Tableau Exam
Computed Sort
1.Right click on the field in the visualization to sort, and select "Sort" 2.Select "Field" from the Sort By. Select the Field to do the computed sort. When you apply programmatic rules for sorting, it is known as computed sorting. For example: Sorting product names by their alphabetic order. Computed sorting includes sorting on axis and sorting specific fields.
What should be specified to connect to multiple tables in a single data source at one time?
A join
Area Fill Chart (Stacked area chart)
A line chart where the area between the line and the axis are shaded with a color. Show the share of multiple contributions in reference to another dimension such as time. See how they contribute to the total. Perfect if you want to see how different subcategories contribute to the total. Stacks trends on top of each other to illustrate how a part-to-whole distribution is changing over time. In the stacked area chart, lines are plotted one at a time, with the height of the most recently-plotted group serving as a moving baseline. As such, the fully-stacked height of the topmost line will correspond to the total when summing across all groups. Use a stacked area chart when you want to track not only the total value, but also want to understand the breakdown of that total by groups. Comparing the heights of each segment of the curve allows us to get a general idea of how each subgroup compares to the other in their contributions to the total.
Table calculations (continued)
A table calculation is a transformation you apply to the values in a visualization. Table calculations are a special type of calculated field that computes on the local data in Tableau. They are calculated based on what is currently in the visualization and do not consider any measures or dimensions that are filtered out of the visualization. You can use table calculations for a variety of purposes, including: •Transforming values to rankings •Transforming values to show running totals •Transforming values to show percent of total
Selection Filter
After dragging a pill to the Filter card, a box pops up and select "General" - the default tab You can manually select and unselect which fields you want to show You can also check the "Exclude" box and it will strike through all the fields and you can uncheck the ones you want to show - works best if you only want to show a few values
Top Filter
After dragging a pill to the Filter card, a box pops up and select "Top" You can either filter by field or by formula
Dashboard
Collection of views from multiple worksheets
Stacked Bar Chart
Comparing categories within a category. Sort in order to show ranking of elements. Sub-category comparison is diminished through differing baseline reference point. Use data labels to mitigate uneven floors. Use 0 for axis floor to ensure data veracity.
Packaged Data Source (.tdsx)
Contains all information in the data source (.tds) file, as well as a copy of any local file-based data or extracts. A packaged data source is a single zipped file. Use this format if you want to share your data source with people who do not have access to the underlying data that is defined in the connection information.
SQL Queries
Custom queries can be built into Tableau directly to help reformat data into a structure that helps improve dashboard, analysis and visualization performance.
Blending
Data blending is effective when Data is coming from multiple data sources. (Common fields, custom-defined relationship)
Data Blending (continued)
Data blending is performed on a sheet-by-sheet basis and is established when a field from a second data source is used in the view. Data blending requires at least 2 data sources. Whichever data source this first field comes from will become the primary data source. Switch to another data source and use a field from that data source on the same worksheet, and the data source will secondary data source. The orange link means the data is blended because the data sources are related automatically. The grey link means the data is not blended. If you click the link, it will turn orange and the data is blended. When you drag a field from a secondary data source to the view, you might see a warning - this happens when the secondary data source has no relationship to the primary data source. Ex: suppose you have two data sources that are related by the State and Date fields. At least one of these fields must have the active link icon next to it in the secondary data source. You can make the link active by clicking the link icon in the Data pane or by using the related field from the primary data source in the view. The secondary data source may not have any relationships to the primary data source. Look in the Data pane for the link icon. Tableau automatically links fields that have the same name. If your fields do not have the same name, you must define a relationship between them.
Crosstab/Text Table
Data list that has one set of values for each column, and another set of values for each row. Categorical/discrete data on the rows and columns; numerical/continuous data as the values in the Marks card. If you already have a visualization and you want to create a crosstab from it, you can right-click on the sheet name, and select "Duplicate as Crosstab." The resulting crosstab is directly linked to the visualization that you used as your base.
Mobile device management
Enables us to think about how we might change our design depending on how people access, or which tool people use to access our dashboard. Go to the "Device Preview" button right under the Dashboard tab at the left-hand side You get a menu at the top and change the "Device type" to Desktop and click "Add Desktop Layout" at the right. Then you can change the "Device type" to Tablet and click "Add Tablet Layout". You can now make changes to the tablet view - perhaps minimize some of the extra functionality (ex: taking out some of the filters. On the left-hand menu, you can also change "Size - Tablet" from Default to Fit Width so people do not have to scroll from left to right. After making those changes, if you toggle between the two views on the left-hand side between Desktop and Tablet, you can see how the view changes.
