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AFG DATABASE AND DASHBOARD: GUIDE FOR EDITING
Setting up the Dashboard at the Beginning of the Year
Save as New Document
1. Open this year’s database in Excel
2. Under File>Save As, save using the same name format and same location, changing only the year
Clear Old Data
1. Clear data from all sheets EXCEPT the Graphs, Dashboard, and Master Sheet, which will change
automatically according to the values in the other sheets (Note: the cells that you do not have to
clear will be locked to prevent deleting information unintentionally)
2. To clear the data, first click and drag to select the cells you wish to clear
3. Right-click your selection and select the “Clear Contents” option
Enter Values to Set Up Templates for New Year
1. Once the values have been cleared, in the Objectives sheet change the dates to reflect the
current fiscal year using the format MM/DD/YYYY. Changing the dates in the Objectives sheet
will filter through the entire workbook and change the dates in the rest of the sheets.
2. Then enter the predetermined objectives in for the rest of the year in the Objectives sheet
Save Document
1. File>Save the document again

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Updating Dashboard Each Reporting Cycle
Entering Program Specific Data
1. The “Person Accountable” in each program should enter in the values on a monthly basis into
the corresponding sheet in the Excel document
Dashboard Updates
1. Once all of the data is entered in the individual program sheets, select the Dashboard sheet
2. Unprotect the Sheet to Edit. (Ctrl + Click on the hyperlink for instructions)
3. Change the month in cell B2, following the format MM/DD/YYYY
4. To change the trend lines, select the entire group you want to edit
a. Right-click the group, go down to “Sparklines,” and click “Edit Group and Location Data”
b. Put cursor in the
“Data Range” box
c. Change only the
letter after the
colon. The letter
should correspond
to the column in
which the most
recent data was
entered
d. Click “OK”
e. Repeat this
process for each
sheet
5. Return to the Dashboard worksheet and check for error messages.

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6. When this has been done, re-protect the worksheet (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
Updating Graphs
Once all data has been entered in each program specific sheet, the graphs can be updated to include the
most recent months’ data and objectives. Each of the graphs must be updated in the following manner:
1. Go to the Graphs worksheet, and Unprotect the Sheet to Edit.
2. Navigate to the first graph “% Beds Filled (Occupancy)” and right click inside the in the first
graph (in the white space where the bars are located) and go to “Select Data” and left click.
3. Once you have clicked on “Select Data,” the “Select Data Source” box (shown below) should
appear.

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4. Click on “Actual Results” and then click on “Edit”:
5. After clicking on “Edit,” you should automatically be taken to the Master Sheet and this box
should appear:
6. Click inside the box that is titled “Series Values”

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7. The formula inside the box should include all the Actual Results data that is available in the
sheet for this metric. Therefore, if you are reporting out data up to February, the formula should
start at column B (Month referencing October) and end at column F (Month referencing
February). If you are reporting out data up to April, the formula should start at column B
(October) and end at column H (April). DO NOT CHANGE THE ROW THAT IT IS REFERENCING.
This means, you change the letters, but not the numbers – when you are updating, just click
inside the box and update the last letter in the formula to reference the column in which the last
available data has been reported.
8. When the “Series Values” box has been updated reflecting the most recent month of available
data, click “Ok.” And you should automatically be returned to the Graphs worksheet.
9. Now, in the “Select Data Source” box, select “Objectives” and then click “Edit”:
10. After clicking on “Edit,” you should automatically be taken to the Master Sheet and this box
should appear:

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11. Click inside the box that is titled “Series Values”:
12. The formula inside the box should include the Objectives data up until the current reporting
month for this metric. Therefore, if you are reporting out data up to February, the formula
should start at column P (Month referencing October) and end at column T (Month referencing
February). If you are reporting out data up to April, the formula should start at column P
(October) and end at column V (April). DO NOT CHANGE THE ROW THAT IT IS REFERENCING.
This means, you change the letters, but not the numbers – when you are updating, just click
inside the box and update the last letter in the formula to reference the column in which the last
available data has been reported.
13. When the “Series Values” box has been updated reflecting the current reporting month data,
click “Ok.” And you should automatically be returned to the Graphs worksheet.
14. Now, in the “Select Data Source” box, click back on “Actual Results” so that it is highlighted, and
then click on the “Edit” button in the “Horizontal (Category) Axis Label box:

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15. After clicking “Edit,” you should automatically be taken to the Master Sheet worksheet and this
box should appear:
16. Click inside “Axis label range:” and the formula inside the box should include all months up until
the current month you are reporting on for this metric. Therefore, if you are reporting out data
up to February, the formula should start at column B (Month referencing October) and end at
column F (Month referencing February). If you are reporting out data up to April, the formula
should start at column B (October) and end at column H (April). DO NOT CHANGE THE ROW
THAT IT IS REFERENCING. This means, you change the letters, but not the numbers – when you
are updating, just click inside the box and update the last letter in the formula to reference the
column in which the last available data has been reported.

