Amazon QuickSight is a fully managed, cloud-native business intelligence (BI) service that makes it easy to connect to your data, create interactive dashboards and reports, and share these with tens of thousands of users, either within QuickSight or embedded in your application or website.

QuickSight recently launched a new major version of its Embedding SDK (v2.0) to improve developer experience when embedding QuickSight in your application or website. The QuickSight SDK v2.0 adds several customization improvements such as an optional preloader and new external hooks for managing undo, redo, print options, and parameters. Additionally, there are major rewrites to deliver developer-focused improvements, including static type checking, enhanced runtime validation, strong consistency in call patterns, and optimized event chaining.

The new SDK supports improved code completion when integrated with IDEs through its adoption of TypeScript and the newly introduced frameOptions and contentOptions, which segment embedding options into parameters unified for all embedding experiences and parameters unique for each embedding experience, respectively. Additionally, SDK v2.0 offers increased visibility by providing new experience-specific information and warnings within the SDK. This increases transparency, and developers can monitor and handle new content states.

The QuickSight SDK v2.0 is modernized by using promises for all actions, so developers can use async and await functions for better event management. Actions are further standardized to return a response for both data requesting and non-data requesting actions, so developers have full visibility to the end-to-end application handshake.

In addition to the new SDK, we are also introducing state persistence for user-based dashboard and console embedding. The GenerateEmbedUrlForRegisteredUser API is updated to support this feature and improves end-user experience and interactivity on embedded content.

SDK Feature overview

The QuickSight SDK v2.0 offers new functionalities along with elevating developers’ experience. The following functionalities have been added in this version:

  • Dashboard undo, redo, and reset actions can now be invoked from the application
  • A loading animation can be added to the dashboard container while the contents of the dashboard are loaded
  • Frame creation, mounting, and failure are communicated as change events that can be used by the application
  • Actions getParameter() values and setParameter() values are unified, eliminating additional data transformations

Using the new SDK

The embed URL obtained using the GenerateEmbedUrlForRegisteredUser or GenerateEmbedUrlForAnonymousUser APIs can be consumed in the application using the embedDashboard experience in SDK v2.0. This method takes two parameters:

  • frameOptions – This is a required parameter, and its properties determine the container options to embed a dashboard:
    • url – The embed URL generated using GenerateEmbedUrlForRegisteredUser or GenerateEmbedUrlForAnonymousUser APIs
    • container – The parent HTMLElement to embed the dashboard
  • contentOptions – This is an optional parameter that controls the dashboard locale and captures events from the SDK.

The following sample code uses the preceding parameters to embed a dashboard:

<html> <head> <!-- ... --> <script src=”https://unpkg.com/amazon-quicksight-embedding-sdk@2.0.0/dist/quicksight-embedding-js-sdk.min.js"></script> <!-- ... --> <script> (async () => { const { createEmbeddingContext, } = window.QuickSightEmbedding; const embeddingContext = await createEmbeddingContext(); const frameOptions = { url: '<YOUR\_EMBED\_URL>', container: '#your-embed-container' }; const contentOptions = { toolbarOptions: { reset: true, undoRedo: true, } }; embeddedDashboard = await EmbeddingContext.embedDashboard(frameOptions, contentOptions); })(); </script> </head> <body> <div id="your-embed-container"></div> </body></html>

Render a loading animation while the dashboard loads

SDK v2.0 allows an option to render a loading animation in the iFrame container while the dashboard loads. This improves user experience by suggesting resource loading is in progress and where it will appear, and eliminates any perceived latency.

You can enable a loading animation by using the withIframePlaceholder option in the frameOption parameter:

const frameOptions = { url: '<YOUR\_EMBED\_URL>', container: '#your-embed-container', withIframePlaceholder: true}

This option is supported by all embedding experiences.

Monitor changes in SDK code status

SDK v2.0 supports a new callback onChange, which returns eventNames along with corresponding eventCodes to indicate errors, warnings, or information from the SDK.

You can use the events returned by the callback to monitor frame creation status and code status returned by the SDK. For example, if the SDK returns an error when an invalid embed URL is used, you can use a placeholder text or image in place of the embedded experience to notify the user.

