Exporting and importing visual artifacts

Cloudera Data Visualization allows you to export and import visual artifacts such as dashboards and applications. This migration utility supports several common use cases, for example, moving content from development or testing environments to production, creating backups, or sharing artifacts with others.

When you export an artifact, Cloudera Data Visualization generates a JSON file that contains its layout, configuration, associated datasets, style customizations, and query definitions, but not the actual raw data or query results. All related dependencies (for example, datasets and custom styles) are included, ensuring that when you import the artifact into another environment with the same data connections, it appears and functions exactly as it did in the source environment.

Manual export

You can export dashboards, linked visuals, or complete applications. The export creates a JSON file and saves it into your download directory, which can then be shared, or imported into other systems.

For more information, see Exporting a dashboard and Exporting an application.

Manual import

You can import visuals, dashboards, or complete applications, using the JSON file generated during export. Cloudera Data Visualization detects whether an artifact already exists on the target system and updates it instead of creating a duplicate. This ensures proper synchronization between environments.

By default, Cloudera Data Visualization checks all dashboards and visuals for a matching UUID. To limit the check to the current workspace, select the Disregard artifacts that exist in other workspaces option during import.

The required import privileges depend on the type of operation. These are some examples:

On initial import, you must have these privileges: Create datasets, Explore tables, Manage visuals and dashboards. If custom styles are part of the backup file, you also need to have Manage custom styles.
If the import is only updating an existing dataset (everything else is already on the system), you only need the Manage dataset privilege.
If import is only updating visuals and dashboards, you need the Manage visuals and dashboards privilege. If custom styles are part of the backup file, you also need the Manage custom styles privilege.

For more information, see Importing a dashboard and Importing an application.

Logging manual export/import

When dashboards and visuals are exported or imported, Cloudera Data Visualization records detailed entries in the Activity Log on the Logs and Usage page. Each entry specifies the visual or dashboard involved, the performed action, the time of the action, and the user who initiated it. This ensures full traceability of dashboard and visual changes performed through manual export and import operations.

Import actions logged are categorized as follows:

CREATE – Logged when a new dashboard or visual is created during the import action.
UPDATE – Logged when an existing dashboard or visual is updated during an import.

All export actions logged are CREATE actions.

The logging mechanism supports dashboards containing multiple visuals and visuals linked to multiple dashboards. Audit logging is skipped for dry-run operations to prevent unnecessary log entries.

For more information on audit logs, see Activity Log.

Migration with REST APIs

For recurring migration tasks, Cloudera Data Visualization provides a set of REST APIs that can be integrated into scheduled scripts. This approach involves authentications with data API keys. For more information, see Migrating visual artifacts using REST APIs.