Connection Types
Extract, Live
Date
Filtering on Order Date as an example, we can look at discrete vs. continuous filters Discrete filters include Year and Month. If we choose those, the filter will only consist of discrete values (Year: 2014, 2015, etc. and Month: January, February, etc.) Continuous filters include Relative Date and Range of Dates Relative Date allows us to select a period to report on. We can pick any particular date relative to today. Range of Dates shows a slider where we can select which ones we're interested in.
Grouping by Boundary
Format our layout containers to give them an outline but, really just kind of sections off charts that are related or that we want people to kind of look at together.
How to create a stacked bar chart (do it 2 ways)
Hint: Use Measure Names and Measure Values
Benefits of Context Filter
Improve performance - If you set a lot of filters or have a large data source, the queries can be slow. You can set one or more context filters to improve performance. Create a dependent numerical or top N filter - You can set a context filter to include only the data of interest, and then set a numerical or a top N filter. You can modify a context filter by: Removing the field from the Filters shelf - If other context filters remain on the shelf, a new context is computed. Editing the filter - A new context is computed each time you edit a context filter. Selecting Remove from Context - The filter remains on the shelf as a standard filter. If other context filters remain on the shelf, a new context is computed.
Extension Object in Dashboards
In a Tableau workbook, open a dashboard sheet. From the Objects section, drag Extension to the dashboard. In the "Choose an Extension" dialog box, do either of the following: Click My Extensions, and navigate to a .trex file you previously downloaded. Click Extension Gallery, and download a new extension. Then click My Extensions, and navigate to the downloaded .trex file. If prompted, allow or deny the dashboard extension access to data in the workbook. Configure a dashboard extension: Some dashboard extensions provide configuration options that let you customize features. Select the extension in the dashboard, and from the drop-down menu in the upper-right corner, choose Configure. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure the extension.
Types of Joins
Inner, left, right, full outer, union
Joins
Joining multiple tables or sheets from a single data source.
Story
Let you create a sequence of story points consisting of worksheets in your workbook to build a persuasive narrative about your insights. You can only create stories after you have data visualizations completed - it's the last step before presentation.
Keep it Simple
Make it as easy as possible for users to be able to compare and remember data
When you create a set...
Make sure to use the actual field you created the set off of in your visualization and if you created the set based on a specific measure (ex: Top 10 by Profit (Sum) or Condition: Profit > 100) then make sure to use the measure in your visualization as well.
Parameter
Parameters are dynamic values that can replace constant values in calculations, filters, and reference lines.
Bar Charts
Requires one dimension and one measure. Most effective medium for uni-dimensional categorical comparisons. Sort in order to show ranking of elements. Comparison is facilitated by common base of reference. Use 0 for axis floor to ensure data veracity.
How to assign aliases?
Right-click on the field that you want to assign an alias. Select "Aliases" from the dropdown. In the column "Value (Alias)", double-click to type the Alias and click "OK."
Change Default Properties for a Data Field
Right-click on the field that you want to change default properties. Then select "Default Properties." You can change: Comment, Color (change the color for each category), Shape (change the shape for each category), Number Format (only for numeric field), Sort (sort the category). Changing default properties will be applied to all worksheets on this workbook.
Share a twbx as a pdf
Select "File" -> "Print to PDF" You can choose to print the entire workbook/active sheet/selected sheets.
Share a twbx as an image
Select "Worksheet" -> "Export" -> "Image" You can customize the image to include/exclude additional information.
Story
Sequence of worksheets or dashboards that work together to convey information
Create a Set
Sets in Tableau are used to create subsets of data based on certain conditions defined by the users. Icon for a set is like a sideways Venn Diagram. You can use sets to compare and ask questions about a subset of data. Sets are custom fields that define a subset of data based on some conditions. After you create a set, it displays at the bottom of the Data pane in the Sets section. You can drag it into the viz like any other field. Right click on a field to create the set Approach #1 - Manually select the values for a set Approach #2 - based on a condition to create a set Approach #3 - use the top function/formula to create a set
Scatter Plot
Showing correlation among variables. Showing concentration among variables. Can use up to 5 variables, however recommend using no more than 3 in the following order: Color, Size, Shape. Compare two numerical values where one value is plotted on the X-axis and the other value is plotted on the Y-axis; allow you to see relationships between data. When you first add measures to the scatterplot, it aggregates them as SUM so you only see one single point on your scatterplot. However, you are interested in seeing the individual data points and not just the broad summary. To do that, you will need to change the summary on columns and rows from a sum or from a calculated value to a Dimension (switching from a measure to a dimension). To do that, right-click the pills and click "Dimension." To swap the horizontal and vertical axes, click the swap button on the toolbar menu (it has an arrow in the image) or do ctrl+w.
Histogram: Leading Practices
Showing distributions across a category. Turning measure into a dimension. Bins are equal segmentations of the data set. For unequal segmentations use a calculated field.
Worksheet
Single view along with shelves, legends, and the Data Pane
Tableau data extract (.tde)
Stores Tableau data as a filtered and aggregated extract. You have data from a source and rather than including the entirety of that source, you have filtered and summarized that data and saved that separately.
