1.

Understanding Data, What is data, where to find data, Foundations for building Data Visualizations, Creating Your First
visualization?
2. Getting started with Tableau Software using Data file formats, connecting your Data to Tableau, creating basic charts
(line, bar charts, Tree maps), Using the Show me panel.
3. Getting started with Tableau Software using Data file formats, connecting your Data to Tableau, creating basic charts(line,
bar charts, Tree maps),Using the Show me panel.
4. Applying new data calculations to your visualizations, Formatting Visualizations, Formatting Tools and Menus,
Formatting specific parts of the view.
5. Editing and Formatting Axes, Manipulating Data in Tableau data, Pivoting Tableau data
6. Structuring your data, Sorting and filtering Tableau data, Pivoting Tableau data
7. Advanced Visualization Tools: Using Filters, Using the Detail panel, using the Size panels, customizing filters, Using and
Customizing tooltips, Formatting your data with colors.
8. Creating Dashboards & Storytelling, creating your first dashboard and Story, Design for different displays, adding
interactivity to your Dashboard, Distributing & Publishing your Visualization.
9. Tableau file types, publishing to Tableau Online, Sharing your visualizations, printing, and Exporting.
10.
No index entries found.Creating custom charts, cyclical data and circular area charts, Dual Axis charts.

1
Aim 1: Understanding Data, What is data, where to find data, Foundations
for building Data Visualizations, Creating Your First visualization?

Solution:

What is Data?

Data refers to raw facts, statistics, or information collected or stored in a structured or

unstructured form. Data can take various forms, such as text, numbers, images, videos, and
more. It is the foundation of all information and knowledge and is used in various fields for
analysis, decision-making, and understanding trends and patterns.

Data can be categorized into two main types:

 Structured Data: This type of data is organized into a specific format, such as tables
or databases, and is easily searchable and analyzable. Examples include spreadsheets,
relational databases, and CSV files.
 Unstructured Data: Unstructured data lacks a specific format and can include text
documents, social media posts, images, audio recordings, and more. Analyzing
unstructured data often requires advanced techniques like natural language processing
and image recognition.

Where to Find Data?

You can find data from various sources, depending on your specific needs:

 Open Data Portals: Many governments and organizations provide free access to a
wide range of data through open data portals. Examples include Data.gov (United
States) and data.gov.uk (United Kingdom).
 Data Repositories: Academic institutions, research organizations, and data
enthusiasts often share datasets on platforms like Kaggle, GitHub, and the UCI
Machine Learning Repository.
 APIs (Application Programming Interfaces): Some websites and services offer
APIs that allow you to programmatically access and retrieve data. Examples include
Twitter API, Google Maps API, and financial market APIs.
 Web Scraping: You can extract data from websites using web scraping tools and
libraries like BeautifulSoup and Scrapy. However, be mindful of the website's terms
of use and legal restrictions.
 Surveys and Surveys: You can conduct your own surveys or collect data through
questionnaires and interviews.
 IoT Devices: Internet of Things (IoT) devices generate vast amounts of data that can
be used for various purposes.

2
  Commercial Data Providers: Some companies specialize in selling datasets for
specific industries, such as market research, finance, and healthcare.

Foundations for Building Data Visualizations:

Creating effective data visualizations requires a strong foundation in several key areas:

 Data Analysis: Before creating visualizations, you should thoroughly analyze your
data to understand its structure, relationships, and any patterns or trends. Exploratory
data analysis (EDA) techniques can help with this.
 Statistical Knowledge: Understanding basic statistics is essential for making
meaningful interpretations of data. Concepts like mean, median, standard deviation,
and correlation are commonly used in data visualization.
 Domain Knowledge: Having knowledge of the specific domain or subject matter
related to your data is crucial for creating contextually relevant visualizations. It helps
you ask the right questions and provide valuable insights.
 Visualization Tools: Familiarize yourself with data visualization tools and libraries
such as matplotlib, Seaborn, ggplot2, D3.js, and Tableau. Each tool has its strengths
and can be used for different types of visualizations.
 Design Principles: Study design principles, including color theory, typography, and
visual hierarchy, to create visually appealing and effective visualizations. Avoid
common pitfalls like misleading visualizations.
 Interactivity: Learn how to add interactive elements to your visualizations to engage
users and allow them to explore the data. This can be achieved using tools like
JavaScript, Python libraries, or dedicated visualization software.

Creating Your First Visualization:

To create your first data visualization, follow these general steps:

 Select Your Data: Choose a dataset that aligns with your goals and interests. Ensure
that the data is clean and well-structured.
 Define Your Objective: Clearly define what you want to communicate or explore
with your visualization. Are you looking to show trends, comparisons, or
distributions?
 Choose the Right Visualization Type: Select a visualization type that suits your data
and objectives. Common types include bar charts, line charts, scatter plots,
histograms, and pie charts.
 Prepare and Transform Data: Preprocess your data as needed. This may involve
aggregating, filtering, or transforming the data to fit the chosen visualization.
 Create the Visualization: Use a suitable tool or library to create your visualization.
Customize it with labels, colors, and other design elements.
 Interactivity (Optional): If appropriate, add interactive features to your visualization
to allow users to interact with the data.
 Test and Iterate: Review your visualization for accuracy and clarity. Seek feedback
from others and make improvements as necessary.

3
 Publish or Share: Once you are satisfied with your visualization, publish it on a
platform, embed it in a report, or share it with your intended audience.
 Document and Explain: Provide context and explanations for your visualization.
Clearly communicate what the viewer should take away from it.
 Maintain and Update: If the data changes or new insights emerge, update your
visualization accordingly.

4
Aim 2 : Getting started with Tableau Software using Data file formats,
connecting your Data to Tableau, creating basic charts(line, bar charts,
Tree maps),Using the Show me panel.

Solution :

Getting started with Tableau software is a great way to create data visualizations quickly and
efficiently. Here are the steps to get started, including connecting your data to Tableau,
creating basic charts like line charts, bar charts, and treemaps, and using the Show Me panel:
1. Download and Install Tableau:
First, you'll need to download and install Tableau Desktop or Tableau Public (a free version).
Follow the installation instructions provided on the Tableau website for your specific
operating system.
2. Prepare Your Data:
Before connecting your data to Tableau, ensure that your data is in a suitable format. Common
data file formats that Tableau supports include Excel (.xlsx), CSV (.csv), and text files (.txt).
Make sure your data is organized with headers for each column.

3. Connect Your Data to Tableau:

3.1 Launch Tableau Desktop.

3.2 Go to "File" Menu and then click on "Open".

5
3.3 Choose the data source type (e.g., Excel, CSV, text file) and Select the data file(P6-
SuperStoreUS-2015.xls) and click "Open".

3.4 Drag any table(e.g. Orders) into working area.

3.5 Click on Worksheet(Sheet1).

4. Data Source Pane:

Once your data is connected, the Data Source Pane will appear on the left-hand side of the
Tableau interface. Here, you can see a preview of your data and perform data transformations
or join multiple data sources if necessary.
6
5. Creating Basic Charts:
Now, let's create some basic charts using Tableau:

a. Line Chart:

1. From the "Data Source pane", drag and drop the date field to the Columns shelf and
a numeric field (e.g., sales, revenue) to the Rows shelf.

7
2. Then Tableau will automatically create a line chart. You can customize it by adding
labels, titles, and formatting.

8
b. Bar Chart:

1. Drag and drop a categorical field (e.g., product category, region) to the Columns shelf and
a numeric field to the Rows shelf.

2. Then Tableau will create a bar chart. You can adjust the orientation and formatting
as needed. To display Labels on the bars click on Lables and select "Show mark lables"

c. Tree map:
1. Drag and drop a categorical field to the Columns shelf.
2. Drag and drop a numeric field to the Size shelf.
3. Tableau will create a treemap visualization. You can further customize it by adjusting
colors and labels.

9
 6. Using the Show Me Panel:

The Show Me panel in Tableau helps you explore various chart types based on your data and the
fields you select. Here's how to use it:
1. After adding fields to the Rows and Columns shelves, click on the "Show Me" panel
located on the left side of the Tableau interface.
2. In the Show Me panel, you'll see a variety of chart options that Tableau recommends based
on your data. Click on a chart type to create it.
3. Tableau will automatically generate the selected chart type with your data. You can further
customize it as needed.
4. To go back to the regular worksheet view, click the "Clear" button in the Show Me panel.

