---
title: "Configure variable display options | Grafana Labs"
description: "Learn how to customize variable appearance and interaction patterns."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

# Configure variable display options

Variable display configuration controls how variables appear and behave in your dashboard. Proper configuration improves the user experience by making variables intuitive and accessible to dashboard viewers.

Display options include the type of selection options, user-friendly labels, and visibility settings. These configuration choices determine how users interact with your dashboard’s filtering capabilities and can significantly impact usability.

To configure variable display options, complete the following steps:

1. Open your dashboard, click **Edit**, then go to **Dashboard options > Settings** and click the **Variables** tab.
2. On the **Variables** tab, click a variable name to edit its configuration.
3. In the **Label** field, enter a user-friendly display name.
   
   For example, for the variable with the name `env`, enter the label `Environment`.
4. In the **Display** list, select an option to control where the variables appear on the dashboard:
   
   - **Above dashboard** is the default positioning.
   - **Above dashboard, label hidden** shows the variable but without the name or label shown.
   - **Controls menu** places the variable in a menu to save room on the dashboard.
   - **Hidden** hides the variable on the dashboard except in edit mode.
5. In the **Selection options** section, configure multi-selection behavior.
   
   - Enable **Multi-value** to allow users to select multiple options simultaneously.
   - Enable **Include All option** to add an “All” choice that selects every option.
6. Set the **Sort** to control the arrangement, left to right, of multiple variables.
   
   For example, select **Alphabetical (asc)** to arrange the variables in alphabetical order.
7. Click **Save**.
8. (Optional) Enter a description of the changes you’ve made.
9. Click **Save** and **Back to dashboard**.

The variable appears in the dashboard with your configured display options.

In the next milestone, you learn how to test variable interactions across different scenarios and edge cases.