Tableau bookmark (.tbm)
Stores a connection to a worksheet in another Tableau workbook.
Maximize White Space
Take advantage of the distinctions between our charts
ATTR() aggregation
The ATTR() aggregation indicates there are multiple values, but only one was expected. Ex: when blending two or more data sources, fields from the secondary data source are automatically wrapped in ATTR() because fields from a secondary data source must be aggregated. If there are multiple values for a secondary dimension, then ATTR(Secondary Dimension) will show an asterisk in the view. The asterisk is an indication that the relationship or the view needs to be adjusted.
Table calculation
Table calculations are performed on the returned results of a view. Right-click on Measure (ex: Sum of Sales) pill and select Quick Table Calculation Table calculations are computed locally in Tableau rather than being handled in the database. Altering the view by adding or removing fields changes the Field Set, which in turn alters the Table Calculation. If we want to reuse a table calculation we created, we can drag the pill over to the data pane and rename it. Then if we want to use it again, we can drag it from the data pane into our visualization. For any Tableau visualization, there is a virtual table that is determined by the dimensions in the view. This table is not the same as the tables in your data source. Specifically, the virtual table is determined by the dimensions within the "level of detail," which means the dimensions on any of the following shelves or cards in a Tableau worksheet. When selecting "Add Table Calculation" after right-clicking on the Measure (ex: Sum of Sales) pill, you can select many options from "Compute Using": Table(across), Table(down), Table(across then down), Table(down then across), Pane(down), Pane(across then down), Pane(down then across), Cell, and Specific Dimensions. Addressing and partitioning When you add a table calculation, you must use all dimensions in the level of detail either for partitioning (scoping) or for addressing (direction). The dimensions that define how to group the calculation (the scope of data it is performed on) are called partitioning fields. The table calculation is performed separately within each partition. The dimensions you leave unchecked in Specific Dimensions are partitioning fields. The remaining dimensions, upon which the table calculation is performed, are called addressing fields, and determine the direction of the calculation. The dimensions you check in Specific Dimensions are addressing fields. Difference between Table and Pane: Table is the entire table from top to bottom Pane is just one section of the table separated by variables/dimensions.
Grouping by Similarity
This could be by color, sizes, or fonts.
Grouping by Connectedness
This is where maybe physical lines connect charts or objects within our dashboard to kind of help organize them as being connected.
Union
Though union is not a type of join, union is another method for combining two or more tables by appending rows of data from one table to another. Ideally, the tables that you union have the same number of fields, and those fields have matching names and data types.
Buttons on Dashboards
You can now add navigation actions via dashboard buttons to seamlessly move from your dashboard to a targeted dashboard, sheet, or story. To create a button, simply drag and drop 'Button' from the objects pane in Tableau Desktop. Then select a button image and determine where it should navigate—and you can even resize the button or add a tooltip to describe what the button will do.
Image Object in Dashboards
To use this object: Drag the Image object onto your dashboard Select the required image when prompted Center, Fit and Resize the image as required by using the arrow in the top right of the image object. Click on the drop-down arrow in the box of the image and select "Set URL..."
Calculated Fields
Use calculated fields to create your own variables; also help to organize your data to make it easier to view and analyze. To create a calculated field: Right-click on any dimension in the Data Pane and select "Create" and then "Calculated Field" You can rename the variable to anything you want Then in the box you can write your custom formula (the word in brackets represents a dimension that already exists in the Data Pane - when you type it in, the drop-down will show it and you can select it) Ex: IF [Country] = "United States" THEN "North America" ELSEIF [Country] = "Australia" THEN "Oceania" ELSEIF..... END Ex: CASE [Selected dimension] WHEN ' ' THEN [....] END IIF function: provides users an option to return a specific value in the event the test expression doesn't return either TRUE or FALSE, i.e. is null or unknown. IIF(test, then, else, [unknown]) Once you finish writing the formula, press OK and your new calculated field will appear in the Data Pane.
Highlight Table
Use highlight tables to compare categorical data using color To create a highlight table: Place one or more dimensions on the Columns shelf and one or more dimensions on the Rows shelf You then select Square as the mark type and place a measure of interest on the Color shelf. Showing a lot of detailed information with an aspect of the data color coded for highlights.
Hierarchies
When you connect to a data source, Tableau automatically separates data fields into hierarchies so you can easily break down the viz. You can also create your own custom hierarchies. To create a hierarchy: In the Data pane, drag a field and drop it directly on top of another field. When prompted, enter a name for the hierarchy and click OK Drag additional fields into the hierarchy as needed. You can also re-order fields in the hierarchy by dragging them to a new position. Drill up or down in a hierarchy: When you add a field from a hierarchy to the visualization, you can quickly drill up or down in the hierarchy to add or subtract more levels of detail. In the visualization, click the + or - icon on the hierarchy field. Remove a hierarchy: In the Data pane, right-click the hierarchy and select "Remove Hierarchy." Method 2: 1. Right click on a field to start creating a hierarchy 2. Once a hierarchy is created, you can right click on other fields to add to the existing hierarchy
Map
When you have geographic data, one of the best ways to summarize it is by creating a map. Drag and drop additional fields to color, size, and details for additional formatting.