10
 Aim 3: Tableau Calculations, Overview of SUM, AVR, and Aggregate
features, Creating custom calculations and fields

Solution :

Tableau offers a powerful set of calculation tools that allow you to manipulate, transform, and
analyze your data in various ways. Here's an overview of some key concepts related to
Tableau calculations, including SUM, AVG (average), and aggregate functions, as well as
creating custom calculations and fields

SUM and AVG (Average) Functions

SUM Function

The SUM function in Tableau calculates the total sum of a numeric field. You can use it to find
the sum of values in a column or as part of a more complex calculation. To use SUM, simply
drag and drop a numeric field into the "SUM" shelf, or you can create a calculated field using
the SUM function.

11
AVG (Average) Function

The AVG function calculates the average (mean) value of a numeric field. Like SUM, you
can use it by dragging a numeric field into the "AVG" shelf or creating a calculated field with
the AVG function.

12
Aggregate Functions:
Tableau provides a range of aggregate functions that allow you to perform calculations on
groups of data. Common aggregate functions include SUM, AVG, COUNT, MIN (minimum
value), and MAX (maximum value). These functions are particularly useful when you want
to analyze data at different levels of granularity (e.g., by category, region, or time period).

Creating Custom Calculations

Tableau allows you to create custom calculations using calculated fields. Here's how to create
a custom calculation:

13
1. Create a New Calculated Field

In the Data Source Pane, right-click on your data source and select "Create Calculated Field".

Alternatively, you can create a calculated field by right-clicking on a shelf in your worksheet
and choosing "Create Calculated Field".

2. Enter Your Calculation:

In the calculated field editor, you can use functions, operators, and field references to define
your calculation.
For example, you can create a calculated field to calculate profit margin as (SUM([Profit]) /
SUM([Sales])) * 100.

3. Name and Save the Calculated Field:

Give your calculated field a meaningful name.

Click the "OK" or "Apply" button to save the calculated field.

14
4. Use the Calculated Field in Your Worksheet:

You can now use the calculated field like any other field in your worksheet. Drag it to the
Rows or Columns shelf, use it in filters, or create visualizations based on it.

15
Aim4 : Applying new data calculations to your visualizations,
Formatting Visualizations, Formatting Toolsand Menus, Formatting
specific parts of the view.

Solution : Applying New Data Calculations to Visualizations

1. Drag and Drop Calculated Fields:

To apply your newly created calculated fields to a visualization, simply drag and drop them
onto the appropriate shelves in your worksheet. For example, you can drag a calculated field
to the Rows or Columns shelf, use it in filters, or place it on the Marks card to control the
appearance of marks.

2. Filter with Calculated Fields:

Create filters using calculated fields to control which data points are displayed in your
visualization. You can use calculated fields to filter by specific criteria, such as a calculated
date range or a custom ranking.

16
17
Formatting Visualizations

Tableau provides a wide range of formatting options to make your visualizations more
appealing and informative:

1. Format Pane:

On the left side of the Tableau interface, you'll find the Format pane. It allows you to format
various aspects of your visualization, such as fonts, colors, lines, shading, and borders.
Simply select the element you want to format and use the options in the Format pane to make
changes.

18
2. Marks Card:
The Marks card, located above your visualization, offers formatting options specific to the
type of marks you're using (e.g., color, size, label). Click on the Marks card to access these
options and modify how your data is represented.

19
3. Axis and Gridlines:
You can format axis labels, titles, and gridlines to improve the readability of your
visualization. Right-click on an axis or gridline to access formatting options.

4. Legends and Color Scales:

Customize legends and color scales to provide context for your visualizations. You can
change colors, labels, and the position of legends to match your data.

20
Formatting Tools and Menus
Tableau provides several formatting tools and menus to help you refine the appearance of
your visualizations:

1. Format Menu:

The Format menu at the top of the Tableau interface provides access to various formatting
options, including font styles, shading, borders, alignment, and more. You can use this menu
to format text, labels, and other elements.

2. Worksheet Menu:

In the Worksheet menu, you'll find options to format the entire worksheet, including
background color, borders, and worksheet title. You can also adjust the worksheet size.
21
3. Dashboard Menu:

If you're working with dashboards, the Dashboard menu allows you to format the entire
dashboard layout, including background, size, and title.

22
Formatting Specific Parts of the View
Tableau lets you format specific elements of your visualization:

1. Annotations:

You can add annotations to your visualizations to highlight important points or provide
additional context. Format these annotations using the options available when you right-click
on an annotation.

23
2. Tooltips:
Customize tooltips to display relevant information when users hover over data points. You
can format tooltips to show or hide specific fields and control their appearance.

3. Headers and Titles:

Format headers, titles, and subtitles for clarity and consistency. Use the Format pane or the
Format menu to adjust text formatting, alignment, and shading.

24
25
Aim 5 : Editing and Formatting Axes, Manipulating Data in Tableau data,
Pivoting Tableau data.

Solution : Editing and Formatting Axes:

1. Edit Axis Title:

 Click on the axis title you want to edit.

 You can now modify the title text, font, size, color, and alignment using the Format
pane or the toolbar at the top.

26
2. Edit Axis Labels:

 Right-click on an axis and select "Edit Axis."

 In the Edit Axis dialog box, you can change the formatting of labels, tick marks, and
other axis-related properties.

3. Scale and Range:

 To change the scale or range of an axis, right-click on it and select "Edit Axis."

27
 In the dialog box, adjust the Minimum and Maximum values, scale, or range
according to your needs.

28
29
Manipulating Data in Tableau data

Change Data Type

If Tableau has inferred a wrong data type for a column, the data type can be changed by
clicking on the data type symbol in the column header

30
New Column (Calculated Fields)
Calculated fields can be used if you need to create customized logic for manipulating certain
data types or data values. There are a large-range of functions available in Tableau that can
used individually or collectively for data manipulation

31
Pivoting Tableau data
Data pivoting enables you to rearrange the columns and rows in a report so you can view data
from different perspectives

32
6. Structure Data for Analysis:

Data preparation is the process of getting well formatted data into a single table or multiple
related tables so it can be analyzed in Tableau. This includes both the structure, i.e. rows and
columns, as well as aspects of data cleanliness, such correct data types and correct data
values.

How structure impacts analysis

The structure of our data may not be something we can control. The rest of this topic assumes
that we have access to the raw data and the tools needed to shape it, such as Tableau Prep
Builder. However, there may be situations when we can't pivot or aggregate our data as
desired. It is often still possible to perform the analysis but we may need to change your
calculations or how we approach the data. For an example of how to perform the same
analysis with different data structures.

Data Structure

Tableau Desktop works best with data that is in tables formatted like a spreadsheet. That is,
data stored in rows and columns, with column headers in the first row.

What is a row?

A row, or record, can be anything from information around a transaction at a retail store, to
weather measurements at a specific location, or stats about a social media post.

It's important to know what a record (row) in the data represents. This is the granularity of
the data.

33
Here, each record is a day Here, each record is a month

Tip:A best practice is to have a unique identifier (UID), a value that identifies each row as a
unique piece of data. Think of it like the social security number or URL of each record. In
Superstore, that would be Row ID. Note that not all data sets have a UID but it can't hurt to
have one.

Aggregation and Granularity

What is a field or column?

A column of data in a table comes into Tableau Desktop as a field in the data pane, but they
are essentially interchangeable terms. A field of data should contain items that can be
grouped into a larger relationship. The items themselves are called values or members (only
discrete dimensions contain members).

The values which are allowed in a given field are determined by the domain of the field .For
example, a column for "grocery store departments" might contain the members "deli"
"bakery", "produce", etc., but it wouldn't include "bread" or "salami" because those are items,
not departments. Phrased another way, the domain of the department field is limited to just
the possible grocery store departments.

Additionally, a well-structured data set would have a column for "Sales" and a column for
"Profit", not a single column for "Money", because profit is a separate concept from sales.

 The domain of the Sales field would be values ≥ 0, since sales cannot be negative.
 The domain of the Profit field, however, would be all values, since profit can be
negative.

Note: Domain can also mean the values present in the data. If the column "grocery store
department" erroneously contained "salami", by this definition, that value would be in the
domain of the column.

