Dashboard Overview

When you first open the dashboard, you'll see the default view displaying news data for South Africa (All). The main interface consists of three key areas:

• Left Navigation Panel: Switch between different regions and data sources
• Main Content Area: View news clusters, articles, and detailed information
• Summary Panel: Access analytics, charts, and filtering options

At the top of the dashboard, you'll see the News Volume widget displaying two key metrics:

These numbers update automatically based on your selected date range and active filters, giving you an instant overview of the data volume you're working with.

To view news data for a specific time period:

1. Locate the date selector in the top-right corner of the dashboard
2. Click on the date dropdown to open the calendar picker
3. Select your desired date range (e.g., "Last 3 days", "Last week", or custom dates)
4. The news list and all charts will automatically refresh to show data for your selected period

Use the search bar at the top of the page to find specific news items:

1. Click in the search field and enter keywords related to the news you're looking for
2. Press Enter or click the Search button
3. The results will filter to show only items matching your search terms
4. Your search term remains visible in the search bar for reference

The search function looks through article titles, content, entities, and tags to find the most relevant matches.

Understanding Clusters

News clusters group related articles together. Each cluster displays:

• Cluster Title: The main topic or headline
• Entities: Key people, organizations, or locations mentioned
• Tags: Categories like "Disruption", "Product Launch", "Inflation"
• Source: The news outlet or publication
• Time: When the news was published

Viewing Similar News

Many clusters show a "Similar News" link with a count (e.g., "456 Similar News"). Click this link to see all related articles grouped together in a filtered view.

The Summary panel on the right side provides powerful analytics and filtering capabilities. Each chart is interactive and can be used to filter your news data.

Entity Navigation Menu

The left sidebar provides quick access to news filtered by specific entities. Under the "News" section, you'll find shortcuts to commonly tracked entities:

• South Africa (All): Shows all news related to South Africa across all categories
• Entity Shortcuts: Quick links to specific entities like ZARONIA, ZARIBOR, ZASFR, IJBAR, and currency pairs (USDZAR, GBPZAR, EURZAR, INRZAR)
• Click any entity name to instantly filter the news view to show only articles mentioning that specific entity
• The active entity is highlighted in the navigation menu, showing which filter is currently applied

Switching Between Views

To switch between different entity views:

1. Locate the News section in the left sidebar
2. Click on any entity name to load news data for that entity
3. The main content area will refresh to show clusters and articles related to your selected entity
4. All summary charts and statistics will update to reflect data for the selected entity

Loading More Results

As you scroll down the news list, additional clusters load automatically. This allows you to browse through large datasets without waiting for all results to load at once.