Dashboard & Production Kanban

The Dashboard in Print Life Software serves as the operational command center for your entire print shop. It combines high-speed, interactive Kanban pipelines with live department capacity tracking, staff assignment filters, milestone automation shortcuts, and a dynamic production schedule calendar.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

How to Access the Dashboard

Click Dashboard (/dashboard) at the top of the main left sidebar under the Operations section.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Dashboard Header: [ Shop Workflow Guide ]   [ ⚡ Automations ]   [ ⚙️ Manage Dashboards ]    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Capacity Bar: [ Timeframe ▾ ] [ All Staff ▾ ] [ Screen Print (6h/8h) ] [ DTF (2h/8h) ]      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Pipeline Tabs: [ Main Production ]   [ Embroidery Floor ]   [ DTF Printing ]                │
├──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🔵 Art Approvals             │ 🟡 In Printing               │ 🟢 Ready to Ship / Pickup      │
│ [Schedule Active]            │ [Schedule Active]            │                                │
│ (3 Proofs) (1 Revision)      │ (4 On Press) (2 Curing)      │ (6 Packed)                     │
│ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ ┌────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ INV-1042 • Lincoln High  │ │ │ INV-1040 • Apex Gym      │ │ │ INV-1038 • Riverside Cafe  │ │
│ │ 48 Pcs • Due Oct 18      │ │ │ 120 Pcs • Due Oct 16     │ │ │ 24 Pcs • Due Oct 14        │ │
│ │ Est: 2h 15m [Unscheduled]│ │ │ Est: 4h 30m              │ │ │ [Complete]                 │ │
│ └──────────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────┘ │ └────────────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘

Top Header Action Bar

Located at the top right of /dashboard:

• Shop Workflow Guide (Button): Opens the interactive Shop Operating Model Guide modal explaining Stage 1 (Deposit/Estimate First) vs. Stage 2 (Proofs Upfront) shop workflows.
• Automations (Button with Lightning icon): Opens the Automation Command Center (AutomationBuilderDialog) to configure triggers (Quote Created/Sent/Approved, Proofs Approved, Payment Recorded, Blanks Received) and custom 1-click SOP workflow buttons.
  • Empty State Indicator: When no automations are active, the Automations button illuminates with an animated neon border (animate-glow) to encourage workflow setup.
• Manage Dashboards (Button with Cog icon): Opens the Shop Structure Manager (DashboardManagerDialog) to create, rename, or reorder Kanban boards, department columns, and granular sub-status pills.

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Dashboard Quick Filters & Capacity Bar

Positioned directly above your Kanban columns:

1. Production Capacity Bar:

   • Appears at the top of /dashboard once price matrices have configured Decoration Departments and Daily Production Capacity.
   • Timeframe Selector: Toggle between Today's, Tomorrow's, This Week's, or Next Week's Capacity.
   • Department Capacity Pills: Displays one pill per department (e.g., Screen Printing, Embroidery, DTF).
     • Hover any pill to inspect Booked Hours, Target Capacity, and Remaining Hours with an indicator badge (Available, High Load, or Capacity Exceeded).
     • Open Invoices Only: Only open, active invoices count toward booked capacity. Quotes never consume production capacity so managers can evaluate new incoming work against remaining shop bandwidth.
     • Unscheduled Auto-Distribution: An invoice with no set production date automatically fills the earliest available opening starting today, displaying an amber "incl. Xh unscheduled" tag.
     • Click any pill to filter both the Kanban board and the Production Calendar strictly to that department.
   • Staff Filter (All Staff Dropdown):
     • Filter jobs assigned to a specific team member, or select Unassigned Jobs.
     • When a staff member is selected, each department pill displays that person's individual contribution (e.g., "Alex 3.5h").
     • The capacity row scrolls horizontally on narrow screens with a slim scrollbar, maintaining full visibility.
   • Clear Filter (Button): Displayed at the far right whenever a department or staff filter is active to reset the view in 1 click.

2. Dashboard Selector Tabs:

   • Switch between multiple shop pipelines (e.g., Main Production, Embroidery Pipeline, DTF Printing).

3. Search & Date Filters:

   • Search Bar: Real-time filtering across customer names, quote/invoice numbers, and company names.
   • Date Range Picker: Filter jobs by creation date or confirmed production due date.

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2. Kanban Board Structure: Boards, Columns & Sub-Statuses

Print Life Software separates shop workflow into a flexible 3-tier hierarchy: Boards $\rightarrow$ Columns $\rightarrow$ Sub-Statuses.

1. Production Boards

Create dedicated boards for different operational divisions (e.g., Screen Print Floor, Embroidery Department, Sales Pipeline).