Categorizing fields

Each column in the data table comes into Tableau Desktop as a field, which appears in the
Data pane. Fields in Tableau Desktop must be either a dimension or either discrete or
continuous .
34
35
  Dimensions are qualitative, meaning they can't be measured but are instead described.
Dimensions are often things like city or country, eye color, category, team name, etc.
Dimensions are usually discrete.
 Measures are quantitative, meaning they can be measured and recorded with numbers.
Measures can be things like sales, height, clicks, etc. In Tableau Desktop, measures
are automatically aggregated; the default aggregation is SUM. Measures are usually
continuous.
 Discrete means individually separate or distinct. Toyota is distinct from Mazda. In
Tableau Desktop, discrete values come into the view as a label and they create panes.
 Continuous means forming an unbroken, continuous whole. 7 is followed by 8 and
then it's the same distance to 9, and 7.5 would fall midway between 7 and 8. In
Tableau Desktop, continuous values come into the view as an axis.
 Dimensions are usually discrete, and measures are usually continuous. However, this
is not always the case. Dates can be either discrete or continuous.
o Dates are dimensions and automatically come into the view as discrete (. A
trend line applied to a timeline with discrete dates will be broken into multiple
trend lines, one per pane.
o We can chose to use continuous dates if preferred .A trend line applied to a
timeline with continuous dates will have a single trend line for the entire date
axis.

In Tableau Prep, no distinction is made for dimensions or measures. Understanding the

concepts behind discrete or continuous are important, for things like the detail versus
summary presentation of data in the profile pane.

 Detail: the detail view shows every domain element as a discrete label and has a
visual scrollbar to provide a visual overview of all the data.
 Summary: the summary view shows the values as binned on a continuous axis as a
histogram.

Sorting:
 There are many ways to sort data in Tableau. When viewing a visualization, data can
be sorted using single click options from an axis, header, or field label. In the
authoring environment, additional sorting options include sorting manually in headers
and legends, using the toolbar sort icons, or sorting from the sort menu.

 There are multiple ways to sort a visualization with single click sort buttons.
 In all cases, one click sorts descending, two clicks sorts ascending, and three clicks
clear the sort.

36
Sort from an axis

1. Hover over a numerical axis to bring up the sort icon.

2. Click the icon to sort.

Sort from a header

1. Hover over a header to bring up the sort icon.

2. Click the icon to sort.

Sort from a field label

1. Hover over a field label to bring up the sort icon.

The sort icon for a field label is slightly different from a header or axis. The default
option is alphabetical sorting, but there’s also a menu where you can choose to sort by
a field in the view.

2. Click the A-Z icon to sort alphabetically. Or, click the menu to select a field to sort
by. The icon switches to the bar icon and you can click to sort.

37
Sort: Hues are arranged in descending order by Metric B.

In this example, the sort is applied to the outermost dimension (Hue) based on total Metric B.
(Metric B is aggregated for all the colors within each hue and Hue is sorted. Therefore,
Purple is first, then Green, then Blue.)

Missing sort icons

If the sort icons don't appear, this functionality may have been turned off or it might not be
possible to sort the view. Sort icons aren't available on the axes in scatterplots or for table
calculations. For example, scatterplots can't be sorted from a numerical axis because the
positions of the marks are fully determined by the data.

Sort options while authoring

In an authoring environment, additional options are available.

Sort from the toolbar

1. Select the dimension you wish to sort.

If you don’t select a field before sorting, the default behavior is to sort the deepest
dimension.

2. Choose the appropriate sort button (ascending or descending) in the toolbar.

38
In this example, the sort is applied to Hue unless the Material field is selected before sorting.
The toolbar sort also applies to the leftmost measure, in this case Metric B. To sort by Metric
A, it would be necessary to reverse their order on the Columns shelf or use another method of
sorting. This example demonstrates the effect of sorting by Material. Hue is removed from
the view.

Sort by drag and drop:

To manually sort, select a header in a viz or on a legend and drag it to the correct location—a
heavy black line indicates where to drop the header.

Note: Sorting on a legend also changes the order of the marks, not simply how the legend is
displayed. Whatever is bottommost in the legend becomes the bottommost mark in the viz.
This can either mean closest to the axis or header, or actually underneath in the case of
scatterplots and other viz types that may have overlapping marks.

39
Filter Data from Your Views
Applies to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server

Filtering is an essential part of analyzing data.

Filtering Order of Operations

Tableau performs actions on your view in a very specific order; this is called the Order of
Operations. Filters are executed in the following order:

1. Extract filters

2. Data source filters

3. Context filters

4. Filters on dimensions (whether on the Filters shelf or in filter cards in the view)

5. Filters on measures (whether on the Filters shelf or in filter cards in the view).

Note: When you drag a discrete dimension to the Filters shelf, the Filter dialog box offers
four tabs for filtering: General, Wildcard, Condition, and Top. The settings on each of these
tabs are additive starting with the General tab; what you set on each tab will affect the filter
results on each tab to the right.

Select to keep or exclude data points in your view:

You can filter individual data points (marks), or a selection of data points from your view.
For example, if you have a scatter plot with outliers, you can exclude them from the view so
you can better focus on the rest of the data.

To filter marks from the view, select a single mark (data point) or click and drag in the view
to select several marks. On the tooltip that appears, you can:

 Select Keep Only to keep only the selected marks in the view.

 Select Exclude to remove the selected marks from the view.

40
Note: These filtering options are not available if a Wildcard Match filter is already specified for
the same field.

Select headers to filter data:

You can also select headers to filter them from your view.

To filter entire rows or columns of data from your view, select the header in the view. On the
tooltip that appears, select to Exclude or Keep Only the selected data.

When you select a table header that is part of a hierarchy, all of the next level headers are also
selected. For example, the view shown below consists of two unrelated dimensions placed on
the Columns shelf, and two levels of the same hierarchy placed on the Rows shelf.

The selected row headers include the Furniture member of the Category dimension, and the
Binders and Labels members of the Sub-category dimension. When Furniture is selected, all
members from the next (inner) level in the hierarchy are automatically selected. In this case,
that means the Bookcases, Chairs, Furnishings, and Tables members.

Drag dimensions, measures, and date fields to the Filters shelf :

Another way to create a filter is to drag a field directly from the Data pane to the Filters shelf.
41
When you add a field to the Filters shelf, the Filter dialog box opens so you can define the
filter. The Filter dialog box differs depending on whether you are filtering categorical data
(dimensions), quantitative data (measures), or date fields.

Filter categorical data (dimensions):

Dimensions contain discrete categorical data, so filtering this type of field generally involves
selecting the values to include or exclude.

When you drag a dimension from the Data pane to the Filters shelf in Tableau Desktop, the
following Filter dialog box appears:

 General: Use the General tab to select the values you want to include or exclude.
 Wildcard (Tableau Desktop only): Use the Wildcard tab to define a pattern to filter
on. For example, when filtering on email addresses you might want to only include
emails from a specific domain. You can define a wildcard filter that ends with
"@gmail.com" to only include Google email addresses.
 Condition: Use the Condition tab in the Filter dialog box to define rules to filter by.
For example, in a view showing the average Unit Price for a collection of products,
you may want to only show the Products that have an average unit price that is greater
than or equal to $25. You can use the built-in controls to write a condition or you can
write a custom formula.

42
  Top: Use the Top tab in the Filter dialog box to define a formula that computes the
data that will be included in the view. For example, in a view that shows the average
Time to Ship for a collection of products, you can decide to only show the top 15 (or
bottom) products by Sales. Rather than having to define a specific range for Sales
(e.g., greater than $100,000), you can define a limit (top 15) that is relative to the
other members in the field (products).

Important Note: Each tab adds additional definitions to your filter. For example, you can select
to exclude values under the General tab, and also add limits under the Top tab. Selections and
configurations from both tabs are applied to your filter.

At any time, you can see the definitions of your filter under Summary on the General tab.

Filter quantitative data (measures):

Measures contain quantitative data, so filtering this type of field generally involves selecting a
range of values that you want to include.

When you drag a measure from the Data pane to the Filters shelf in Tableau Desktop, the
following dialog box appears:

Select how you want to aggregate the field, and then click Next.

In the subsequent dialog box, you're given the option to create four types of quantitative filters:

Range of Values: Select the Range of Values option to specify the minimum and maximum
values of the range to include in the view. The values you specify are included in the range.

At Least: Select the At Least option to include all values that are greater than or equal to a
specified minimum value. This type of filter is useful when the data changes often so
specifying an upper limit may not be possible.

At Most: Select the At Most option to include all values that are less than or equal to a specified
maximum value. This type of filter is useful when the data changes often so specifying a
lower limit may not be possible.

Special: Select the Special option to filter on Null values. Include only Null values, Non-null
values, or All Values.

