The Overview is the first screen you see after logging in to gas. It brings together the most important numbers from every network your customer account has connected, so you do not have to click through individual pages. It is made up of cards, and each card shows one network or one metric. In the application menus the cards are called widgets; in this article we use both names. You can arrange the Overview to suit you: add cards, remove them and move them elsewhere.
You can return to the Overview at any time using the Overview item at the very top of the left menu, or the first icon in the bottom bar on a phone.
Before you start
The Overview shows data for the profiles linked to the currently selected customer account. For numbers to appear, two things have to be in place:
- Someone on the team has to link the service (Meta, Google, Pinterest, TikTok or Sklik) in Settings → Connected services.
- The specific page, profile, channel or ad account has to be linked to the customer account. The list of linked profiles is in Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts.
The difference between these two steps is explained in the article on how linking services works.
Everyone adjusts the card layout for themselves, so any role can do it, including the Viewer role. Changing the layout does not disturb anything for anyone else on the team.
What the cards show and where their data comes from
There are two kinds of cards on the Overview.
A network summary card is a wide strip across the full width of the screen. On the left it has a coloured header with the network name and, below it, a button with the name of the profile the numbers come from. On the right there are three metrics for that network, each with a large number, the period and a coloured badge showing the change against the comparison period. In the default layout, the Overview has one summary card for each of the ten networks gas connects: Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Website (Google Analytics), YouTube, TikTok, Sklik, Pinterest and Pinterest Ads.
A single metric card is smaller and shows one value only. It comes in two forms: Value (the number on its own) and Graph (the number plus a trend line). In the default layout there are two such cards at the top covering all networks together, Total reach and Total spend.
The data on the cards is not fetched live from Facebook or Google at the moment you open the page. gas downloads it continuously in the background and the card shows what it has stored. How often the download runs is described in the article on how often data is updated.
Under the name of each metric you will find the specific period the number comes from. For some networks it ends one to three days earlier than for others, because every platform releases its statistics with a different delay. The periods on individual cards therefore differ from one another even though a single period is selected at the top.
A few small things worth knowing about the cards:
- The coloured badge with the percentage on the right compares the selected period with the preceding one. Hover over it (tap it on a phone) and a box opens with the values Selected period, Comparison period and Difference.
- The question mark icon next to the metric name expands an explanation of exactly what is being counted.
- On cards for All networks there is a Show breakdown by network icon next to the number. It opens a box where the combined number is broken down into individual networks and profiles.
- The period selector and the Refresh button are at the top of the page header next to the Overview heading and apply to all cards at once. Each has its own article.
Which profile a card shows
When a customer account has several profiles linked for one network, the summary card shows one of them. The first profile is selected automatically, in the order set in Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts. You switch it using the button with the profile name in the card's coloured header.
One profile can have only one summary card on the Overview. If you want to see two Facebook pages side by side, add a second Facebook summary card and switch it to the other profile.
Adding a card
- Open the Overview.
- At the top right, next to the heading, click the three dots button.
- Choose Add widget. A wizard opens with a progress indicator at the top reading Step 1 of 4.
- In the Select network step, click a network tile. Besides the individual networks there is an All networks tile for combined numbers across networks.
- In the Network metric … step, choose what you want to track. The first tile, Summary card, adds a wide strip with three metrics and ends the wizard right there. The other tiles add a single metric card and the wizard continues.
- In the Select profile step, click the profile whose numbers the card should show. For the All networks tile this step is skipped, because such a card adds up all profiles.
- In the last step, How should the widget look?, two live previews are shown, Value and Graph. Click a preview to add the card.
The new card appears in the first free slot and the page scrolls to it on its own so you can see where it landed. It is saved immediately, there is nothing to confirm. The arrow at the top left takes you one step back in the wizard, and the Cancel link at the bottom closes it without adding a card.
Removing a card
- Hover over the card. A three dots button appears in its top right corner. On a touch screen it is visible all the time.
- Click it and choose Remove widget.
The card disappears immediately and without asking for confirmation. Nothing is deleted: only the tile is removed from your Overview, the data and the profile link stay unchanged, and you can add the card back at any time.
On a summary card that reports there is no profile for it, there is also a Remove card button right in the card.
Rearranging cards
Cards are moved by dragging. So that they cannot be shifted by accident during normal clicking, they are locked outside edit mode. You can unlock them in two ways.
Dragging a single card. Hover over the middle of the card's top edge. A handle with horizontal dots and the label Move widget appears. Press the mouse button on it and drag the card to its new place; the other cards move out of the way on their own.
Edit mode comes in handy when you want to rearrange several cards one after another:
- Click the three dots button at the top right and choose Edit layout.
- The cards start to wobble. This tells you that you can grab them anywhere, not just by the handle at the top.
- Drag them into the order that suits you.
- A bar appears at the bottom of the screen with the buttons Finish editing and Reset to default layout. Click Finish editing to leave the mode.
The new layout is saved automatically the moment you drop a card. There is nothing to confirm.
The Reset to default layout button returns the Overview to its original state without asking for confirmation. You will lose all the cards you added as well as your own ordering, and it cannot be undone; you have to build the layout again.
Other changes to individual cards
Depending on the card type, the three dots menu on a card contains these options:
- Duplicate widget (single metric card): opens the wizard pre-filled from this card, so you can quickly add the same metric for another profile or in another form.
- Switch to value and Switch to graph (single metric card): switches between the small card with the number on its own and the large card with the graph. The card stays in place, it only changes size.
- Change profile (single metric card that has its own profile): opens the profile selection, and after saving the card starts showing numbers for another profile.
- Swap metrics (network summary card): opens the selection of the three metrics the card should show. The same metric cannot be chosen twice.
