<param name="savedSearch">Unique_Visitors_by_Server_Saved_$timeframe$</param>
i'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but I can attempt an answer.
1) if you use the systems packaged in the sideview_utils app, I'd need more details about what you're trying to do specifically, but the answer is probably 'yes'. With the newer stuff there is a great deal more flexibility to substitute $foo$ args anywhere you like.
2) if you're using the default UI, the only way you can use a $foo$ argument like this is if you have pulldown or textfield module, and that is where the $timeframe$ value is going to be coming from, and you want to get that value into a search where some part of the search is living: Unique_Visitors_by_Server_Saved_$timeframe$
. then it's possible. However we need more details.
In the meantime I would check out the "UI Examples for 4.1" app on splunkbase for an example of #2 and just in general if you havent looked through that app already.
and then once you've at least read through the introductory documentation in UI Examples, download sideview_utils. The sideview_utils app is a lot like ui_examples in spirit, but it talks about the custom modules it packages and how to use them.
I'm sorry, I didn't notice that it was printing the param tag literally to the browser, and therefore wasn't visible.
The goal here is to use saved search results for multiple timeframes on a single dashboard. Drawing the results needs to be fast.
The other options I've encountered are a switcher module, but then the XML is very bloated, or loadjob, but it errors out if the search happens to be running at that moment.
Is there a better option?