43
Note: If you have a large data source, filtering measures can lead to a significant degradation
in performance. It is sometimes much more efficient to filter by creating a set containing the
measure and then apply a filter to the set

Filter dates :

When you drag a date field from the Data pane to the Filters shelf in Tableau Desktop, the
following Filter Field dialog box appears:

You can select whether you want to filter on a relative date; filter between a range of dates;
or select discrete dates or individual dates to filter from the view.

 Filter relative dates: Click Relative dates to define a range of dates that updates
based on the date and time you open the view. For example, you may want to see
Year to Date sales, all records from the past 30 days, or bugs closed last week.
Relative date filters can also be relative to a specific anchor date rather than today.
 Filter a range of dates: Select Range of dates to define a fixed range of dates to
filter. For example, you may want to see all orders placed between March 1, 2009 and
June 12, 2009.
 Filter discrete dates: Select a discrete date value in the dialog box if you want to
include entire date levels. For example, if you select Quarters, you can choose to filter
specific quarters (e.g. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4) from your view, regardless of the year.

Latest date preset: If you want to ensure that only the most recent date in a data
source is selected in the filter when the workbook is shared or opened, select a
discrete date such as Month/Day/Year or Individual Dates and then, on the General
tab, select Filter to latest date value when workbook is opened.

44
 Notes: When you filter to the latest date value, this setting applies only to data source
filters in a workbook.

In the order of operations, the latest date filter is global to the workbook, while
context filters apply per worksheet. The latest date is determined just after the
workbook opens for first use, after data source filters, but before context filters. At
that point the date is set, and the latest date preset is used as a
dimension filter.

If you are using additional filters in views, the latest date value setting may result in
an empty view with no data when those additional filters do not select data from the
latest date in the database.

On Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud, presets are applied when the view first loads
in the browser, but not when the browser or data is refreshed.

 Filter individual dates: Select Individual dates to filter specific dates from your view.
 Additional date filter options: When you select Relative dates or Range of dates, the
Filter dialog box opens. In that dialog box, you can define a Starting date or Ending
date. You can also select Special to include null dates, non-null dates, or all dates.

Filter table calculations:

To create a table calculation filter, create a calculated field, and then place that field on the
Filters shelf.

45
Filters based on table calculations do not filter out underlying data in the data set, because
table calculation filters are applied last in the order of operations. This means Tableau
evaluates any table calculations in the view first, and then applies table calculation filters on
the results in the current view.

Apply table calculation filter to totals

When you show totals in a view and you want a table calculation filter to apply to the totals,
you can select Apply to totals in the drop-down menu for that filter (on the Filters shelf). This
option lets you decide when a table calculation filter should be applied to totals.

This options is available when you show totals in the view, and you add a table calculation
filter to the view. Select Apply to totals to apply the table calculation filter to all of the results
in the table, including the totals.

Display interactive filters in the view:

When an interactive filter is shown, you can quickly include or exclude data in the view.

Note: In web authoring, interactive filters are automatically added to the view when you drag
a field to the Filters shelf.

46
To show a filter in the view:

1. In the view, click the field drop-down menu and select Show Filter.

The field is automatically added to the Filters shelf (if it is not already being filtered),
and a filter card appears in the view. Interact with the card to filter your data.

Note: In Tableau Desktop, you can add an interactive filter to the view for a field that is not
currently used in the view. To do so, In the Data pane, click the field drop-down menu, and
then select Show Filter.

Set options for filter card interaction and appearance:

After you show a filter, there are many different options that let you control how the filter
works and appears. You can access these options by clicking the drop-down menu in the
upper right corner of the filter card in the view.

Some options are available for all types of filters, and others depend on whether you’re
filtering a categorical field (dimension) or a quantitative field (measure).

You can customize how filters appear in the view, in dashboards, or when published to
Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud.

Here are some of the general filter card options:

 Edit Filter - This option opens the main Filter dialog box so you can further refine the
filter by adding conditions and limits.
 Remove Filter - Removes the filter from the Filters shelf and removes the filter card
from the view.

47
  Apply to worksheets - Allows you to specify whether the filter should apply to only
the current worksheet or be shared across multiple worksheets.
 Format Filters (Tableau Desktop only) - Customize the font and colors of all your
filter cards in the view.
 Only relevant values - Specifies which values to show in the filter. When you select
this option other filters are considered and only values that pass these filters are
shown. For example, a filter on State will only show the Eastern states when a filter
on Region is set. You can use the toggle at the top of the filter card to switch between
this option and the All Values in Database option.
 All values in hierarchy - Specifies which values to show in the filter. When you create
a filter from a hierarchical field, this option is selected by default. Filter values are
displayed based on relevance of the parent/child relationships in the hierarchy.
 All values in database - Specifies which values to show in the filter. When you select
this option all values in the database are shown regardless of the other filters on the
view.
 All values in context (Tableau Desktop only) - When one of the filters in the view is a
context filter, select this option on a different filter to only display values that pass
through the context filter.
 Include values - When this option is selected, the selections in the filter card are
included in the view.
 Exclude values - When this option is selected, the selections in the filter card are
excluded from the view.
 Hide Card (Tableau Desktop only) - Hides the filter card but does not remove the
filter from the Filters shelf.

Filter card modes

You can control the appearance and interaction of your filter card in the view by selecting a filter
card mode.

To select a filter card mode, in the view, click the drop-down menu on the filter card and then
select a mode from the list.

The types of filter card modes you see in the list of options depend on whether your filter is on a
dimension or a measure. Below you can find brief descriptions of the types of filter card
modes available for dimensions and measures.

48
For dimensions, you can choose from the following filter modes:

 Single Value (List): Displays the values of the filter as a list of radio buttons where
only a single value can be selected at a time.
 Single Value (Dropdown): Displays the values of the filter in a drop-down list where
only a single value can be selected at a time.
 Single Value (Slider): Displays the values of the filter along the range of a slider.
Only a single value can be selected at a time. This option is useful for dimensions that
have an implicit order such as dates.
 Multiple Values (List):Displays the values in the filter as a list of check boxes where
multiple values can be selected.
 Multiple Values(Dropdown): Displays the values of the filter in a drop-down list
where multiple values can be selected.
 Multiple Values (Custom List): Displays a text box where you can type a few
characters and search for the value. Alternatively, you can type or paste a list of
values into the text box to create a custom list of values to include.
 Wildcard Match: Displays a text box where you can type a few characters. All
values that match those characters are automatically selected. You can use the asterisk
character as a wildcard character. For example, you can type “tab*” to select all
values that begin with the letters “tab”. Pattern Match is not case sensitive. If you are
using a multidimensional data source, this option is only available when filtering
single level hierarchies and attributes.

For measures, you can choose from the following filter modes:

 Range of Values/Dates: shows the filtered values as a pair of sliders that you can
adjust to include or exclude more values. Click on the upper and lower limit readouts
to enter the values manually.

The darker area inside the slider range is called the data bar. It indicates the range in
which data points actually lie in the view. Use this indicator to determine a filter that
makes sense for the data in your data source. For example, you may filter the Sales
field to only include values between $200,000 and $500,000 but your view only
contains values between $250,000 and $320,000. The range of data you can see in the
view is indicated by the data bar while the sliders show you the range of the filter.

 Note: Data bars only show in filters where the filtered field is also used in the view
(e.g., on Columns, Rows, or on the Marks card, and son on) and are at the same
aggregation level as the field on the Filters shelf. For example, a filter on SUM(Sales)
will only display data bars if the SUM(Sales) field is used in the view. It won't show
if AVG(Sales) is used in the view. Even though in both scenarios, the filtered field,
Sales is used in the view; in the latter case the aggregation is different than the
aggregation of the filter.
 At Least/Starting Date: shows a single slider with a fixed minimum value. Use this
option to create a filter using an open ended range.
 At Most/Ending Date: shows a slider with a fixed maximum value. Use this option
to create a filter using an open ended range.
 Relative to Now: this option shows a control where you can define a dynamic date
range that updates based on when you open the view. The option is only available for
filters on continuous date fields.
 Browse periods: shows common date ranges such as past day, week, month, three
months, one year, and five years. This option is only available for filters on
continuous date fields.
49
Note: When you expose a filter for Measure Values or Measure Names as a single value list,
selecting All will automatically convert the filter to a multiple values list.

Customize filter cards

In addition to the general filter options and the filter modes, you control how your filter appears
in the worksheet, on dashboards, or when published to the web even further in Tableau
Desktop.

To customize filters, click the filter card drop-down menu and select Customize.

