Create
The Create Report page enables you to create reports using widgets, apply report variables to reports, schedule reports, and print reports. You can also create report templates.
Create the left navigation bar, click Create to access the list of widget types to create a report from. Or, if you select Reports, you can click Create Report in the upper-right corner to access the list of widget types to create a report from. You will see Select a Widget in the right-panel. Use the Search box to filter out all relevant widgets based on the letters entered in the box.
Report Options
The Create report page displays the following options in the upper-right corner.
Select a timespan
Click to choose the time span that applies to all the reports created. To set the time span, choose one of the following options.
- Choose the start /end date from the calendar and enter start / end time in the From / To fields. Select a suitable time zone from the drop-down list.
- Choose an option from the list available on the left (for example, Past 2 hours, Past 4 hours, Past 8 hours, etc.) and select a suitable time zone from the drop-down list.
- Enable Custom field to enter a custom timespan in field Timespan. For example,
Past 5 minutes or Past 5 days or Last 5 minutes or Last 5 days, etc.
Else disable it.Important: Option None in the list available on the left allows you to clear your current timespan selection and revert widgets to its widget timespan settings.
Variables
Click on to add a report variable. Report variables allow you to quickly override the resource selection for the widgets in your report based on the resource type that you specify from the drop-down list. This can be done before or after you add a widget.
User can revert back to the resource selection in the widgets by clicking in the report variable drop-down list.
Example
Click to edit the report variable.
Click to delete the report variable from the report.
Click the drop-down to select a variable type such as Devices, Device Groups, Objects, etc. from the available list.
Devices
Perform the steps below to create a Devices report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more devices to be selected at a time when
applying this report variable. When disabled, only one device from the list can be selected when
applying this report variable.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected devices by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected devices one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one device can be selected. Click to remove the selected device.
- Enable Select all to select all devices and newly added devices (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect device(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This
option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Shortcut
- Select a shortcut from the drop-down list.
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list.
- Device
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list. If devices are not selected, by default, all devices get selected.
- Device group
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.Note: As a result, all devices belonging to the selected device groups get selected. To select some and not all devices belonging to the selected device groups, please select one or more devices from the list.
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.
- Shortcut
- Enable Create Variable Group to include all previous selections in a variable group. Variable Groups provide report users with the resource hierarchy, helping them filter and find what the user is looking for.
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Example: Multiple selection enabled / disabled
Multiple selection is enabled
Enable Multiple selection.
In the screenshot above, 5 devices have been selected under resource type Device. Click Add to add the report variable.
Important: If no devices were selected under resource type Device, by default, all devices will be selected.
Click the Devices drop-down. You will see the 5 devices selected above.
Since Multiple selection is enabled, you will be able to select one or more devices from the drop-down list.
Click , disable Multiple selection, and click Update to update the report variable.
Multiple selection is disabled
Since Multiple selection is disabled, you can only select one device from the drop-down list. If you select a second device, it will replace the first device selected.
Device Groups
Perform the steps below to create a Device Groups report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more device groups to be selected at a time
when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one device group from the list can be
selected when applying this report variable. When a device group is selected, by default, it selects
all devices that belong to it.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected device groups by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected device groups one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one device group can be selected. Click to remove the selected device group.
- Enable Select all to select all device groups and newly added device groups (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the device group(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This
option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Shortcut
- Select a shortcut from the drop-down list.
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list.
- Device group
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.Note: As a result, all devices belonging to the selected device groups get selected. To select some and not all devices belonging to the selected device groups, please select one or more devices from the list.
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.
- Shortcut
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Device Metadata
Perform the steps below to create a Device Metadata report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected device metadata by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected device metadata one at a time by clicking .
- Click Datasources drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- Select a Namespace from the drop-down list. For example, SevOne.
- The Attribute field is available only after a namespace is chosen. The drop-down list contains attributes for the chosen namespace. Choose an attribute.
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Objects
Perform the steps below to create an Objects report variable.
-
In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
-
Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more objects to be selected at a time when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one object from the list can be selected when applying this report variable.
Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage. -
Enable Clear selection to remove all selected objects by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected objects one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one object can be selected. Click to remove the selected object.
