How to install a SimHub dashboard
Last updated · SimHub 9.11.22
Double-click a .simhubdash file with SimHub running and it installs itself, unpacking any custom fonts and images automatically. It then appears in Dash Studio's Dashboards tab, grouped by author. From that dashboard's own menu you choose where it runs: Quick run for a one-off windowed, specific-monitor or phone display, or the saved options below it for a position it opens at automatically every time.
If the dashboard shows blank fields after installing, it almost certainly depends on a plugin — that is the single most common problem and it is covered below.
Installing the file
Download the .simhubdash file
From the SimHub forum's Dashboard Templates section, OverTake, Discord or a creator's own site. Our roundup indexes the ones worth having, since there is no in-app marketplace.
Make sure SimHub is running
The file association only works when it is. This is the whole reason a double-click sometimes appears to do nothing.
Double-click it
SimHub installs the dashboard and unpacks any fonts and images it carries. There is nothing to extract by hand.
Or use Import dashboard
On the Dash Studio Dashboards tab, if the file association is not working — which happens if SimHub was installed after your browser last set that association.
Find it in the list
Dash Studio → Dashboards. Installed dashboards are grouped by author or brand, with a Last used row at the top.
Choosing where it runs
Every dashboard has a menu, and that menu is where the whole output question is answered.
- Quick run — Windowed
- A plain window you can drag anywhere. Good for testing.
- Quick run — On specific monitor
- Straight to a chosen display.
- Quick run — On phone or tablet
- Serves it over your network. See the phone guide.
- Show on saved screen location and auto-start
- Remembers a position and size and opens there every time SimHub starts. This is what you want once you have settled on a layout — it turns a manual step into no step at all.
- Show on web device slot
- Saves a specific phone, app or browser as a destination, so the dashboard opens on it automatically rather than you typing an address.
- Show on USB Displays
- Drives a physical dash unit. See USB displays.
Screens and binding them to your wheel
A dashboard can contain several screens, managed from the Overview strip at the bottom of the Dash Studio editor. SimHub exposes six bindable actions for moving between them:
| Action | Typical use |
|---|---|
NextScreen | Page forward — the one everyone binds first |
PreviousScreen | Page back |
ActionA | Jump directly to a named screen, or trigger something in the dashboard |
ActionB | As above |
ActionC | As above |
ActionD | As above |
Bind NextScreen to a button on your wheel or button box and a dashboard becomes usable mid-race rather than something you configure and then cannot change. This is the single feature that most improves a dashboard's usefulness and it is very often left unset.
Car playlists and idle dashboards
- Car playlists
- Different dashboards for different cars, chosen automatically as you change car. A formula car and a GT car want different instruments, and playlists let you stop compromising between them.
- Idle dashboards
- What appears when no game is running. Worth setting if your dash is a permanent part of the rig rather than something you only look at while driving — otherwise the screen sits blank or shows stale values.
Both are configured from the same area as the run options above.
If the dashboard shows blank fields
It almost certainly needs a plugin. Many good dashboards are designed alongside a plugin that adds the properties they display — the iRacing and Le Mans Ultimate ones especially. Without the plugin, the dashboard installs and runs perfectly and shows nothing where those properties should be.
- Check the dashboard's own page or readme for a plugin requirement.
- Install the plugin DLL into the SimHub folder, unblock it in the file's Properties if Windows marked it as downloaded, and restart SimHub.
- Confirm the enable prompt SimHub shows on the next start — declining it is a common reason a correctly installed plugin does nothing.
- If fields are still blank, the game may not provide that data. Check the supported games footnotes.
Full detail on the plugin page.
Removing and updating dashboards
Dashboards are removed from the Dashboards tab. Installing a newer version of the same dashboard normally replaces it, though some creators change the name between versions, in which case you end up with both and should remove the old one yourself.
Dashboards live in %localappdata% alongside your settings and licence, which has one consequence worth remembering: the Local User Settings Reset deletes every dashboard you have installed. Back that folder up before running any repair.
Common questions
How do I install a SimHub dashboard?
Download the .simhubdash file and double-click it while SimHub is running. It installs itself and unpacks any custom fonts and images automatically. If double-clicking does nothing, use Import dashboard on the Dash Studio Dashboards tab instead.
Why does double-clicking a .simhubdash file do nothing?
Either SimHub is not running — the file association only works when it is — or the association was never set, which happens if your browser claimed the file type. Use Import dashboard on the Dashboards tab instead.
My dashboard installed but the fields are empty.
It probably depends on a plugin that supplies those properties. Install the plugin DLL, unblock it in the file's Properties, restart SimHub and accept the enable prompt. If fields are still empty, the game may simply not provide that data.
How do I switch between dashboard screens while driving?
Bind SimHub's NextScreen action to a button on your wheel or button box. There are six bindable actions — NextScreen, PreviousScreen and ActionA through ActionD — and binding at least NextScreen is what makes a multi-screen dashboard actually usable.
Can I have different dashboards for different cars?
Yes — car playlists select a dashboard automatically as you change car. It is the right answer if you drive both formula and GT cars, which want very different instruments.
Where are SimHub dashboards stored?
In %localappdata%, alongside your settings, profiles and licence. That means the Local User Settings Reset repair option deletes every dashboard you have installed, so back that folder up before running any repair.
Sources
Related guides
SimHub is developed independently by Wotever and is not affiliated with oesimracing. This page was checked against SimHub 9.11.22 on 4 August 2026; where the interface has moved on since, the version stamp tells you how far. More on what SimHub is and what it costs.