You can select from the following options:

 Show “All” Value - toggles whether to show the “All” option that displays by default
in multiple values and single value lists.
 Show Search Button - toggles whether to show the search button at the top of the filter.
 Show Include/Exclude - toggles whether to show the Include Values and Exclude
Values commands on the filter card menu. When shown, users can switch the filter
between include and exclude modes.
 Show Control Types - toggles whether to let users change the type of quick filter
shown. For example, when shown, a user can change a multiple values list to a
compact list.
 Show More/Fewer button - toggles whether to show the More/Fewer button at the
top of the filter.
 Show All Values button - toggles whether to display the Show All Values button
on the filter card.

Whenever data is excluded in the filter, the small red "x" appears on the Show All
Values button. When all values are showing, the red "x" disappears.

50
  Show Apply Button - toggles whether to show the Apply button at the bottom of the
filter. When shown, changes to the filter are only applied after you click the button.
Pending changes are indicated with a green color. This option is only available in
multiple values lists and dropdowns. This options is available in web authoring.
 Show Readouts - controls whether the minimum and maximum values are displayed
as text above a range of values. The readouts can be used to manually type a new
value instead of using the sliders.
 Show Slider - controls whether the slider displays. When this option is cleared, the
filter only displays the readouts.
 Show Null Controls - shows a drop-down list that lets you control how the filter
handles null values. You can select from values in a range; values in a range and null
values; null values only, non-null values, or all values.
 Note: Not all of the above options are available for views published to Tableau Server
or Tableau Cloud.

Pivot Data from Columns to Rows:

Applies to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server

Sometimes, analyzing data that is stored in a crosstab format can be difficult in Tableau.
When working with Microsoft Excel, text file, Google Sheets, and .pdf data sources, you can
pivot your data from crosstab format into columnar format. If you are working with other
data sources, you can Pivot using custom SQL (Tableau Desktop).

For example, suppose you have the number of devices sold by quarter for three vendors in
three separate fields. You can pivot your data so that the vendor is in one field and the
number of devices sold is in another field.

51
Pivot the data

After you have set up the data source, in the grid, select two or more columns. Click the drop-
down arrow next to the column name, and then select Pivot. New columns called "Pivot field
names" and "Pivot field values" are created and added to the data source. The new columns
replace the original columns that you selected to create the pivot.

Add to the pivot

To add more data to the pivot, select another column, click the drop-down arrow next to the
column name, and then select Add Data to Pivot. Make sure that the pivot columns and
values look as expected before you begin your analysis.

To remove a pivot, click the drop-down arrow next to the name of a pivot column, and then
select Remove Pivot.

Troubleshooting pivots

 Red fields in the view and fields with exclamation points in the Data pane:
Because the original fields are replaced with new pivot fields, any references to the
original
52
 fields in the view will no longer work. They cause fields to become red in the view or
show a red exclamation point next to the field in the Data pane.
 Null values in the grid: If all of the original fields used in the pivot are removed, for
example in an extract refresh, null values display in the pivot fields.
 No pivot option: Pivot appears when you select two or more columns in a single
Microsoft Excel, text file, Google Sheets, and .pdf data source. If using a different
data source in Tableau Desktop, you can use custom SQL to pivot.

Pivot using custom SQL (Tableau Desktop)

You can also use custom SQL to pivot your data, even if you aren't working Excel, text file,
Google Sheets, and .pdf data sources. When you use the UNION ALL operator in a custom
SQL query, you can take values from distinct columns and put them into a new column.

For example, suppose you have a table called Contest. Contest

Runner Start Time End Time

Amanda 9/3/2016 3:04 PM 9/3/2016 3:25 PM

Oscar 9/3/2016 3:04 PM 9/3/2016 3:21 PM

William 9/3/2016 3:04 PM 9/3/2016 3:16 PM

To optimize your analysis of this data in Tableau, you can use the following custom SQL query
to pivot the "Start Time" and "End Time" columns so that their values are in a single column.

Select [Runner]
, 'Start' as [Action]
, [Start Time] as [Time]
From [Contest]
Union ALL
Select [Runner]
, 'End' as [Action]
, [End Time] as [Time]
From [Contest]

The above custom SQL query does the following:

 Pivots the Start Time column header into a string value called Start and adds that
value to a new column called Action.
 Pivots the End Time column header into a string value called End and adds that
value to a new column called Action.
 Pivots the Start Time and End Time columns so that their values are in a new
column called Time.

The following table shows the results of this custom SQL query.

53
Runner Action Time

Amanda Start 9/3/2016 3:04 PM

Oscar Start 9/3/2016 3:04 PM

William Start 9/3/2016 3:04 PM

Amanda End 9/3/2016 3:25 PM

Oscar End 9/3/2016 3:21 PM

William End 9/3/2016 3:16 PM

To pivot data using custom SQL

1. Connect to your data.

2. Double-click the New Custom SQL option in the left pane. For more information,
see Connect to a Custom SQL Query.

3. In the Edit Custom SQL dialog box, copy and paste the following custom SQL query
and replace the contents with information about your table:

Select [Static Column]

, 'New Value (from Column Header 1)' as [New Column Header]
, [Pivot Column Values 1] as [New Values]
From [Table]
Union ALL
Select [Static Column]
, 'New Value (from Column Header 2' as [New Column Header]
, [Pivot Column Values 2] as [New Values]
From [Table]
Union ALL
Select [Static Column]
, 'New Value (from Column Header 3' as [New Column Header]
, [Pivot Column Values 3] as [New Values]
From [Table]

Where the following is true:

o Static Column: A comma-delimited list of the columns from Table, both

dimensions and measures, which should not be included in the pivot.
o New Value (from Column Header 1-3): New names that you give to the
original column headers, which are used as row values in the pivot.

54
 o Pivot Column Values 1-3: The columns whose values need to be pivoted into a
single column.
o New Column Header: The name you give the new column that contains the
new row values from New Value (from Column Header 1-3).
o New Values: The name give the new column that contains the original values
from Pivot Column Values 1-3.
o Table: The table that you connected to.

4. Click OK.

55
 7. Advanced Visualization Tools: Using Filters, Using the Detail panel, using the Size
panels, customizing filters, Using and Customizing tooltips, Formatting your data with
colours:

Create Views in Tooltips (Viz in Tooltip) Applies

to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop

As you craft views and look for ways to reveal more details about data to your audience, you can
embed visualizations within tooltips—also known as "Viz in Tooltip."

When a user hovers over a mark, the tooltip displays relevant data and details from another
visualization filtered to that mark.

You can show related vizzes in tooltips to help your audience engage with the data at a different
or deeper level, while keeping them in the current context and maximizing the space
available for the current view.

General steps to create a Viz in Tooltip

1. Create a visualization in the source worksheet in Tableau.

2. Create a visualization in a target worksheet view to serve as the Viz in Tooltip. Give
the worksheet a name that helps you identify it as a Viz in Tooltip.

4. In the source worksheet, click Tooltip in the Marks card. In the Tooltip Editor, insert a
reference to the Viz in Tooltip target worksheet.

Optional: Hide the target sheet for the Viz in Tooltip.

5. Test the resulting Viz in Tooltip by hovering over different marks in the source
worksheet view. If the Viz in Tooltip is too large for the tooltip window, adjust the
height and width of the target worksheet visualization. You might also consider
simplifying the structure and detail in the target visualization.

Note: By default, Viz in Tooltip is filtered on All Fields. Change the level of detail for
Viz in Tooltip by defining a filter on Selected Fields.

56
Configure a Viz in Tooltip

You will need a source worksheet visualization and a target worksheet visualization to create
a Viz in Tooltip.

These steps use the example of a source view that is a map showing sales profits by state, and
a target sheet with a chart that shows profits by product sub-category.

Create the source and target visualizations in a worksheet

1. In Tableau, figure out the worksheet that you want to use as your source visualization.
Or build a new visualization on a new worksheet. This will be your source view.

2. Create a new worksheet to serve as the target visualization.

Keep the number of filters used in the target view to a minimum.

3. Name the target view so that you will be able to identify it in a list of other sheets.

Insert a reference to the target worksheet in the source worksheet tooltip

1. In the source sheet, click the Tooltip button in the Marks card to open the Tooltip Editor.

2. Click the Insert menu in the Tooltip Editor. In the Insert menu, select Sheets, and then
select a target sheet.

For example:

57
The markup for the Viz in Tooltip is automatically added. (In this example, the
original markup fields have been removed.)