• Creating a Board: Open Manage Dashboards $\rightarrow$ type the board title under CREATE NEW PRODUCTION BOARD $\rightarrow$ click Create Board.
• Managing Boards: Each board card allows you to reorder, edit titles with the Pencil icon, or delete unused boards with the Trash icon.

2. Department Columns

Columns represent major operational milestones (e.g., Art Approvals, In Printing, Curing, Fulfillment).

• Adding a Column: Click Add Column (+) on any board card in the Shop Structure Manager.
  • Choose + Create New: Enter title, pick a brand hex color swatch, and click Create & Add to Board.
  • Choose Select Existing: Pick from previously created columns across your shop.
• Reordering Columns: Drag any column card by its 6-dot grip handle (GripVertical) up or down to set its left-to-right sequence on the board.
• Column Header Badges:
  • Color Strip: Visual accent matching your department branding.
  • Schedule Active Badge (<Calendar /> Schedule Active): Indicates that jobs in this column appear on the shop's Production Schedule Calendar. Click the badge to toggle calendar visibility.
  • Sub-Status Count Pills: Summarizes order counts for each sub-status inside that column.

3. Granular Sub-Statuses

Sub-statuses live inside columns to track fine-grained tasks without cluttering your board with dozens of full columns (e.g., inside In Printing, you might have Press Setup, Printing, and Flash Curing).

• Adding Sub-Statuses: Click the Sub-Status button (+) on any column card.
• Reordering Sub-Statuses: Drag and drop sub-status pills horizontally to order steps sequentially.
• Inline Count Filters: Clicking a sub-status pill on a column header filters that column to show only cards in that specific step.

4. Built-in Protected System Statuses

To prevent broken workflows, the platform includes two protected, immutable system statuses:

• system_complete: Applied automatically when a job is marked fulfilled, shipped, or delivered.
• system_rejected: Applied automatically when a quote expires or is declined and archived.
• Protection: These statuses cannot be deleted or renamed. They are excluded from active production board columns to keep boards focused 100% on active shop work.

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3. Job Cards & Production Indicators

Every card on your Kanban board provides clear visual feedback on job health, timelines, and operator assignments:

• Header Row: Customer name, company, and prominent Job # (INV-1042).
• Piece Count & Due Date: Total garment piece count and confirmed customer delivery date (Due: Oct 18).
• Assigned Staff: Assigned operator avatar or initials displayed directly below the due date.
• Decoration Badges: Visual chips indicating the decoration methods (Screen Print, Embroidery, DTF, Heat Transfer).
• Production Time & Scheduling Badges:
  • Est: Xh Ym: Calculated production run time based on matrix speed and piece counts.
  • Amber Unscheduled Badge: Displayed next to Est: on open invoices that do not yet have a production date assigned. Clicking the badge opens the Production Calendar.
  • Amber Not on calendar Badge: Displayed if an invoice is in a column that has calendar sync turned off. Clicking opens the Edit Column dialog so owners/managers can tick Show on Production Calendar.
  • Note: Quotes and finished jobs never display these scheduling badges.

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4. Production Schedule Calendar

The Dashboard includes an integrated monthly and day-by-day Production Schedule Calendar for sequencing daily press runs:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Calendar Mode: [ Production Mode (Scheduled) ▾ ]       [ Schedule <Department> (Auto) ]     │
├───────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Unscheduled Queue (Drawer)       │  Monthly Calendar Grid                                   │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │  ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐          │
│  │ INV-1045 • 72 Tees           │ │  │ Mon Oct 14   │ Tue Oct 15   │ Wed Oct 16   │          │
│  │ Est: 1.5h • Screen Print     │ │  │ 6h / 8h      │ 8h / 8h FULL │ 3h / 8h      │          │
│  │ [Drag to Calendar Day]       │ │  │              │              │              │          │
│  └──────────────────────────────┘ │  │ INV-1040     │ INV-1041     │ INV-1044     │          │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │  │ 120 Pcs (4h) │ 200 Pcs (7h) │ 48 Pcs (2h)  │          │
│  │ INV-1048 • 24 Hoodies        │ │  └──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘          │
│  └──────────────────────────────┘ │                                                          │
└───────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

View Modes

• Production Mode: Displays jobs by their confirmed Production Date. Features full interactive drag-and-drop scheduling between day cells.
• Due Dates Mode: Displays jobs by their customer Due Date. Provides a read-only visual timeline to spot bottleneck weeks.

