---
alias: user-guide-create-analytics-views
tags:
- data platform
description: "Create an Analytics View to visualize data from a platform, enabling interactive reports or dashboards"
---

# Create Analytics View

:lock: AnalyticsViews.**Create**

## Overview

The **Analytics View** is a **Data Platform** entity that represents a paginated report or a dashboard that gets its data from **Data Platform**. They enable you to interact with the data in a visual way.

**Analytics Views** are available in the **Business Intelligence** page group.

## Setup

No specific setup is required other than to meet the preconditions of the transaction.

## Preconditions

* The **Analytics View** name must be unique in the folder in which it will be created.

!!! warning "Naming Restrictions"
    The following characters are not supported:

    ```markdown
    . / \ $
    ```

## Sequence of Steps

1. Navigate to the **Business Intelligence** page group, and select the **Expand** button on the top right to show the ribbon with all the buttons.

    ![Create Analytics View](images/create_analytics_view_step_01.png)

2. Select the folder where you want to create the **Analytics View**, or create a new folder, and then select the **New** button on the ribbon.

    !!! warning "Invalid Characters"
        When creating a new Folder, do not use any of the following characters:

        ```markdown
        \ / : ? | < > * " .
        ```

    ![Create Analytics View](images/create_analytics_view_step_02.png)

3. Enter a name for the **Analytics View**, and give it a description (optional).

4. Select a **Data Group** if you want to restrict the access to your **Analytics View** (assuming **Object Security Level** is active in MES).

5. If needed, change the **Folder** where it should be placed.

6. Select the **Type** of your **Analytics View**:
     * **Stimulsoft** - select this type if you want to create a paginated report using **Stimulsoft**, in which case you will need to select a pre-existing **Template** to use.
     * **Grafana** - select this type if you want to create a link to a previously created **Grafana** dashboard, in which case you will have to provide the full **URL** to that dashboard.

7. If needed, select some keywords so that your **Analytics View** will be easier to find.

8. Select **Create**.

If you selected the **Stimulsoft** type, an editor will open so that you can edit your paginated report. For more information, see [[tutorials-stimulsoft-report]].

![Create Analytics View](images/create_analytics_view_step_03.png)

If you selected the **Grafana** type, your dashboard will open as shown below. For more information, see [[tutorials-grafana-tutorial]].

![Create Analytics View](images/create_analytics_view_step_04.png)

Either way, the **Analytics View** will now be available in the folder in which it was created.