Text, images and live values

Write text with numbers that stay current, place images from the asset library, and set a crop and focal point that follow the image everywhere.

Text gives numbers their meaning. In a Halo report, a sentence can carry numbers worked out from your data, so "Revenue rose 8.2% to $3.2M" doesn't go stale next month. This page covers text, live values and images.

Add text

Choose Add, then Text, and start typing on the canvas. To edit later, double-click the text, or select it and press Enter. The formatting bar gives you:

a block style: Text, Title, Heading, Subheading or Quote;
bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and highlight;
text color from the report's theme;
bulleted and numbered lists, and alignment;
links, which open in a new tab.

Sits in the inspector sets where the text rests in its box: Top, Middle or Bottom.

Add a live value

A live value is a number or name in a sentence, worked out when the report is viewed, with the page's filters. If a reader picks another region, the sentence follows.

Put the cursor where the value goes.
Press Add a live value in the formatting bar.
Under Shows, choose what it is, fill in the rest, and choose Add value.

Shows	What you choose	Example
A number	A dataset and a Number, how it's Combined as, how it's Written as, and what to Show	$3.2M
A leader	Which (Top or Bottom), Of which grouping, and Ranked by which measure	North
A parameter	Which of the report's parameters	5%

For a number:

Combined as is As the field says, Total, Average, Least, Most, Count, Distinct count or Median.
Written as is As the field says, Compact (3.2M), Number (3,200,000), Percent or Dollars.
Show is The value, Change on the period before or Change on last year.
Against a goal appears when the dataset has a goal on that number. Pick one, and Show becomes the Share of the goal, The goal, the Difference from the goal or the Status: "We're at 94% of our visitor goal", or "Spend is at risk". It's worked out as a chart compares with the goal, over the page's dates.

A live value shows in your text as a chip. Double-click it to change it. The inspector's Text section lists every live value in that text.

Live values obey row policies and filters like the charts around them. Each reader's number is what their access shows.

Add an image

Choose Add, then Image, and pick one for the Image field. The picker opens your organization's asset library, and you can upload there without leaving the builder.

Then set:

Setting	What it does
In its box	Fill covers the box and crops what's over. Fit shows the whole image. Stretch fills the box regardless of shape. Actual draws it at its own size
Alt text	What the image shows, for people who can't see it
Opens when clicked	An address to open

What you can upload

PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, SVG and HEIC, up to 25 MB each. Halo checks the file's real type, strips location and camera data, keeps GIFs animated, and cleans SVGs before anyone can see them. It serves each image in modern formats, with a blurred placeholder while it loads.

Crop and focal point

A crop and focal point belong to the image, not to one report, so you set them in the asset library:

Open Assets and choose the image.
Under Crop and focal point, choose Crop, pick a shape (Free, Square, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 or 3:4 tall), and drag the crop area.
Choose Focal point and drag it to what must stay in view.
Choose Save crop and focal point.

The focal point is what stays in view when Fill has to cut part of the image to fit its box. Neither setting changes the file. Every report and logo showing the image uses them, and you can change them any time.

The same place holds the image's name, tags and a default alt text used wherever it appears.

Images in use

The asset library shows where each image is used, in its Used in column. An image in use can't be deleted, so a report never loses a picture. Take it out of those reports first. A deleted image waits 30 days in the Trash with its files.

To put your logo on every shared report, see Your brand on reports.