DashboardSegment

Overview

DashboardSegment adds two things to Matomo dashboards: you choose a Matomo segment per dashboard widget, with a dashboard-wide default that individual widgets can override or opt out of. And you share dashboards live with other users, who see them read-only and always in your current version.

Matomo's dashboards apply one segment to every widget at once: the one chosen in the segment selector at the top. That makes mixed dashboards impossible, for example an "LLM / AI analysis" dashboard where most widgets should use an AI referrer segment, but the AI chatbot widgets must show all data (they have no AI referrer by definition). DashboardSegment fixes that.

Features

• Per-widget segment: pick a saved segment for any individual widget from a button in its header.
• Dashboard default: set one default segment for the whole dashboard; widgets inherit it.
• Three states per widget: inherit the default, use a specific segment, or show all data without a segment, which wins even over a dashboard default.
• Per widget instance: the same widget can appear twice on a dashboard with different segments, useful for side-by-side comparison.
• Time range per widget: fix a widget to today, yesterday, the last 7 or 30 days, this week, this month or this year, or let it follow the dashboard's period.
• Per website: segments and time ranges are chosen and applied separately for each website; only the segments available for the current website are offered.
• Visible at a glance: a slim bar under the widget header shows the active segment and time range, each with an × to remove it.

Order of precedence: the widget's own choice, then the dashboard default, then Matomo's segment selector.

Share dashboards live

Matomo can only pass a dashboard on with Copy dashboard to user. That needs admin access and creates a snapshot: change the original afterwards and the recipient never sees it. DashboardSegment shares live instead:

• Share: with all users or with specific users, under a name of your choice for the recipients.
• Subscribe: your colleagues add the dashboard to their dashboard list with one click.
• Always current: every time it is opened, the subscription takes over your current state, including widgets, layout, segments and time ranges.
• Read-only: subscribers see who the dashboard comes from and cannot change its segments and time ranges. If you stop sharing, they keep the last state they received.

How it works

DashboardSegment only adds to Matomo: it changes no files of Matomo or of the bundled Dashboard plugin.

• The segment list comes from your saved segments in Matomo's segment editor. To use a new segment (e.g. AI referrer), create it there once; it then appears in the picker.
• Choices are personal: they are stored per user, dashboard and website and are only passed on through a shared dashboard.
• The plugin works for signed-in users with at least view access to the website. For viewers who are not signed in it stays idle.

Requirements

• Matomo 5
• The bundled Dashboard and SegmentEditor plugins (active by default).

Installation

With one click through the Feinwerk connector or as a ZIP file, see Installing plugins.

Usage

1. Open a dashboard.
2. Click the segment button in a widget's header and pick a segment, "No segment (all data)" or "Inherit dashboard default".
3. Optionally, use the calendar button next to it to set a time range for this widget.
4. Use the Dashboard default segment control above the widgets to set a default for the whole dashboard.
5. Use Share this dashboard to share it. Other users subscribe under Import a shared dashboard and from then on always see your current version.
6. Switch websites to manage each website's selection independently.

Known limitations

• Widgets that load their data in the browser are not supported. They always use the dashboard's global segment and period, for example Visits in real-time, the visitor maps, sparklines and evolution graphs, and combined widgets such as Visits Overview (with graph). A per-widget choice cannot apply to them, so the buttons are hidden there. Standard report widgets, the majority, are fully supported.
• If you change a segment's conditions later in the segment editor, widgets keep the conditions they were set with, and the bar shows "Custom segment" instead of the name. Pick the segment again in that case.

License

Free plugin under GPL v3 or later.

Use cases

• Mixed dashboards, finally: Build boards like an "AI traffic" dashboard where most widgets use an AI-referrer segment, while the chatbot widgets keep showing all data.
• Set once, applies everywhere: A dashboard-wide default segment covers every widget; individual widgets can override it or opt out.
• Shared live, not copied: Matomo only copies dashboards as a snapshot. With DashboardSegment your team subscribes to your dashboard read-only and sees your current version every time, including segments and time ranges.
• No duplicate dashboards: Stop cloning boards per segment or updating copies. One dashboard tells the whole story and is maintained in one place.

DashboardSegment adds two things to Matomo dashboards: a segment of its own for every widget and dashboards you share live with other users. Matomo itself can only pass a dashboard on with Copy dashboard to user, as a one-off copy. A shared dashboard, by contrast, is read-only for your colleagues and always shows your current version (section 6).

Step-by-step setup

How to install and activate DashboardSegment is described in Installing plugins. There is no settings page: everything happens right on the dashboard. You need to be signed in to Matomo with at least view access to the website. The bundled Dashboard and SegmentEditor plugins must be active, which they are by default.

1. Create your segments

DashboardSegment works with your saved Matomo segments. Create any missing segment once via the segment selector at the top of Matomo with Create new segment and save it. A segment set to "this website only" in the segment editor appears only for that website; one set to "all websites" appears everywhere.