- Enable Select all to select all objects and newly added objects (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the object(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This
option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Shortcut
- Select a shortcut from the drop-down list.
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list.
- Device
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list. If devices are not selected, by
default, all devices get selected. Note: As a result, all objects belonging to the selected object types get selected. To select some and not all objects belonging to the selected object types, please configure the objects under (Optional) Resource Type (Object) option to select one or more objects.
Resource Type, Object, allows you to search on object description, device display name, and plugin.ObjectName. You must enter a string in double-quotes. Search can also be performed on a word. You may enter one or more strings/words in Resource Type > Object.
Example# 1If you enter "IP of device" echo CPU196640, these are 3 key terms to search on. All objects containing IP of device, echo, and CPU196640 will be available to choose from.
IP of device is in double-quotes as the search is on all words with space in between. A string can have one or more spaces in it.
Example# 2If you enter IP of device echo CPU196640, these are 5 key terms to search on. All objects containing IP, of, device, echo, and CPU196640 will be available to choose from.
Example# 3If you enter CPU, all objects containing CPU will be available to choose from. It can return objects such as CPU196640, CPU196632, etc.
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list. If devices are not selected, by
default, all devices get selected.
- Device group
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.Note: As a result, all objects belonging to the selected device groups get selected. To select some and not all objects belonging to the selected device groups, please configure the objects under Device, Device group, Object group, Object Type options to select one or more objects.
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.
- Object group
- Select one or more object groups from the drop-down list. If object groups are not
selected, by default, all object groups get selected.Note: As a result, all objects belonging to the selected object groups get selected. To select some and not all objects belonging to the selected object groups, please configure the objects under Object, Object Type options to select one or more objects.
- Select one or more object groups from the drop-down list. If object groups are not
selected, by default, all object groups get selected.
- Object Type
- Select one or more object types from the drop-down list. If object types are not
selected, by default, all object types get selected.Note: As a result, all objects belonging to the selected object types get selected. To select some and not all objects belonging to the selected object types, please configure the objects under Object option to select one or more objects.
- Select one or more object types from the drop-down list. If object types are not
selected, by default, all object types get selected.
- Shortcut
- Enable Create Variable Group to include all previous selections in a variable group. Variable Groups provide report users with the resource hierarchy, helping them filter and find what the user is looking for.
Object Groups
Perform the steps below to create a Object Groups report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more object groups to be selected at a time
when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one object group from the list can be
selected when applying this report variable. When a object group is selected, by default, it selects
all objects that belong to it.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected object groups by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected object groups one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one object group can be selected. Click to remove the selected object group.
- Enable Select all to select all object groups and newly added object groups (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the objects group(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This
option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Shortcut
- Select a shortcut from the drop-down list.
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list.
- Object group
- Select one or more object groups from the drop-down list and it will select all objects that belong to it.
- Shortcut
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Object Metadata
Perform the steps below to create a Object Metadata report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Clear selection to remove the selected object metadata for the Attribute selected by clicking . Multiple selection is not allowed.
- Click Datasources drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- Select a Namespace from the drop-down list. For example, SevOne.
- The Attribute field is available only after a namespace is chosen. The drop-down list contains attributes for the chosen namespace. Choose an attribute.
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Indicators
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more indicators to be selected at
a time when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one indicator from the
list can be selected when applying this report variable.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected indicators by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected indicators one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one indicator can be selected. Click to remove the selected indicator.
- Enable Select all to select all devices and newly added devices (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect device(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This
option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Device
- Select one or more devices from the drop-down list. If devices are not selected, by default, all devices get selected.
- Device group
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.Note: As a result, all devices belonging to the selected device groups get selected. To select some and not all devices belonging to the selected device groups, please configure the devices under Device option to select one or more devices.
- Select one or more device groups from the drop-down list. If device groups are not
selected, by default, all device groups get selected.
- Device
- Click Add to save the report variable.Note: After adding the report variable, you may select the devices, objects, and its indicators to apply on the report.
Example
Flow Interfaces
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more flow interfaces to be selected at a time
when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one flow interface from the list can be
selected when applying this report variable. When a flow interface is selected, by default, it
selects all sources that belong to it.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected flow interfaces by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected flow interfaces one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one flow interface can be selected. Click to remove the selected flow interface.
