Introduction to Viewport
The Viewport module is Capcade’s presentation and interaction layer. While data is ingested, structured, and governed in Data Tables, the Viewport is where that data is explored, visualized, and analyzed by end users.
You can think of the Viewport as the reporting surface for a published Data Table Report. It renders approved data in a governed environment designed for exploration, visualization, and analysis without altering the underlying source data.
How the Viewport lifecycle works
Understanding the Viewport is easiest when you look at the three stages of the data journey in Capcade.
1. Data origination
All raw data ingestion happens in Data Table modules within a workspace. This is the standardized data foundation where:
Data models are defined
Files and records are uploaded
Multiple Data Table modules can exist side by side, either in the same workspace or across multiple
Learn how to create and manage a Data Table here.
2. The Data Table Report layer
A Data Table Report is created from one or more Data Table modules. It acts as the contract between data storage and data consumption by consolidating multiple tables into a single logical report. Here, you can applying filters or pivot data, and in doing so, define the structure that downstream users will analyze.
3. Publishing to a Viewport
Once a report is ready, it is published to a Viewport module. Publishing freezes the report logic for consistent consumption and analysis.
The Viewport interacts only with the published report, not with the underlying raw Data Tables. This ensures consistent analysis while protecting source data.
What you can do in a Viewport?
The Viewport is designed for interaction and analysis rather than data transformation or source-level changes. After a report is published, users can explore the data using built-in analytical tools.
Multi-view analysis: Switch between Table view for detailed, row-level inspection, or Visual view for charts and graphs that highlight trends and patterns
Analytical tools: Run analytical queries to surface insights, including:
Filtering
Sorting
Aggregating
Pivoting
These actions do not modify the underlying data or report logic. Learn more about how to analyse data here.
Default and saved views
Saved views let users capture and return to specific ways of analyzing a published report within the Viewport.
Default View: The Default View represents the single published Data Table Report. It reflects the baseline structure and logic defined by the report creator and is always available as the starting point for analysis. Users with "Manage" permissions over the Viewport module can update this view and set a new configuration as the default at any time, however changes to the Default View only affect how the data is presented (e.g. filters, pivots, layout) and do not change or expose any additional underlying data beyond what the report is already authorised to show.
User-saved views: Users can interact with the Default View by applying filters, pivots, sorting, and switching between table and visual views. Any of these configurations can be saved as a new view alongside the Default View. Saved Views do not store data. They store the configuration state (such as filters, pivots, and visual settings) and always resolve against the same published Data Table Report, ensuring consistent analysis from a shared source of truth.
How to set up a Viewport module
Step 1: Create a Data Table Report
Before using a Viewport, you must create a report to publish.
Navigate to Reports in the main navigation
Click "New Report" and select "Data Table"
Choose the Data Table modules you want to consolidate
Enter a name and optional description, then click "Next"
Use the report editor to filter, pivot, and aggregate data
Click "Save" to finalize the report
Step 2: Link the report to a Viewport
Add a Viewport module to your workspace from Workspace Settings
Open the Viewport module and click "Link report"
Select the report you want to publish
The data will appear using the structure defined in the report. You can apply additional filters and pivots within the Viewport without affecting the source report.
Updating or changing what appears in a Viewport
If the data shown in a Viewport needs to change, you have several options.
Update the raw data
Editing records in the source Data Table modules will flow through to the report and then to the Viewport. Users will need "Manage" permission on the underlying Data Table module in order to edit any of the data there.
Edit the report configuration
If the underlying data is correct but the structure of the Data Table Report needs to change:
Go to Reports in the main navigation
Click the action button (…) next to the report
Select "Edit" and update the report logic
Click "Save"
Change the linked report
To display a different report entirely, open the Viewport module and click "Change Report" in the top-right corner.
This allows you to reuse the same Viewport while pointing it to a new approved data source.
Use case: investor reporting and fundraising
A fund manager needs to share quarterly performance data with investors. Internally, raw deal data is updated daily across multiple workspaces/Data Table modules.
How Viewport supports this workflow
Security and control: The fund manager creates a Data Table Report that filters on only approved metrics. By publishing it to a Viewport in an investor workspace, investors can explore the data without accessing raw tables or receiving manage-level permissions.
Interactive analysis: Investors can pivot data by region or asset class and switch to Visual view to review performance trends using charts.
Consistency: Because the Viewport presents a governed, standardized view of the data, all investors see the same protected version, reducing risk of accidental changes or misalignment.
To learn more about dynamic data, visit the collection of articles in our help guide.