Example of markup automatically generated for Viz in Tooltip

This is the resulting markup for this example:

<Sheet name="Tooltip: Profit by Sub-Category" maxwidth="300" maxheight="300"

filter="<All Fields>">

By default, the Viz in Tooltip is filtered on All Fields (filtered on all fields possible,
and on the most specific level of detail).

Click OK.

58
 3. Go back to the source sheet and test the Viz in Tooltip. Hover over different marks to
see the resulting Viz in Tooltip. Make adjustments to the target view as necessary to
improve the Viz in Tooltip.

The Viz in Tooltip in this example shows a message that indicates that some of the
data in the target view is not being shown. If you see this message, you can adjust the
height and width settings in the parameters for the Viz in Tooltip to make the view
size larger.

Change the size of the Viz in Tooltip

You can manually change the maxwidth and maxheight values to resize the Viz in Tooltip.
The default size is 300 by 300 pixels. To change the size, manually replace "300" with
another value. If you need to set the value greater than 600 pixels, you might want to
reconsider whether the target view is a good candidate for Viz in Tooltip.

1. In the source sheet, click the Tooltip button in the Marks card to open the Tooltip Editor.

2. Select the number value for maxwidth and maxheight and type a different value to
replace it. For example:

<Sheet name="Tooltip: Profit by Sub-Category" maxwidth="500" maxheight="500"

filter="<All Fields>">

3. Click OK

59
 Example of a Viz in Tooltip set to 500 pixels width and height. The author also created
more space for the header text in the in the target sheet view.

Change the filter for the Viz in Tooltip

By default, Viz in Tooltip is filtered on All Fields. This means the view is filtered on all
dimensions in the current view (not including fields on the Filters shelf), at the most specific
level of detail.

You can change the level of detail for Viz in Tooltip by defining a filter on selected fields,
similar to filtering on Selected Fields in Filter Actions.

1. In the source sheet, click the Tooltip button in the Marks card to open the Tooltip Editor.

2. Place your cursor within the filter value (filter="<place cursor here>"), and then click
the Insert menu to select an available field. Or, manually replace the <All Fields>
value with the name of a field in the view. For example:

<Sheet name="Tooltip: Profit by Sub-Category" maxwidth="300" maxheight="500"

filter="<State>">

You can also filter more than one selected field by separating the field names with a
comma. For example:

<Sheet name="Tooltip: Profit by Sub-Category" maxwidth="300" maxheight="500"

filter="<Country>,<State>">

To filter on date level, you will need to include the string that specifies the date level with
the field name. For example:

<Sheet name="Tooltip: Profit by Month" maxwidth="300" maxheight="300"

filter="<MONTH(Order Date)>">

Note: The date filter in the Viz in Tooltip script must match exactly the date level of the
field in the view.

60
Hide or show a Viz in Tooltip worksheet

You can hide and show a worksheet used for Viz in Tooltip with options similar to those for
dashboards and stories.

Hide a Viz in Tooltip worksheet

Note: If the source sheet is hidden for a dashboard, you will first need to first unhide that
worksheet from its dashboard to access it.

To hide a Viz in Tooltip worksheet, from the tab for the target worksheet that is the Viz in
Tooltip, select Hide.

Show a Viz in Tooltip worksheet

To show a Viz in Tooltip worksheet, from the tab for the source worksheet, select Unhide All
Sheets.

61
Examples of Viz in Tooltip

When you create a Viz in Tooltip, users can hover over a mark to examine details-on-
demand, within the context of the original view. A Viz in Tooltip is a static image of data
from another view that is relevant to a mark in the current view. Hovering over or selecting
the mark reveals data from another sheet—filtered for that mark—in its tooltip.

Use Viz in Tooltip to show:

 Data at another level of detail

 Different, but relevant data

 How the value of a mark changes over time

62
  Multiple visualizations in one tooltip

 A legend for the main view

When you show related views in tooltips, you can help your audience engage with the data at a
deeper level, while maximizing the space available for the current view.

63
Tips and notes on using and configuring Viz in Tooltip

 You can use worksheets to create a Viz in Tooltip, but you cannot use dashboards or
stories to create a Viz in Tooltip.
 A Viz in Tooltip is a static image of a target view, not an interactive sheet. A Viz in
Tooltip cannot have its own Viz in Tooltip.
 You will need a source worksheet visualization and a target worksheet visualization
to create a Viz in Tooltip. You will need to create a target view to make it available in
the Tooltip Editor.
 Use a standard naming scheme for the target sheets you plan to show in tooltips, such
as Tooltip: Name of View. Using a standard naming scheme will help you keep track
of views that you are using in tooltips.
 For the target view, consider the size of the view data and how the view will look in
the tooltip. You will be able to specify the size for the Viz in Tooltip when you
configure it, but you will need to check to see how it is displaying and possibly make
adjustments to the view before you publish it.

Remember that the target view is displayed in the context of the source view. Keeping
the target visualization simple can help with performance and reduce cognitive load.

 If you click Show Me in the source sheet and it changes the view structure, all tooltip
edits including Viz in Tooltip references will be reset. You will need to reconfigure
the Viz in Tooltip.
 One target sheet can be referenced by one Viz in Tooltip source sheet at a time,
because filters are applied directly to the referenced sheet. When a sheet is already
being used as a target sheet in a tooltip, it becomes unavailable for selection in the
Tooltip Editor.
 By default, Viz in Tooltip is filtered on All Fields, which considers all fields in the
view (at the most specific level of detail) when identifying matching records. You can
change the level of detail for Viz in Tooltip by defining a filter on Selected Fields,
similar to filtering on Selected Fields in Filter Actions. Filtering on Selected Fields
does not work across different data sources. If the source and target views are using
different data sources, filtering on All Fields will automatically detect the fields in
common (if they share the same alias), and filter on them. Filtering on Selected Fields,
however, will not work.

64
 8. Creating Dashboards & Storytelling, creating your first dashboard and Story,
Design for different displays, adding interactivity to your Dashboard, Distributing &
Publishing your Visualization.
Create a Dashboard

Create a dashboard, and add or replace sheets

You create a dashboard in much the same way you create a new worksheet.

1. At the bottom of the workbook, click the New Dashboard icon:

2. From the Sheets list at left, drag views to your dashboard at right.

3. To replace a sheet, select it in the dashboard at right. In the Sheets list at left,
hover over the replacement sheet, and click the Swap Sheets button.

Add interactivity

 In the upper corner of sheet, enable the Use as Filter option to use selected marks in
the sheet as filters for other sheets in the dashboard.

65
Add dashboard objects and set their options

In addition to sheets, you can add dashboard objects that add visual appeal and interactivity.
Here's guidance about each type:

 Horizontal and Vertical objects provide layout containers that let you group related
objects together and fine-tune how your dashboard resizes when users interact with
them.
 Text objects can provide headers, explanations, and other information.
 Image objects add to the visual flavor of a dashboard, and you can link them to
specific target URLs.
 Web Page objects display target pages in the context of your dashboard. Be sure
to review these web security options, and be aware that some web pages don't
allow themselves to be embedded
 Blank objects help you adjust spacing between dashboard items.
 Navigation objects let your audience navigate from one dashboard to another, or to
other sheets or stories. You can display text or an image to indicate the button's
destination to your users, specify custom border and background colors, and
provide informational tooltips.
 Download objects let your audience quickly create a PDF file, PowerPoint slide, or
PNG image of an entire dashboard, or a crosstab of selected sheets. Formatting
options are similar to Navigation objects.
 Extension objects let you add unique features to dashboards or integrate them
with applications outside Tableau.
 Ask Data objects let users enter conversational queries for specific data source
fields, which authors optimize for specific audiences such as sales, marketing, and
support staff.

Add an object

From the Objects section at left, and drag an item to the dashboard on the right:

66
Copy objects

You can copy and paste objects either within the current dashboard, or from dashboards in
other sheets and files. You can even copy objects between Tableau Desktop and Tableau in
your web browser.

You can't, however, copy the following:

 Sheets in a dashboard
 Items that rely on a specific sheet, such as filters, parameters, and legends
 Layout containers with something you can't copy inside them, like a sheet or filter
 Objects on a device layout
 Dashboard titles

1. Select a dashboard object, and from the object menu, select Copy Dashboard Item.
Or from the main menu, select Dashboard > Copy Selected Dashboard Item.

2. Go to the dashboard where you want to paste the object. Then either select nothing to
paste in the upper-left corner of the dashboard, or select an existing item to paste
next to.

3. In Tableau Desktop, choose File > Paste. In a browser, either choose Edit > Paste or
use the keyboard shortcut for pasting.