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17. When the “Axis label range” box has been updated reflecting the current reporting month data,
click “Ok.” And you should automatically be returned to the Graphs worksheet.
18. Now that you have updated all the axis data, you can click on “OK” and the graph should be
updated with data and comparative objectives up until the current reporting month.
19. Note that the trend line on the graph will be updated automatically.
20. Now that you have updated the first graph, repeat these steps for each of the graphs on the
Graphs worksheet.
21. When all the graphs have been updated, check the print preview to make sure that the graphs
are correctly displaying on a page and have not been cut across pages.
22. When this has been done, re-protect the worksheet (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
Adding a New Metric
Add to the Program-Specific Sheet
1. Go to the program specific worksheet that corresponds to the metric to be added. (i.e. Shelter,
Prevention, Volunteers, etc)
2. Unprotect the worksheet (Unprotect the Sheet to Edit)
3. Insert as many rows as required underneath the last metric outlined in the white boxes
Insert Row Here

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4. If required, then insert a row underneath the gray boxes (that calculate the percentages). Note,
some worksheets do not have gray boxes because the metrics tracked are not percentages and
are raw numbers. In those cases, you do not need to worry about this step.
5. Enter the relevant metric information as a title, then proceed over to the monthly columns (E to
P). In these cells you should utilize the following formula =IFERROR(X/Y,””) – Note that X and Y
are the variables that correspond with the metric that are noted in the white cells in the section
above. You will need to substitute X and Y with the actual cell numbers (i.e. E17/E16). If there is
a question on what formula to use or how to format the formula, you can always reference the
cells above in the gray area. The format should be similar, just different reference cells to create
the percentage. There should be a formula in every cell, but note that just because there is a
formula in the cell, does not mean that any data will appear in the cell. It may appear blank, but
there is a formula.
6. Once these items have been updated, protect the worksheet. (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
Add to the Objectives Sheet
1. Go to the Objectives worksheet and unprotect the sheet (Unprotect the Sheet to Edit).
2. Go to the last row where there is data and enter the name of the metric, make sure that the
name is the exact same name that you used in the program-specific sheet (in the gray area). To
make sure it is exactly the same, it may help to copy and paste that title from the program-
specific sheet to the Objectives sheet.
3. Enter the objectives for the entire year.
4. Once this has been updated, protect the sheet. (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
Add to the Master Sheet
1. Go to the Master Sheet worksheet and unprotect the sheet (Unprotect the Sheet to Edit)
2. Make sure that you are on the left-most side of the sheet (you can see Column A), and find the
set of metrics that correspond to that program. Locate the last metric that was associated with
that program (i.e. for Shelter it would be “% Aftercare Participants in Safe, Stable Housing”) and
insert a row below that metric.
Insert Row Here

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3. This row should be now be blank and any metrics that correspond to the program that you are
working in should not be below that line.
4. In Column A, enter the name of the metric, make sure that the name is the exact same name
that you used in the program-specific sheet (in the gray area). To make sure it is exactly the
same, it may help to copy and paste that title from the program-specific sheet to the Master
Sheet worksheet.
5. Now, highlight the cells B through M from the row above, locate and click on the little green box
on the bottom right corner of the highlighted cells and drag the formulas down to the next row.
6. Double check the program-specific worksheet where the metric data was entered originally, to
ensure that the correct data is pulling to the Master Sheet worksheet.
7. Now scroll over to the Objectives side of the worksheet, starting on Column O.
8. In Column O, enter the name of the metric, make sure that the name is the exact same name as
you used in Column A. To make sure it is exactly the same, it may help to copy and paste the
metric name from column A to Column O.
9. Now, highlight the cells P through AA from the row above, locate and click on the little green
box on the bottom right corner of the highlighted cells and drag the formulas down to the next
row. Ensure data integrity with the Objectives worksheet. (Same process as in step 5).
10. Now that this is done, protect the sheet. (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
Adding the Metric to the Dashboard
1. Go to the Dashboard worksheet, unprotect the worksheet. (Unprotect the Sheet to Edit).
2. Find the program specific section for the metric, add a row beneath the last metric in that
section.
3. In Column A, enter the name of the metric, make sure that the name is the exact same name
that you used in the program-specific sheet (in the gray area). To make sure it is exactly the
same, it may help to copy and paste that title from the Master Sheet worksheet.
4. Now, highlight the cells B through E from the row above, locate and click on the little green box
on the bottom right corner of the highlighted cells and drag the formulas down to the next row.
5. Go to column F for the new metric and right-click on the cell:
a. go down to “Sparklines,” and click “Edit Group and Location Data”
Green Box is here. Click on it and
drag down one row

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b. Put cursor in the
“Data Range” box
c. Make sure that it
corresponds to the
correct metric on
the program-
specific sheet.
6. Once all of these items have been updated, protect the sheet. (Protect the Sheet to Lock)
7. Save the document.
Additional Notes
Unprotect the Sheet to Edit
1. Go to the sheet that you want to edit.
2. On the ribbon at the top, select “Review” and then select “Unprotect Sheet.”
3. You will then be prompted to enter the password.
4. The passwords for all the sheets are in the section heading Passwords for Protected Sheets, or
can be accessed quickly by Ctrl + Click on the hyperlinked text above.
Protect the Sheet to Lock
1. Go to the sheet that you want to protect.
2. On the ribbon at the top, select “Review” and then select “Protect Sheet.”

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3. Enter the password, click “OK”, you will be prompted to re-enter the password and then the
sheet will be protected.
Passwords for Protected Sheets
 Graphs Worksheet Password: graphs
 Dashboard Worksheet Password: dashboard
 Master Sheet Worksheet Password: master sheet
 Objectives Worksheet Password: objectives
 Shelter Worksheet Password: shelter
 Prevention Worksheet Password: prevention
 OES Worksheet Password: oes
 HR Worksheet Password: hr
 Volunteers Worksheet Password: volunteers
 Grants Worksheet Password: grants