The following eventNames and eventCodes are returned as part of the onChange callback when there is a change in the SDK code status.

eventName eventCode
ERROR FRAME\_NOT\_CREATED: Invoked when the creation of the iframe element failed
NO\_BODY: Invoked when there is no body element in the hosting HTML
NO\_CONTAINER: Invoked when the experience container is not found
NO\_URL: Invoked when no URL is provided in the frameOptions
INVALID\_URL: Invoked when the URL provided is not a valid URL for the experience
INFO FRAME\_STARTED: Invoked just before the iframe is created
FRAME\_MOUNTED: Invoked after the iframe is appended into the experience container
FRAME\_LOADED: Invoked after the iframe element emitted the load event
WARN UNRECOGNIZED\_CONTENT\_OPTIONS: Invoked when the content options for the experience contain unrecognized properties
UNRECOGNIZED\_EVENT\_TARGET: Invoked when a message with an unrecognized event target is received

See the following code:

const frameOptions = { url: '<YOUR\_EMBED\_URL>', container: '#your-embed-container', withIframePlaceholder: true onChange: (changeEvent, metadata) => { switch (changeEvent.eventName) { case 'ERROR': { document.getElementById("your-embed-container").append('Unable to load Dashboard at this time.'); break; } } } }

Monitor interactions in embedded dashboards

Another callback supported by SDK v2.0 is onMessage, which returns information about specific events within an embedded experience. The eventName returned depends on the type of embedding experience used and allows application developers to invoke custom code for specific events.

For example, you can monitor if an embedded dashboard is fully loaded or invoke a custom function that logs the parameter values end-users set or change within the dashboard. Your application can now work seamlessly with SDK v2.0 to track and react to interactions within an embedded experience.

The eventNames returned are specific to the embedding experience used. The following eventNames are for the dashboard embedding experience. For additional eventNames, visit the GitHub repo.

  • CONTENT\_LOADED
  • ERROR\_OCCURRED
  • PARAMETERS\_CHANGED
  • SELECTED\_SHEET\_CHANGED
  • SIZE\_CHANGED
  • MODAL\_OPENED

See the following code:

const contentOptions = { onMessage: async (messageEvent, experienceMetadata) => { switch (messageEvent.eventName) { case 'PARAMETERS\_CHANGED': { ….. // Custom code break; }…}

Initiate dashboard print from the application

The new SDK version supports initiating undo, redo, reset, and print from the parent application, without having to add the native embedded QuickSight navbar. This allows developers flexibility to add custom buttons or application logic to control and invoke these options.

For example, you can add a standalone button in your application that allows end-users to print an embedded dashboard, without showing a print icon or navbar within the embedded frame. This can be done using the initiatePrint action:

embeddedDashboard.initiatePrint();

The following code sample shows a loading animation, SDK code status, and dashboard interaction monitoring, along with initiating dashboard print from the application:

<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"> <head> <script src=" https://unpkg.com/amazon-quicksight-embedding-sdk@2.0.0/dist/quicksight-embedding-js-sdk.min.js "></script> <title>Embedding demo</title> <script> $(document).ready(function() { var embeddedDashboard; document.getElementById("print\_button").onclick = function printDashboard() { embeddedDashboard.initiatePrint(); } function embedDashboard(embedUrl) { const { createEmbeddingContext } = window.QuickSightEmbedding; (async () => { const embeddingContext = await createEmbeddingContext(); const messageHandler = (messageEvent) => { switch (messageEvent.eventName) { case 'CONTENT\_LOADED': { document.getElementById("print\_button").style.display="block"; break; } case 'ERROR\_OCCURRED': { console.log('Error occurred', messageEvent.message); break; } case 'PARAMETERS\_CHANGED': { // Custom code.. break; } } } const frameOptions = { url: '<YOUR\_EMBED\_URL>', container: document.getElementById("dashboardContainer"), width: "100%", height: "AutoFit", loadingHeight: "200px", withIframePlaceholder: true, onChange: (changeEvent, metadata) => { switch (changeEvent.eventName) { case 'ERROR': { document.getElementById("dashboardContainer").append('Unable to load Dashboard at this time.'); break; } } } } const contentOptions = { locale: "en-US", onMessage: messageHandler } embeddedDashboard = await embeddingContext.embedDashboard(frameOptions, contentOptions); })(); } }); </Script> </head> <body> <div> <button type="button" id="print\_button" style="display:none;">Print</button> </div> <div id="dashboardContainer"></div> </body></html>