4. The object is pasted 10 pixels below and to the right of the upper-left corner of the
dashboard or the selected object. To move the pasted object, drag the handle at the
top.

67
Set options for objects

Click the object to select it. Then click the arrow in the upper corner to open the shortcut menu.

Detailed options for Image objects

With the Image object, you can either insert image files into dashboards or link to images posted
on the web. In either case, you can specify a URL the image opens when clicked, adding
interactivity to your dashboard.

1. From the Objects section at left, drag an Image object to your dashboard at right.
Or, on an existing Image object in a dashboard, click the pop-up menu in the upper
corner, and choose Edit Image.

2. Click either Insert Image File to embed an image file into the workbook or Link to
Image to link to a web-based image.

Consider linking to a web-based image when:

o The image is very large and your dashboard audience will view it in a browser
o The image is an animated GIF file.

68
 o

3. If you're inserting an image, click Choose to select the file. If you're linking to an
image, enter its web URL.

4. Set remaining image fitting, URL linking, and alt text options. (Alt text describes the
image in screen-reading applications for improved accessibility.)

Detailed options for Navigation and Download objects

Navigation and Download objects have several unique options that help you visually indicate a
navigation destination or file format.

A navigation button using text for the button style

1. In the upper corner of the object, click the object menu, and choose Edit Button.

2. Do one of the following:

o From the Navigate to menu, choose a sheet outside the current dashboard.
o From the Export to menu, choose a file format.

3. Choose image or text for Button Style, specify the image or text you want to appear,
and then set related formatting options.

4. For Tooltip text, add explanatory text that appears when viewers hover over the
button. This text is optional and typically best used with image buttons. Show
and hide objects by clicking a button

Show/Hide buttons let dashboard viewers toggle the visibility of dashboard objects, revealing
them only when necessary.

69
How hidden objects affect layouts

When a floating object is hidden, it simply reveals any objects beneath it. Show/Hide buttons
can be particularly helpful when you want to temporarily hide a floating group of filters to
reveal more of a visualization.

When a tiled object is hidden, the results depend on the object's level in the layout hierarchy.

 In most cases, you'll want to place objects you plan to hide in a Horizontal or
Vertical layout container, because hidden objects will have their space filled in by
other objects in the container.
 By contrast, in the Tiled layout container at the very top of the layout hierarchy,
a hidden object leaves blank space behind.

Add and configure a Show/Hide button

1. Select a dashboard object.

2. From the pop-up menu in the upper corner of the object, select Add Show/Hide
Button.

3. From the button menu, choose Edit Button.

4. Set these options:

o Dashboard Item to Show/Hide specifies the target object. (An object can be
the target of only one Show/Hide button at a time. Choose None if you want to
target the object with another Show/Hide button.)
o Button Style specifies whether image or text displays for the button.
o Button Appearance specifies how the button looks when the item is both
shown and hidden. Click Item Shown and Item Hidden to choose
different images or text for each state.
70
 o Tooltip text provides explanatory text that appears when viewers hover
over the button. (For example, you might enter "Show or hide filters" for a
container with filter menus.)

5. If necessary, drag the button to a different location or resize it to better fit your layout.

Create a Story Create a

story point

1. Click the New Story tab.

Tableau opens a new story as your starting point:

2. In the lower-left corner of the screen, choose a size for your story. Choose from one
of the predefined sizes, or set a custom size, in pixels:

3. By default, your story gets its title from the sheet name. To edit it, right-click the
sheet tab, and choose Rename Sheet.

If you're using Tableau Desktop, you can also rename a story by double-clicking the title.

4. To start building your story, double-click a sheet on the left to add it to a story point.

In Tableau Desktop, you can also drag sheets into your story point.

71
 When you add a sheet to a story point, that sheet remains connected to the original
sheet. If you modify the original sheet, your changes will automatically be reflected
on the story points that use it.

5. Click Add a caption to summarize the story point.

In Tableau Desktop, you can highlight a key takeaway for your viewers by dragging a
text object to the story worksheet and typing a comment.

6. To further highlight the main idea of this story point, you can change a filter or sort
on a field in the view. Then save your changes by clicking Update on the story
toolbar above the navigator box:

7. Add another story point by doing one of the following:

o Click Blank to use a fresh sheet for the next story point.

o Start customizing a story point and click Save as New on the toolbar above the
navigator box.

o Click Duplicate to use the current story point as the basis for a new one.

Explore layout options

72
You can refine the look of your story using the options on the Layout tab.

1. Click the Layout tab.

2. Choose a navigator style that best suits your story, and show or hide the next
and previous arrows.

Format a story

Resize captions (Tableau Desktop only)

Sometimes the text in one or more of your captions is too long to fit inside the height of the
navigator. In this case, you can re-size the captions vertically and horizontally.

1. In the navigator, select a caption.

2. Drag the border left or right to resize the caption horizontally, down to
resize vertically, or select a corner and drag diagonally to resize the caption
both horizontally and vertically.

All captions in the navigator update to the new size.

Fit a dashboard to a story

You can fit a dashboard to the exact size of a story. For example, if your story is exactly 800
by 600 pixels, you can shrink or expand a dashboard to fit inside that space.

Click the Size drop-down menu and select the story you want the dashboard to fit inside.

73
 

Format a story's shading, title, and text objects (Tableau Desktop only)

To open the Format Story pane, select Format > Story.

Clear all formatting (Tableau Desktop only)

 To reset a story to its default format settings, click the Clear button at the bottom of
the Format Story pane.
 To clear a single format setting, right-click (Windows) or control-click (macOS) the
format setting you want to undo in the Format Story pane. Then select Clear.

For example, if you want to clear the alignment of the story title, right-click (control-
click on Mac) Alignment in the Title section, and then select Clear.

74
Delete a story point

Click the X in the toolbar above the point's caption:

Present your story

1. In Tableau Desktop, click the Presentation Mode button on the toolbar.

Or, publish the story to Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server, and click the Full
Screen button in the upper-right corner of the browser.

2. To step through your story, click the arrow to the right of the story points. Or,
in Tableau Desktop, use the arrow keys on your keyboard.

3. To exit Presentation or Full Screen mode, press Esc

75
 9) Tableau file types, publishing to Tableau Online, Sharing your
visualizations, printing, and Exporting
Tableau File Types :

 Workbooks (.twb) – Tableau workbook files have the .twb file extension.
Workbooks hold one or more worksheets, plus zero or more dashboards and
stories.
 Bookmarks (.tbm) – Tableau bookmark files have the .tbm file extension.
Bookmarks contain a single worksheet and are an easy way to quickly share
your work.
 Extract (.hyper) – Tableau extract files have the .hyper extension. Extract files are
a local copy of a subset or entire data set that you can use to share data with others,
when you need to work offline, and improve performance.
 Data Source (.tds) – Tableau data source files have the .tds file extension. Data
source files do not contain the actual data but rather the information necessary to
connect to the actual data as well as any modifications you've made on top of
the actual data

Changing the Repository Location

1. Select File > Repository Location.
2. Select a new folder that will act as the new repository location in the Select
a Repository dialog box.
3. Restart Tableau so that it uses the new
repository. Share your findings:
Use Tableau Public:

1. Select Server > Tableau Public > Save to Tableau Public.

2. Enter your Tableau Public credentials in the dialog box.

If you don't have a Tableau Public profile, click Create one now for free open the Data
Source page. Then in the top-right corner, change the Connection type
from Live to Extract.

76
4. For the second (and last) time, select Server > Tableau Public > Save to Tableau
Public.

5. When your browser opens, review your embedded story. It will look like this:

6. Click Edit Details to update the title of your viz, add a description, and more.

7. Click Save.

8. To share with colleagues, click Share at the bottom of your viz.

9. To share your story:

a. Copy the Embed Code and paste it in your web page HTML.

b. Copy the Link and send the link to your colleagues.

c. Send an email using your default email client by clicking the email icon.

d. Share on Twitter or Facebook by clicking the appropriate icon.

77
Use Tableau Server:

Publish to Tableau Server:

1. Select Server > Publish Workbook or click Share on the toolbar.

2. Enter the name of the server (or IP address) that you want to connect to in the
dialog box and click Connect.

3. In the Name field, enter Improve Profits in the South.

4. If you want, enter a description for reference, for example "Take a look at the story
I built in Tableau Desktop!"

5. Under Sheets, click Edit, and then clear all sheets except Improve Profits in the
South.

6. Click Publish.

If prompted, enter your server credentials.

