When you open a dashboard directly, for example from the File System Dialog or Recent Items, it is displayed in the Dashboard Viewer.

The Dashboard Viewer contains a toolbar and the widgets with which the dashboard is configured.
The toolbar exposes the following options:
•Open: clicking this button displays the Open Existing Dashboard File System Dialog, which allows you to select a dashboard file to display in the Dashboard Viewer.
•Edit: clicking this button replaces the display of the dashboard within the Dashboard Viewer with its being shown in the Dashboard Designer.
•Refresh All: refreshes all of the widgets displayed currently in the dashboard.
The dashboard’s widgets themselves are displayed as per their current configuration.
When shown in the Dashboard Viewer, a dashboard’s structure cannot be changed.