State persistence

In addition to the new SDK, QuickSight now supports state persistence for dashboard and console embedding. State Persistance means when readers slice and dice embedded dashboards with filters, QuickSight will persist filter selection until they return to the dashboard. Readers can pick up where they left off and don’t have to re-select filters.

State persistence is currently supported only for the user-based (not anonymous) dashboard and console embedding experience.

You can enable state persistence using the FeatureConfigurations parameter in the GenerateEmbedUrlForRegisteredUser API. FeatureConfigurations contains StatePersistence structure that can be customized by setting Enabled as true or false.

The API structure is below:

generate-embed-url-for-registered-useraws-account-id <value>[session-lifetime-in-minutes <value>]user-arn <value>[cli-input-json | cli-input-yaml][allowed-domains <value>][generate-cli-skeleton <value>]experience-configuration <value>DashboardInitialDashboardId <value>[FeatureConfigurations][StatePersistence]Enabled <value>QuickSightConsoleInitialPath <value>[FeatureConfigurations][StatePersistence]Enabled <value>

The following code disables state persistence for QuickSight console embedding:

aws quicksight generate-embed-url-for-registered-user \--aws-account-id <AWS\_Account\_ID> \--user-arn arn:aws:quicksight:us-east-1:<AWS\_Account\_ID>:user/<Namespace>/<QuickSight\_User\_Name>--experience-configuration '{"QuickSightConsole": {"InitialPath": "/start/analyses","FeatureConfigurations": {"StatePersistence": {"Enabled": false}}}}' \--region <Region>

The following code enables state persistence for QuickSight dashboard embedding:

aws quicksight generate-embed-url-for-registered-user \--aws-account-id <AWS\_Account\_ID> \--user-arn arn:aws:quicksight:us-east-1:<AWS\_Account\_ID>:user/<Namespace>/<QuickSight\_User\_Name>--experience-configuration '{"Dashboard": {"InitialDashboardId": “<Dashboard\_ID>","FeatureConfigurations": {"StatePersistence": {"Enabled": true}}}}' \--region <Region>

Considerations

Note the following when using these features:

  • For dashboard embedding, state persistence is disabled by default. To enable this feature, set Enabled parameter in StatePersistence to true.
  • For console embedding, state persistence is enabled by default. To disable this feature, set Enabled parameter in StatePersistence to false.

Conclusion

With the latest iteration of the QuickSight Embedding SDK, you can indicate when an embedded experience is loading, monitor and respond to errors from the SDK, observe changes and interactivity, along with invoking undo, redo, reset, and print actions from application code.

Additionally, you can enable state persistence to persist filter selection for readers and allow them to pick up where they left off when revisiting an embedded dashboard.

For more detailed information about the SDK and experience-specific options, visit the GitHub repo.

About the authors

Raj Jayaraman is a Senior Specialist Solutions Architect for Amazon QuickSight. Raj focuses on helping customers develop sample dashboards, embed analytics and adopt BI design patterns and best practices.

Mayank Agarwal is a product manager for Amazon QuickSight, AWS’ cloud-native, fully managed BI service. He focuses on account administration, governance and developer experience. He started his career as an embedded software engineer developing handheld devices. Prior to QuickSight he was leading engineering teams at Credence ID, developing custom mobile embedded device and web solutions using AWS services that make biometric enrollment and identification fast, intuitive, and cost-effective for Government sector, healthcare and transaction security applications.

Rohit Pujari is the Head of Product for Embedded Analytics at QuickSight. He is passionate about shaping the future of infusing data-rich experiences into products and applications we use every day. Rohit brings a wealth of experience in analytics and machine learning from having worked with leading data companies, and their customers. During his free time, you can find him lining up at the local ice cream shop for his second scoop.

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