- Enable Select all to select all flow interfaces and newly added flow interfaces (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the flow source(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- Select the Flow Source from the drop-down list. This option is available only when Select
all is disabled.
- Flow Source
- Select one or more flow sources from the drop-down list. If flow sources are not selected, by default, all flow sources/interfaces get selected.
Important: Resource type, Flow Source, allows you to search on flow version, name, and IP address. You must enter a string in double-quotes. Search can also be performed on a word. You may enter one or more strings/words in resource type, Flow Source.
Example# 1
If you enter "NBARDevice 1" dp-flow, these are 2 key terms to search on. All flow sources containing NBARDevice 1 and dp-flow will be available to choose from.
NBARDevice 1 is in double-quotes as the search is on all words with space in between. A string can have one or more spaces in it.
Example# 2
If you enter NBARDevice 1 dp-flow, these are 3 key terms to search on. All flow sources containing NBARDevice, 1, and dp-flow will be available to choose from.
Example# 3
If you enter flow, all flow sources containing flow will be available to choose from. It can return flow sources such as dp-flow, flow2, etc. - Flow Source
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Flow Views
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Clear selection to remove the selected flow view by clicking . Multiple selection is not allowed.
- Enable Select all to select all flow views and newly added flow views (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the flow views(s).
- To use the aggregated data points, Aggregated data must be enabled.
- Click Datasources drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- Select the Flow Views drop-down. This option is available only when Select all is disabled.
- Select one or more flow views from the drop-down list. If flow views are not selected, by default, all flow views get selected.
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Flow Directions
Perform the steps below to create a Flow Directions report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Click Add to save the report variable.Note: After adding the report variable, you may select flow directions (All Directions, Incoming, or Outgoing) to apply on the report.
Example
Flow App Profiles
Perform the steps below to create Flow App Profiles report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Multiple selection to allow one or more flow app profiles to be selected at a time
when applying this report variable. When disabled, only one flow app profile from the list can be
selected when applying this report variable. When a flow app is selected, by default, it selects all
sources that belong to it.Important: Please refer to Multiple selection example for details on its functionality and usage.
- Enable Clear selection to remove all selected flow apps by clicking . When disabled, you can remove the selected flow apps one at a time by clicking . When Multiple selection is disabled, you are in single selection mode and only one flow app can be selected. Click to remove the selected flow app.
- Enable Select all to select all flow apps and newly added flow apps (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the flow apps(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type from the list. This option is
available only when Select all is disabled.
- Flow App Profile
- Select one or more flow app profile from the drop-down list. If flow app profiles are not selected, by default, all flow app profiles get selected.
- Flow App Category
- Select one or more flow app category from drop-down list. Then, select one or more flow app profile from the drop-down list. If flow app categories are not selected, by default, all flow app categories get selected.
- Flow App Profile
- Click Add to save the report variable.Note: After adding the report variable, you may select one or more flow app profiles to apply on the report.
Example
TopN Views
Perform the steps below to create a TopN Views report variable.
- In the Name field, provide a name for the report variable. Leave the field as-is to use the default name.
- Enable Clear selection to remove the selected TopN view by clicking . Multiple selection is not allowed.
- Enable Select all to select all TopN views and newly added TopN views (if any). If enabled, you cannot deselect the TopN views(s).
- Click Datasource drop-down and select a data source for the report variable.
- Select the TopN Views from the drop-down list. This option is only available when Select all is disabled. If TopN views are not selected, by default, all TopN Views get selected. Or, you may populate TopN Views variable via Regex. Can select one or more TopN Views from any views matched by the Regex.
- Click Add to save the report variable.
Refresh
Click in to select the time based on which the widgets in the report will refresh.
Rotate
Click in to select the time based on which the widgets in the report will rotate.
Add Widget
Click to add a widget to the report. For details on how to add/create a particular widget, please refer to section Widgets.
Save
Click to save the report. If you are trying to save a new report, you will see the following pop-up.
- Report Name - enter a unique name for the report. If the report name already exists, you will get an error message that the name already exists.
- Description - enter details about the report. This field is optional.