2. Pick a segment for a single widget

Open your Dashboard. Every supported widget gets a segment icon in its header with the tooltip Segment for this widget. Clicking it opens the list:

• Inherit dashboard default: the widget follows the dashboard default.
• No segment (all data): the widget always shows all data, even if a default or a segment at the top of Matomo is selected.
• your saved segments for the current website.

The widget reloads right away. A slim bar below its header shows the active segment, with an × to remove it.

3. Set the dashboard default

Above the widgets you see Dashboard default segment: followed by the current value. Click it to open the same list. The segment you choose applies to every widget without its own choice. If the default shows Inherit dashboard default, no default is set, and the widgets follow Matomo's segment selector at the top as usual. So the order is: the widget's own choice, then the dashboard default, then Matomo's segment selector.

4. Optional: a time range per widget

Next to the segment icon sits a calendar icon (Time range for this widget). Use it to fix a widget to Today, Yesterday, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, This week, This month or This year. Inherit dashboard range brings back the dashboard's period.

5. Work per website

The plugin stores segment and time range choices per website. When you switch websites, the same dashboard shows the choices you made for that website and offers only the segments available there.

6. Share a dashboard

Next to the dashboard default you find two buttons:

• Share this dashboard: enter a name under Name for recipients and choose All users or Specific users under Who can subscribe to it. With admin access you pick users from a list; otherwise you type their logins, separated by commas. Click Share to publish it. My shares lists your shares with their number of subscribers, and Stop sharing ends one.
• Import a shared dashboard: here other users see the dashboards shared with them and add one with Subscribe.

Shared live, not copied. A subscribed dashboard appears in your colleagues' dashboard list with a note saying who it comes from. It is read-only: segments and time ranges cannot be changed there. Every time it is opened, it takes over your current state, meaning widgets, layout, segments and time ranges. That is the difference from Matomo's Copy dashboard to user: that function needs admin access and creates a one-off copy that knows nothing about later changes to the original. If you stop sharing or delete the original, subscribers keep the last state they received. With Unsubscribe, a subscriber removes the dashboard again.

A subscribed dashboard appears among the user's own dashboards, marked with a people icon in the menu. It is read-only and takes over the original's layout, segments and time ranges each time it is opened again. Unsubscribe removes it.

Practical examples

AI traffic dashboard. You create a segment for visits with an AI referrer and set it as the dashboard default. The widgets about your AI chatbot are set to No segment (all data), because that data has no AI referrer and would be empty in the segment. One dashboard shows both side by side.

Compare segments directly. You add a widget such as Channel Type twice and give one the segment "Smartphone" and the other "Desktop". Both versions sit next to each other, without switching the segment at the top.

Yesterday and the monthly view. The same widget shows Yesterday once and Last 30 days once, while the rest of the dashboard follows the selected period.

One dashboard for the whole team. You build a campaign dashboard with fixed segments and share it with your team via Specific users. When you later change a widget, subscribers see the new version as soon as they open the dashboard again.

Good to know

• Stored data: the plugin stores, per user, dashboard and website, the chosen segments, the dashboard default and the time ranges, plus shares and subscriptions. When a user is deleted, their entries and shares are removed.
• Personal choices: your choices apply only to your login. Others only see them through a shared dashboard.
• The × on the bar: removing the segment there makes the widget show all data, even if a dashboard default is set. To return to the default, pick Inherit dashboard default.
• Segments changed later: the plugin keeps the segment's conditions as they were when you picked it. If you change the conditions later in the segment editor, the widget keeps using the old ones and the bar shows Custom segment. Pick the segment again in that case.
• Unsupported widgets: widgets that load their data themselves in the browser show no picker. These include Visits in real-time, the visitor maps, sparklines and evolution graphs, and combined widgets such as Visits Overview (with graph) or Goals Overview. They keep following Matomo's segment selector.
• Not signed in: for visitors of a public dashboard who are not signed in, the plugin applies no choices.
• Existing dashboards: as long as you pick nothing, every dashboard behaves as before.

Technical reference

Property	Value
Technical name	FeinwerkDashboardSegment
Current version	0.6.0
Matomo	≥ 5.0.0, < 6.0.0
PHP	—
License	free
Database changes	none in the current version

FAQ

Does it change my existing dashboards?

No. Until you pick a segment for a widget or set a dashboard default, everything behaves exactly like stock Matomo.

Which segments can I use?

Any saved Matomo segment that is available to you for the current website. The picker sits right in the widget header.

Are my choices persistent?

Yes. Segment and time range choices are stored per dashboard and website and applied every time the widgets load.

Can I share a dashboard together with its segments?

Yes. Share it with all users or with specific users. They subscribe and see it read-only, every time with your current layout, segments and time ranges.

What is the difference from "Copy dashboard to user"?

Matomo's copy is a snapshot and needs admin access. Later changes to the original never reach the recipient. A shared dashboard stays linked to your original and always shows your current version.