Start to manage your Datasources in the new datasource editor
Datasources are the same feature in the new UI — what changed is the editor. Instead of a modal, the new UI opens a full-screen editor with the type settings, advanced settings, and a live preview side by side. This guide explains what changed and how to move an existing datasource across.
You don't have to move anything. Your datasources are already available in the new Settings → Datasources editor — just start using them there. (The Legacy UI Datasources menu is retired in September–October 2026, and the Legacy UI is removed completely at the end of 2026.)
What changed
- Modal → full-screen editor. After you pick a type from the type selector, the datasource opens in a full-screen editor laid out in three panels: the type-specific settings (left), Advanced settings (middle), and a live Preview (right) that populates once you save.
- Internal, External, and System datasources are still the three groups, reached from Settings → Datasources.
- Some System datasource types were renamed:
| Legacy System type | New UI |
|---|---|
| Device type | Device Information Summary |
| File type | File System Summary |
| Screenshot type | Screenshot Creation Service |
- Options that used to be separate — Cache external resources, Rotate cache on every update, and Randomize arrays — now live together under Advanced settings in the editor.
Learn more: Internal Table Datasources, External Datasources, and Advanced Datasource Settings.
Convert it in the new UI (fastest)
The quickest way is to let the new UI convert an existing datasource for you. Both of these produce a datasource in the new editor:
- Open and save: open the datasource in the new (2.1) editor and save it.
- Duplicate: duplicate the datasource in the new UI. The copy is created in the new editor in the same way.
After converting, open it and check the type settings, the Advanced settings, and the Preview to confirm everything came across.
Saving or duplicating a datasource in the new UI permanently moves it to the new editor, and from then on you manage it there — it no longer opens in the legacy Datasources view. If you still need it in the Legacy UI, wait to convert it until you are ready to switch over.
Rebuild it by hand
If you would rather start fresh, create a new datasource:
- Open Settings → Datasources and choose the Internal, External Datasources, or System Datasources section.
- Click the + button next to the section header.
- Pick the datasource type from the type selector.
- Fill in the type settings on the left, adjust Advanced settings if needed, and Save. The Preview populates once you save.
As in the Legacy UI, once you save an internal datasource with a chosen structure type, that structure can't be changed later — pick Table or Custom before saving.
Good to know
The new editor adds capabilities the Legacy UI didn't have, which you may want to take advantage of after moving:
- Shared Datasource Editor — share a link so someone without a Wallboard account can edit an internal table. See Shared Datasource Editor.
- Internal Custom Datasources gain a Repair JSON helper. See Internal Custom Datasources.
- New internal-table column types (Date, Time, Datetime, Scheduling, Dropdown) and features like row/column locking and Clear expired data.
If you are moving text messages from the Legacy UI, those also become an internal datasource — see Move your Messages to an Internal Datasource.
Result
Your datasources now open in the new full-screen editor under Settings → Datasources, with caching and array options grouped under Advanced settings and the System types under their new names.
For the phase-out timeline, see the Legacy UI Retirement schedule.