- User Access - choose an option from the drop-down list. Options are Private, Public, Restricted, Multi-tenant, or Multi-team. Based on the option chosen, access is provided accordingly.
- Read Only - select the check box to make the report read-only.
- Mark as template - select the check box to mark the report as a template.Note: Report templates do not contain any specific resources. Instead, they inherit resources from the parent in a Report Linking relationship. Report templates must have at least one device or object filter. Saving a report as a template will place the report in the All Templates folder.
- Click Save to save the report. Otherwise, click Cancel.
- After saving the report, if you want to make any updates, click to edit the report. After making the
updates, click drop-down
and you will get options Save, Save as, or PDF.
- Save - saves the report with the same name given to the report that has been updated.
- Save as - you will get the following pop-up and allows you to change the report name.
Click Save to save the report. Otherwise, Cancel.
- PDF - allows you to print the report in Landscape or Portrait format.
Versions
-
When a report is updated, you can view the historical record of the changes by clicking .
Stash / Un-stash
Widgets can be stored in a stash. The widgets stored in the stash can later be un-stashed into any report.
The icon in the screenshot below indicates that there are no widgets currently in the stash.
Add Widgets to Stash
- Example: Create Alert Details widget.
- Click in the Alert Details widget to add it to the stash.
- Example: Create Topology widget.
- Click in the Topology widget to add it to the stash.
- Click again in the Topology widget to add it to the stash.
- You have added the Alert Details widget and 2 instances of the Topology widget in the stash;
resulting in a total of 3 widgets stored in the stash. Important: There is no limit to the number of widgets that can be stashed.
View Stash
icon indicates you have one or more widgets in the stash.
To view the stash, click icon in the upper-right corner.
- - click the button to un-stash all stashed widgets into the report. Once all stashed widgets are un-stashed, the icon in the upper-right corner will change from to ; this means there are no widgets in the stash as all 3 widgets in the stash have been un-stashed.
- - click the button to clear all the stored widgets from the stash.
- - from the widgets in the stash, click the icon in the widget to un-stash it. This allows you to un-stash one widget at a time.
- - click the icon in the widget to delete it from the stash.
View / Edit Mode
Click to enter in View mode. This will allow you to only view the report. Click to enter in Edit mode.
Create a Report or Report Template
Perform the following steps to start creating a report or a report template. In the left navigation bar, click Create or click Add widget in the upper-right corner to access the list of widget types.
- On the panel Select a Widget, select one of the following widgets. You can add multiple
widgets to a single report section. Please click on the links below to view configuration steps for
each available widget.Note: Adding more than twenty widgets to a report section can cause performance problems.
Widget Name Description Alert Details Widget Provides information regarding alert severity, occurrences with time, and message output. Alert Summary Widget Provides summary of alerts by severity or resource, aggregated by number of alerts or occurrences. Flow Widget Can view, analyze, and interact with flow data such as NetFlow, sFlow, JFlow, IPFIX, and more. Group Metrics Widget Aggregates statistics by device or object group to see a group's average, min, max or total values. IPSLA Heatmap Matrix Widget Can configure and view heatmaps based on IPSLA performance data with various aggregations. Logs Widget Incorporates data from log sources into reports. Maps Widget Can leverage geospatial or custom image backgrounds to display network layout with alert status. Metadata Widget Provides sortable table view of custom data attributes derived from metadata sortable with alert status. Performance Metrics Widget Can view, analyze, and interact with time series data leveraging various chart visualizations. Text Widget Can explain and document reports with formatted text and images. TopN Widget Can quickly identify the highest or lowest performing metrics across a set of resources. Topology Widget Can visualize device physical connections and logical relationships derived from various protocols. URL Widget Embeds external web sites and content into your SevOne Data Insight reports as widgets. For example, IBM SevOne Network Performance Management webpage from https://www.ibm.com/products/sevone-network-performance-management into SevOne Data Insight. - Click Save to save the widget to your report.
- In the upper-left corner of the page, click the Untitled Report text field and replace the existing text with your report name.
- On the tab below that, click the Untitled Section text field and enter a name for the report section.
- To add a new report section, click .
- To remove a report section, hover over the section name and click x.
