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+<!--
+title: "Step 7. Netdata's dashboard in depth"
+date: 2020-05-04
+custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/guides/step-by-step/step-07.md
+-->
+
+# Step 7. Netdata's dashboard in depth
+
+Welcome to the seventh step of the Netdata guide!
+
+This step of the guide aims to get you more familiar with the features of the dashboard not previously mentioned in
+[step 2](/docs/guides/step-by-step/step-02.md).
+
+## What you'll learn in this step
+
+In this step of the Netdata guide, you'll learn how to:
+
+- [Change the dashboard's settings](#change-the-dashboards-settings)
+- [Check if there's an update to Netdata](#check-if-theres-an-update-to-netdata)
+- [Export and import a snapshot](#export-and-import-a-snapshot)
+
+Let's get started!
+
+## Change the dashboard's settings
+
+The settings area at the top of your Netdata dashboard houses browser settings. These settings do not affect the
+operation of your Netdata server/daemon. They take effect immediately and are permanently saved to browser local storage
+(except the refresh on focus / always option).
+
+You can see the **Performance**, **Synchronization**, **Visual**, and **Locale** tabs on the dashboard settings modal.
+
+![Animated GIF of opening the settings
+modal](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80841197-c93f5800-8bb3-11ea-907d-85bfe23565e1.gif)
+
+To change any setting, click on the toggle button. We recommend you spend some time reading the descriptions for each setting to understand them before making changes.
+
+Pay particular attention to the following settings, as they have dramatic impacts on the performance and appearance of
+your Netdata dashboard:
+
+- When to refresh the charts?
+- How to handle hidden charts?
+- Which chart refresh policy to use?
+- Which theme to use?
+- Do you need help?
+
+Some settings are applied immediately, and others are only reflected after you refresh the page.
+
+## Check if there's an update to Netdata
+
+You can always check if there is an update available from the **Update** area of your Netdata dashboard.
+
+![Opening the Agent's Update modal](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80829493-1adbe880-8b9c-11ea-9770-cc3b23a89414.gif)
+
+If an update is available, you'll see a modal similar to the one above.
+
+When you use the [automatic one-line installer script](/packaging/installer/README.md) attempt to update every day. If
+you choose to update it manually, there are [several well-documented methods](/packaging/installer/UPDATE.md) to achieve
+that. However, it is best practice for you to first go over the [changelog](/CHANGELOG.md).
+
+## Export and import a snapshot
+
+Netdata can export and import snapshots of the contents of your dashboard at a given time. Any Netdata agent can import
+a snapshot created by any other Netdata agent.
+
+Snapshot files include all the information of the dashboard, including the URL of the origin server, its unique ID, and
+chart data queries for the visible timeframe. While snapshots are not in real-time, and thus won't update with new
+metrics, you can still pan, zoom, and highlight charts as you see fit.
+
+Snapshots can be incredibly useful for diagnosing anomalies after they've already happened. Let's say Netdata triggered
+an alarm while you were sleeping. In the morning, you can look up the exact moment the alarm was raised, export a
+snapshot, and send it to a colleague for further analysis.
+
+> ❗ Know how you shouldn't go around downloading software from suspicious-looking websites? Same policy goes for loading
+> snapshots from untrusted or anonymous sources. Importing a snapshot loads quite a bit of data into your web browser,
+> and so you should always err on the side of protecting your system.
+
+To export a snapshot, click on the **export** icon.
+
+![Animated GIF of opening the export
+modal](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/80993197-82d63d00-8def-11ea-88fa-98827814e930.gif)
+
+Edit the snapshot file name and select your desired compression method. Click on **Export**.
+
+When the export is complete, your browser will prompt you to save the `.snapshot` file to your machine. You can now
+share this file with any other Netdata user via email, Slack, or even to help describe your Netdata experience when
+[filing an issue](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/issues/new/choose) on GitHub.
+
+To import a snapshot, click on the **import** icon.
+
+![Animated GIF of opening the import
+modal](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/12263278/64901503-ee696f80-d691-11e9-9678-8d0e2a162402.gif)
+
+Select the Netdata snapshot file to import. Once the file is loaded, the dashboard will update with critical information
+about the snapshot and the system from which it was taken. Click **import** to render it.
+
+Your Netdata dashboard will load data contained in the snapshot into charts. Because the snapshot only covers a certain
+period, it won't update with new metrics.
+
+An imported snapshot is also temporary. If you reload your browser tab, Netdata will remove the snapshot data and
+restore your real-time dashboard for your machine.
+
+## What's next?
+
+In this step of the Netdata guide, you learned how to:
+
+- Change the dashboard's settings
+- Check if there's an update to Netdata
+- Export or import a snapshot
+
+Next, you'll learn how to build your first custom dashboard!
+
+[Next: Build your first custom dashboard &rarr;](step-08.md)
+
+[![analytics](https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&aip=1&t=pageview&_s=1&ds=github&dr=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fnetdata%2Fnetdata&dl=https%3A%2F%2Fmy-netdata.io%2Fgithub%2Fdocs%2Fguides%2Fstep-by-step%2Fstep-07&_u=MAC~&cid=5792dfd7-8dc4-476b-af31-da2fdb9f93d2&tid=UA-64295674-3)](<>)