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    # Interactive & iterative dashboards in R

## Abstract <img src="vignettes/images/i2dash_logo.png" align="right" width="150px" />

Scientific communication and data visualization are important aspects to illustrate complex concepts and results from data analyses. The R package **i2dash** provides functionality to create customized, web-based dashboards for data presentation, exploration and sharing. **i2dash** integrates easily into existing data analysis pipelines and can organize scientific findings thematically across different pages and layouts.

### Main features

- Easy integration into existing analysis pipelines in R for programmatic dashboard creation
- Provides a selection of predefined layouts to arrange content
- Support for multiple components, such as htmlwidgets, tables, text, images etc.
- Creation of web-based, sharable, static or interactive dashboards
- Enables a flexible and iterative cycle of dashboard development

## Installation

The package can be installed with:

```
install.packages("i2dash")
```

## Extension

It is possible to extend the core functionality of **i2dash** with templates for components and pre-defined pages. This enables to provide an enhanced user interactivity e.g. dynamic change of plot settings. Further, extensions allow an easier integration of complex calculations and data manipulation, hidden behind functions.

- [**i2dash.scrnaseq**](https://gitlab.gwdg.de/loosolab/software/i2dash.scrnaseq) enables an enhanced user interactivity and contains simple but effective tools for the creation of an i2dashboard with focus on single-cell RNA-sequencing data visualization and exploration.
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    ## Run i2dash using Docker

At first, install [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/). Then pull the image of **i2dash**:

`docker pull docker.gitlab.gwdg.de/loosolab/container/i2dash.deployment:r3.6.3_bioc3.10`

The next step is to run a container and simultaneously load the dashboard files (the `.Rmd` file and all files of the `datadir(dashboard)` directory) into the container. To mount custom data into the container, make use of Docker's `-v` parameter to mount a host directory into the container. Inside the container, **i2dash** looks for external datasets in `/srv/shiny-server/`. Use the following code, where you exchange `/path/to/dashboard/files` with the respective path to the directory containing the `.Rmd` file and all files of the `datadir(dashboard)` directory.

```docker run -d -p 3838:3838 -v '/path/to/dashboard/files':'/srv/shiny-server' docker.gitlab.gwdg.de/loosolab/container/i2dash.deployment:r3.6.3_bioc3.10```

Now, view the dashboard with your browser at `3838:3838`.

## FAQ

- **The Rmd file of the dashboard contains pages and components but after rendering the dashboard remains empty:** Make sure you have a current version of pandoc installed and view the dashboard only with a modern browser.