The Publishing Complete dialog box lets you know that your story is ready to view.

78
Send a link to your work:

1. navigate to the Improve Profits in the South story that you published.

2. Click Improve Profits in the South.

Your screen will update to look like this:

3. From the menu, select Share.

4. To share your story:

a. By copying the Embed Code and pasting it in your web page HTML.

b. Send a link by copying the Link and sending the link to your colleagues.

c. Send an email by using your default email client: Click the email icon.

Print Views from Tableau Desktop:

Set up the page:

To begin, select File > Page Setup.

79
General settings :

 Show - Show or hide the title, view, caption, color legend, shape legend, size
legend, and map legend.
 Headers and Breaks - Control the appearance of these table elements.
o Repeat headers and legends on each page - adds table row and column headers
at the top of each printed page when a view breaks across several pages.
o Break pages on pane boundaries - prevents page breaks in the middle of
a table cell.
 Pages Shelf - If the view uses the Pages Shelf, specify whether to print the
current page or all pages.

Layout settings:

 Legend Layout - If you include one or more legends, select how you want
the legends to appear on the printed page.
 Margins - Specify top, bottom, left, and right margins by typing values into the
text boxes.
 Centering - Optionally, select whether to center the view horizontally or vertically
— or both—on the page.

Print Scaling settings:

 Print Scaling - Scale a view to fit within a single page or print across multiple
pages. Select from the following options:
o Automatic – Scales the view automatically based on the paper size.
o Scale to – Scales the view to the specified percentage of its original size.
o Fit to – Scales the view to fit within the specified area. Select the number of
printed pages across and down. For example, if you have a really wide
view that is not very tall, you can specify three pages across by one page
down.
 Page Orientation -
o Use Printer Setting – Use the page orientation that is already specified by
the printer.
o Portrait – Presents the view so that it is oriented vertically on the printed page.
o Landscape – Presents the view so that it is oriented horizontally on the
printed page.

The following diagram shows the difference between portrait and landscape page
orientations.

Print a view

After Page Setup settings, select File > Print

80
Show Selections:

When this option is selected any selections you’ve made in the views will be maintained
while printing.

Change the Print Range:

Select from the following print ranges:

 Entire Workbook - Prints all the worksheets in the workbook.

 Active Sheet - Prints only the sheet currently displayed in the workbook.
 Selected Sheets - Prints the selected sheets.

Print to PDF

Print to PDF using a Windows computer:

1. Specify page setup options for each sheet in your workbook.

2. Select File > Print to PDF.

3. In the Print to PDF dialog box, select the print Range:

o Entire Workbook ,Active Sheet ,Selected Sheets

4. Select a Paper Size. If you select Unspecified, the paper size will expand to
the necessary size to fit the entire view on a single page.

6. Select View PDF File After Printing if you want to automatically open the PDF
after creating it.
7. Select whether to Show Selections. When this option is selected the selections in
the views are maintained in the PDF.
8. Click OK and specify where you want to save the PDF. Then click Save.

81
Print to PDF using a Mac computer

1. Specify page setup options for each sheet in your workbook.

2. Select File > Print.

3. In the Print dialog box, click Show Details to select a print range:
o Entire Workbook,, Active Sheet, Selected Sheets

4. Click PDF > Save as PDF.

5. Specify where you want to save the PDF, then click Save.

Export Data from Tableau Desktop

Export data in the data source

Export your data to .csv file

. Exporting your data in the Tableau data source using this format creates an independent data set
and can be a convenient and flexible way to share your data with others.

There are two primary ways you can export your data in the data source to a .csv file in Tableau:

From the Data Source page: On the Data Source page, select Data > Export Data to
CSV to export all the data in your data source to .csv file.

From the view: On the sheet tab, drag a field to the Columns or Rows shelf, click the View Data
icon in the Data pane, and click the Export All button.

Extract your data

Another way to export all of your data or a subset of your data in the data source is to create an
extract (.hyper) file. An extract functions as an independent data.

82
Export the data source

After you connect to your data, you can export and save your data source as a Tableau data
source (.tds) file. Saving the data source creates a shortcut to your remote data

Export data used in the view

Export data in the view to Microsoft Access or .csv

Export the data that is used to generate the view as an Access database (Windows only) or
.csv file (Mac only).

1. In Tableau Desktop, select Worksheet > Export > Data.

2. Select a location and type a name for your Access database or .csv file.

3. Click Save.

If you're on Windows, the Export Data to Access dialog box displays to give you the
option to immediately use the new Access database and continue working in Access
without interrupting your work flow.

Export crosstab of data in the view to Excel

If the view you are exporting contains a lot of data, In this case, if you choose to exclude the
formatting from the export, performance of the export might improve.

 In Tableau Desktop: select Worksheet > Export > Crosstab to Excel.

If you're using a Mac, this option opens a dialog box where you can save the file. You
must then manually open the file in Excel.
 In Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, open a view or dashboard
and select Download > Crosstab.
Select which sheets from the workbook to export data from.

Copy data in the view to clipboard

Copy the data used to generate the view so that you can paste it into another application.

1. Create a view.

83
 2. Select Worksheet > Copy > Data.

3. Open another application, such as Word, and paste the data into the document.

Copy crosstab of data in the view to clipboard

Copying a crosstab is restricted by some general conditions:

 You must copy all records in the view. You cannot copy a subset of records.
 This option is valid for aggregated views only. It cannot be used on disaggregated
views of data because a crosstab is by definition an aggregated view of data. This
means the Aggregate Measures option on the Analysis menu must be selected in
order for copying a crosstab to work properly.
 You cannot copy a crosstab if the view contains continuous dimensions such as
continuous dates and times.
 Other restrictions may apply depending on the data in your view.

After the general conditions are met, copy the crosstab.

1. Create a view.

2. Select Worksheet > Copy > Crosstab.

3. Open another application, such as Excel, and paste the crosstab.

84
AIM.10) Creating custom charts, cyclical data and circular area charts, Dual Axis
charts.

Creating custom charts :

Set up configuration

Each time you use this extension you'll want it to be based on different data found on
different worksheets so, we'll let the dashboard author pick which worksheets and fields
should be used in a configuration pop-up window. We'll need to build four inputs and a
button. We need to collect: the source worksheet to build the chart from, the dimension and
measure fields to use on that worksheet, and the worksheet we want to filter when you click
on the chart.

Set up the canvas

we'll need to get the dashboard data and create the chart, let's set up the canvas where it will
be drawn. Make sure to bring in the Tableau Extensions API and the Chart.js library to your
index.html page. Then set up a canvas element we can use to draw the chart as well as a
container to help with styling and positioning of the canvas.

Get the chart data

In order to build the chart, we'll need to get data from the dashboard, specifically from the
worksheets and fields selected in the configuration. Once you get the worksheet data you can
loop through the selected columns that contain the necessary values to plot in the next step.

Draw the chart

Now that we have the data let's pass it to Chart.js to plot a chart. Specifically, you can build a
polar area chart. This will require you to pass the data as well as some options on how you
want the chart to appear. This is where you can start to add additional customization to your
chart.

Filter the dashboard

You may want to be able to use the custom chart to filter the rest of your dashboard. We can
do this by adding an event that triggers whenever a mark is selected in our Chart.js polar area
chart. Once the event is triggered we can use the data received to apply a filter to the rest of
the dashboard.

cyclical data and circular area charts

85
WHAT IS A CIRCULAR AREA CHART?

It Also known as the Spider or Radar Chart, the Circular Area Chart, this chart shows the
different dimensions such as scores and rankings of one item. The further out a point is from
the center, the higher it ranks in a category.

WHEN TO USE A CIRCULAR AREA CHART

Circular area charts are a great way to compare members of a dimension in a function of
several metrics.

Dual Axis charts:

What is a Dual Axis Chart?
Dual-axis charts are a combination of two charts. It is used to visualize two or more different
measures in two different chart types i.e. it depicts the relationship between two variables
with different amplitude and scale.
To create a dual-axis chart we must have one date column and two measures.
steps to create a Dual Axis Chart
 Connect a file
 Drag and Drop Category into the column shelf
 Drag and Drop Profit and Discount into the row shelf
 Here, we have two charts present on multiple axes

 Right-click on Sum (Profit)

 Select Dual-axis from the drop-down
 We get the desired dual-axis chart

86
 In the Mark pane, you will get SUM(Discount) and SUM(Profit)
 Select the required chart from the drop-down
 In SUM(Discount) select Bar chart
 In SUM(Profit) select Line Chart

87