- Remove widget.
You cannot change a card's size by dragging its corner, cards have fixed dimensions. The only thing that changes the size is switching between the Value and Graph views.
Where the layout is stored
The Overview layout is stored with your user account and separately for each customer account. In practice this means:
- Colleagues in the same customer account have their own Overview. Your changes do not affect theirs and their changes do not affect yours.
- After switching to another customer account you will see the layout you set up for it. In an account where you have not changed anything yet, the layout is the default one.
- The layout is stored on the server, not just in the browser. Log in on another computer and you will see the same thing.
- gas remembers the arrangement separately for phone, tablet and computer. Rearranging cards on a phone therefore does not disturb what you have on a computer.
The Overview on a phone and tablet
On a phone the cards are stacked in a single column and the network summary cards are rearranged: the coloured header with the network is at the top and the three metrics are below it. The three dots button is next to the Overview heading, and the period selector and the Refresh button are below the heading in a reduced bar.
Dragging works by touch too. Both the dotted handle and the card's three dots menu are visible all the time on a touch screen, you do not have to hover over the card first.
Graphs are simplified on a small display, which the card itself reports with the note The graph is simplified on a phone. You will find the full version on a larger screen. Only the line for the selected period is drawn, the comparison period line is left out on a phone.
Common problems
The Overview is empty even though we have just created the account
For a newly created customer account this is expected. The cards are on the Overview, but they have nowhere to take data from, so each network shows the message We did not find any profile for this widget. Link gas with your account in the settings. Click Create new connection and go through linking the service and linking the profile. The numbers will appear after the first data download, for some networks only the next day.
A card reports that there is no profile for it
The customer account has no profile linked for that network, or the profile the card was showing has since been unlinked. Either link the network using the Create new connection button, or remove the card using the Remove card button. The same message also appears when all the profiles of that network are already taken by other summary cards.
There is a card on the Overview for a network we do not use at all
The default layout contains a card for each of the ten networks so that a new user can choose. Feel free to remove the cards for networks you do not use, it will make the Overview clearer. If you change your mind later, you can add them back through Add widget and the Summary card tile.
A card has a profile but shows a dash instead of a number
A dash means gas has no value for the selected period. The most common reasons: the period ends today and today's data has not arrived yet; the profile was linked only a short while ago and the history is still downloading; access to the network has expired and downloading has stopped. First move the period back a few days and press Refresh. If no data arrives even after two days, open Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts and check whether there is a warning next to the profile.
The change badge shows only a dash
The comparison cannot be calculated. The value for the selected or the comparison period is missing, or the comparison period was zero. As soon as data for both periods arrives, the badge will be calculated automatically.
A number on the Overview does not match the number on the network page
Most often it is a different combination of profile and period:
- A summary card shows the profile selected in the card, whereas the network page shows the profile selected in its header. Check that it is the same profile.
- Each card lists its period under the metric name. For networks that release statistics with a delay (YouTube, organic Pinterest) it ends several days earlier than for advertising networks.
- Cards for All networks add up values across all linked profiles of all networks. They are therefore not supposed to match the number for one specific page; the breakdown by network is there for that.
If the numbers differ from the platform itself, the article on how often data is updated covers that.
A card has disappeared and I do not know why
A card can also be removed by dragging it outside the Overview area while moving it. Bring it back through Add widget, or use Reset to default layout if you do not mind losing the rest of your changes.
The cards will not move
Outside edit mode the cards are locked on purpose, so that the controls inside them can be used. Hover over the middle of the card's top edge, where the dotted handle appears, or turn on Edit layout in the three dots menu at the top right.
I cannot make a card bigger
Cards have a fixed size and cannot be changed by dragging a corner. The only way to change the size is to switch the card between the Value and Graph views in the card menu.
The wizard reports that the combination already exists
The message This combination of metric and profile already exists on the dashboard. Change at least one parameter. means you already have exactly the same card on the Overview. Choose a different metric, a different profile, or the other form of the card: if you already have Graph, add Value.
The summary card cannot be selected in the wizard
The Summary card tile is greyed out and explains why when you hover over it:
- You have no profiles for this network: the network is not linked to the customer account.
- All profiles of this network already have their card: each profile can have only one summary card and all profiles are already used up.
A network we use is missing from the wizard
The selection of networks depends on the customer account's plan. Advertising networks (Meta Ads, Google Ads, Sklik, Pinterest Ads), media monitoring and custom measurement are only offered when the plan includes them. Networks such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and Website are always offered. You will find the current state of your subscription in Settings → Customer account → Subscription; to extend your plan, write through the contact form.
The profile selection step says no profiles are available
The message No profiles are available for this network. means the network is included in your plan, but no profile of it is linked to the customer account. Go back in the wizard using the arrow and link the profile first in Settings → Connected services.
There is no Change profile option in the card menu
This option is offered only on single metric cards that have their own profile. It makes no sense on cards for All networks, because they add up all profiles at once. On a network summary card you switch the profile using the button with the profile name right in the card's coloured header.
A colleague has the Overview arranged differently
That is how it should be. The Overview layout belongs to the user account and everyone arranges it for themselves. If you want everyone to see the same numbers in the same form, use a report instead.
The Overview looks different after switching customer account
The layout is saved separately for each customer account so that you can have different cards for each client. Switch back and the original layout returns.
The same cards on other pages
The same card mechanism also works on the landing pages of individual networks, that is on the Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads and other overviews. The difference is that there the profile is not chosen per card but once for the whole page in its header, so the Add widget wizard skips the network and profile selection steps. The layout of each such page is saved separately, and Reset to default layout always applies only to the page where you use it.