Drag-and-Drop Scheduling

1. Unscheduled Queue: When in Production Mode, an expandable sidebar drawer displays all open invoices without a scheduled production date.
2. Scheduling a Job: Drag any card from the Unscheduled Queue drawer onto a calendar day cell to schedule it for that date.
3. Rescheduling: Drag a job card from one day cell to another to balance press capacity.
4. Day View Timeline: Click any day cell to open the detailed Day View. Drag cards onto 15-minute time slots or use the Set Time dropdown to sequence jobs across morning and afternoon shifts.

Calendar Visibility & Opt-In Rules

To prevent cluttered schedules, jobs operate on a Strict Opt-In Model:

• Column-Level Opt-In: In Shop Structure Manager, click Edit (Pencil icon) on a column $\rightarrow$ check "Show on Production Calendar" (active columns display the <Calendar /> Schedule Active badge). New columns enable this by default.
• Status-Level Opt-In: Individual sub-statuses can also be toggled to appear on the calendar.
• Terminal State Auto-Exclusion: Checking "Mark as Terminal State" on any status automatically removes completed, shipped, or delivered jobs from the active schedule.

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5. Shop Floor Production Sheet Integration

Your Kanban columns connect directly to the tablet-friendly Production Sheet used by press operators on the shop floor:

1. Open any quote or invoice at /quotes-invoices/[id] $\rightarrow$ select the Production tab.
2. In the Shop Floor Milestone Checklist card, click Configure Statuses.
3. Select your production column (e.g., Screen Print Floor, Embroidery Production).
4. Select the statuses to show as one-touch milestone buttons.
5. As press operators tap each milestone on their tablet, the job automatically advances through your Kanban pipeline in real time!

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6. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
A job shows an amber "Unscheduled" badge	Open invoice has no assigned production date.	Click the Unscheduled badge to open the Production Calendar, then drag the job onto your target day cell.
A job shows an amber "Not on calendar" badge	The job's column has calendar sync disabled.	Click the Not on calendar badge to open the Edit Column dialog $\rightarrow$ check Show on Production Calendar $\rightarrow$ click Save.
A department capacity pill shows "incl. Xh unscheduled"	Some open invoices in that department lack a scheduled date.	Studio automatically allocates unscheduled hours to the earliest open capacity starting today. Drag those jobs to specific dates on the calendar to lock in the schedule.
Quotes are missing from the Kanban board	Quotes expired, archived, or marked rejected.	Studio automatically filters out cold and expired quotes to keep boards focused on active production. Search for the quote under /quotes-invoices to un-archive or extend its expiration date.
Production Capacity Bar does not appear	No price matrices have Decoration Departments configured.	Go to Pricing & Materials $\rightarrow$ Matrices $\rightarrow$ open your decoration matrix $\rightarrow$ under Optional settings, expand Decoration Department & Capacity $\rightarrow$ set Department Name and Daily Hours.
Staff filter shows 0 jobs for a team member	Jobs have not been assigned to that staff member.	Open the job Work Order $\rightarrow$ click Job Assignment $\rightarrow$ assign the team member.
How do I remove completed jobs from the calendar grid?	Status is not set as a terminal state.	In Shop Structure Manager, click the sub-status pill $\rightarrow$ check Mark as Terminal State $\rightarrow$ click Save. Completed jobs will disappear from the calendar view.

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7. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

How do I create a new production board?

1. At the top right of the Dashboard, click Manage Dashboards (cog icon) to open the Shop Structure Manager.
2. In the top banner under CREATE NEW PRODUCTION BOARD, enter your board title (e.g., Embroidery Pipeline or Quick Turn DTF).
3. Click Create Board.
4. Click Add Column on your new board card to add your workflow columns!

[How do I add columns and sub-statuses?](chat:How do I add columns and sub-statuses to my board?) • [Show me Dashboard](chat:Show me the Dashboard)

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How do I add columns and sub-statuses to a board?

1. Open Manage Dashboards (cog icon) on the Dashboard.
2. Locate your board card and click Add Column (+).
3. Enter your column name and pick a brand color swatch, then click Create & Add to Board.
4. To add sub-steps inside that column, click Sub-Status (+) on the column title bar.
5. Drag and drop column cards vertically or sub-status pills horizontally to order your workflow from start to finish!

[How do I sync columns with the Production Calendar?](chat:How do I sync columns with the Production Calendar?)

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How do I sync a column with the Production Schedule Calendar?

1. In the Shop Structure Manager, locate the column card and click Edit (Pencil icon) (or click the Schedule Active badge directly on your dashboard).
2. Check the box for "Show on Production Calendar".
3. Click Save Changes. All active jobs in that column will now appear on your calendar grid and capacity bars!

[Show me the Dashboard](chat:Show me the Dashboard)