- Report sections appear from left to right in the order that you create them. To change the order of report sections, click on the left side of a report section and drag it to the desired location.
Select Widget Resources
When creating or editing a widget, you need to select your Datasource and Resource Type(s).
- Select a widget from the list. You are now in Widget Settings.
- On the Data tab, click the Datasource drop-down and select the SevOne NMS cluster or appliance.
- From Select a type drop-down, select the resource type as a starting point for the
different resource type
paths.
Example
Note: After generating a report, Replace Untitled Report name with an appropriate report name. For example, Alert Details Report.
Replace Untitled Section name with an appropriate name. For example, Alert Details.Important: The following widgets support Resource Type, Shortcut, which allows you to save resource selection as shortcuts to be reused across widgets in SevOne Data Insight without having to create groups in SevOne NMS.- Alert Details
- Alert Summary
- Flow
- Group Metrics
- Metadata
- Performance Metrics
- TopN
Important: Run button is available only when a Datasource and resource type(s) are selected.
For additional widget configuration, please refer to the widget directly.
Resource Type Paths
The resource type selector allows you to create dynamic and powerful data queries to view data quickly and in a more flexible manner. The resource type path designs are described below. To ensure better user experience, it is recommended to always use a Device Group selection to narrow the device list.
All paths allow multiple selection of resources except for Plugin and Object Type. No multi-select is denoted with underlines.
Options where the output is filtered on the previous selection is denoted in italics.
Device Group
Device
Object Group
Object Type
Widget Buttons
The icons below appear in widgets and perform the following actions.
ICON
Click icon to to copy / store widget in the stash.
ICON
Click the icon to chain the results to another widget from the drop-down list. The report title of the widget chained to will always contain the parent widget name. The report title will read as parent widget name > child widget name.
Example
- Create a TopN widget with Resource Type Device group > All Device Groups
and click Run.
- Click icon to copy / store widget in the stash.
- Click icon in the TopN report to chain this widget with the list of widgets it can chain to. For example, Alert Details, Alert Summary, Flow, Metadata, Performance Metrics, and TopN.
- Select Performance Metrics for this example to chain with TopN.
- In TopN report, choose devices. For example, Cairo and Los Angeles.
- You will see Performance Metrics takes the devices chosen in the TopN report as a resource to
display the result for the timespan selected.
- Click icon in TopN > Performance Metrics report. You can chain Performance Metrics to Alert Details, Alert Summary, Flow, Logs, Metadata, and Performance Metrics.
- Select Flow for this example to chain with TopN > Performance
Metrics.
- In this example, it shows that the selected resources do not have any mapped flows associated with it. If flows are mapped, it will yield results, if any, based on the resource selected.
- In addition to chaining TopN to Performance Metrics, you may simultaneously chain TopN to Alert Details, Alert Summary, Flow, Metadata, and TopN.
Please refer to the table below for the list of widgets and the widgets that it can chain to.
- Group Metrics
- IPSLA
- Logs
- Text
- URL
Widget Name | Chain To |
---|---|
Alert Details |
|
Alert Summary |
|
Flow |
Important: For chaining Flow to Performance Metrics,
|
Maps |
|
Metadata |
|
Performance Metrics |
|
TopN |
|
Topology |
|
ICON
Click to duplicate the widget.
ICON
Click to view widget results in maximized screen mode. Click to restore to its original size.
ICON
Click to refresh the widget.
ICON
Click to export data to a CSV and/or JSON file.
- Maps
- Text
- URL
Widget Name | Export to CSV | Export to JSON |
---|---|---|
Alert Details | Yes | Yes |
Alert Summary | No | Yes |
Flow | Yes | Yes |
Group Metrics | Yes | Yes |
IPSLA | Yes | No |
Logs | Yes | Yes |
Metadata | Yes | Yes |
Performance Metrics | Yes- As Visualized, Unaggregated, Summary | Yes- As Visualized, Unsegregated, Raw Data |
TopN | Yes | Yes |
Topology | Yes | No |
ICON
Click to edit the widget settings.
ICON
Click to remove the widget from the report.
Sizing Widgets
To change the size of widget pop-up, click in the lower-right corner of the widget pop-up and move inward to make the widget smaller or outward to make the widget larger.