be added.

Resize and position the textbox as needed. Right click on the textbox to open its context menu. You can open it in Illustrate or save it to the CMS.

Click on your text box to enable text functions from the Component ribbon; in this example, the font options (green highlight below) were used to add a background color, increase the border width, and change the border color. A header was also applied from the Styles options (red highlight). You can also add dynamic text, dynamic placeholders, and text fields from the Component ribbon.

Dynamic Text Editor

With your text box selected, click the Dynamic Text button (purple highlight below) to open the Dynamic Text Builder. Alternatively, open the Dynamic Text drop-down button to build dynamic placeholders or add dynamic text fields. You can even use your LLM to generate dynamic text.

From the Dynamic Text Editor:

  1. Open the Content drop-down (orange highlight below)l, find and select the content you want to base your dynamic text on. You must select a grid from a Discovery or a Visual Area from a Tabulation. Tabulate allows you to blend queries from multiple data sources into a single grid, enabling the dynamic text to be based on multiple data sources. Note that you must save the grid from Discovery or the Visual Area in the Tabulation in order to use it in an Illustrate item. Once selected, the grid or visual area will appear in the editor.
  2. Write your dynamic text expression in the script editor (red highlight).
    • Use the PQL Functions library (yellow highlight) to add SQL expressions to your script.
    • Select the relevant cells from the grid (purple highlight) to populate the given PQL expressions,

  • Click here to learn more about the Dynamic Text Editor and how to build dynamic text.