The key difference between ESM and runtime versions of dashboards is that an ESM contains a section called Wizard. The Wizard section is the interface between the template and Dashboard Studio. The Wizard stores the knowledge about Interactive Reporting Studio and the structure of Interactive Reporting documents and templates. Without this section, Dashboard Studio has no way of knowing how to deal with the Interactive Reporting document. Runtime versions do not contain this section and are not connected to Dashboard Studio.
Special functions exist within the Wizard. These functions are called by Dashboard Studio as the building process moves from step to step. Dashboard Studio provides extract and update functions for each step. Extract functions gather the current property settings at the start of each step and make them available to Dashboard Studio. Update functions write the settings made in Dashboard Studio to the Interactive Reporting document at the end of each step.