Discrete Date Filter
You can create filters to show a date as different date formats ( years, quarters, months, days, week numbers, etc.)
Average and Median Lines
-Go to the "Analytics tab", go to the "Model" area and click "Average with 95% Cl" -To remove it, right-click on it and select "Remove." -Go to the "Analytics tab", go to the "Model" area and click "Median with 95% Cl" -To remove it, right-click on it and select "Remove." -If you want to know what range of values you should consider in your analysis, then using a Trend Line, Average, or Median with confidence intervals is a great way to go.
Visual Grouping
A visual design practice while building a dashboard that will help improve readability and visual layout. Perception tends to group objects into a whole instead of individual elements.
Actions on Dashboards
Actions allow viewers to interact with your Dashboard and let them explore the data by focusing in and highlighting or filtering specific elements and then making that data stand out across charts. Quick way to add interactivity to your reports by helping users to highlight and drill into data. Go to the Dashboard at the top menu and select "Actions..." In the dialog box, click "Add Action" and choose "Highlight..." The dialog box includes options such as Source sheets, run action on (hover, select, menu-select and then there would be a link to run the action -> requires two steps), target sheets, target highlighting (selected fields, dates and times, all fields) Highlighting vs. filtering Highlighting keeps all the data there but has the selected be bright and the rest fade in the black Filtering just keeps the data you selected and removes the rest of the data - only looking at a subset of the data.
Sorting based on a field's values
Can go to the toolbar and halfway down you will see two icons that look like sideways bar charts - sort ascending or sort descending (when you already have a visualization up)
What is the type of join in Data Blending?
Data Blending is a Variation on a left join, but it occurs after aggregation, rather than at a row level. There is no way to change the join type in a data blend, and its really not a join at all, but a variation on a join that occurs after aggregations.
Metadata
Data about data. In Tableau, field name - as displayed in Tableau, table - source table that they are coming from, remote field name - field name from back in the data source. To export, copy and paste all the metadata (highlight, right-click, and select "Copy Values").
Tableau workbook (.twb)
Stores a visualization without source data. Good practice is to always have the source data and Excel workbook in the same folder as the visualization.
Tableau packaged workbook (.twbx)
Stores extracted data and visualizations for viewing in Tableau or Tableau Reader. You are sending a copy of your data and also your worksheets that contain visualizations to other individuals to look at in Tableau so they can interact with them or in Tableau Reader where they can just view your data.
Tableau data source (.tds)
Stores the server address, password, and other information required to access a data source.
Story vs. tabs
Story: lets you create a series of captions and dashboards to guide people through those series of dashboards Examples of stories: trying to drive a very specific message and each section has very specific points that it wants to highlight; focuses on the hierarchy of choice - first at the high national level and then you can drill into more detail Tabbed approach: instead of using the story feature, you can use multiple dashboards within your overall dashboard and when you publish, you get these tabs instead of the story feature.
Measure Values and Measure Names
The Data pane always contains a number of fields that do not come from your original data, two of which are Measure Values and Measure Names. Tableau automatically creates these fields so that you can build certain types of views that involve multiple measures. The Measure Values field contains all the measures in your data, collected into a single field with continuous values. Drag individual measure fields out of the Measure Values card to remove them from the view. The Measure Names field contains the names of all measures in your data, collected into a single field with discrete values.
Blue Things and Green Things
The color is used to indicate which fields are discrete and which are continuous. Blue fields are discrete and green fields are continuous. Blue fields are discrete - they contain a finite number of values. Green fields are continuous - they could contain an infinite number of values.
Stacked and Side-by-Side Bar Charts
Useful when you want to show two different levels of categorical data with a measure. (Ex: Product Category, Product Name, Revenue). Go to the "Show Me" at the top right and choose either Stacked or Side by Side Bar Charts
Relative Date Filter
You can create filters to show a date period that is relative to when you open the view. For example, create dynamic filters to only show the current week, the year to date, or the past 10 days. Relative date filters make it easier to create lasting views that you can publish and share. To create a relative date filter: Drag a date field from the Data window to the Filters shelf Right-click on the Date field and select "Relative Date." Then click "Next" and select "Relative dates." Then select the unit of time you want to base your filter on. For example, to filter to only show the three most recent weeks, select Weeks. Use the options in the lower part of the Filter dialog box to specify which weeks to include in the view. To show the last three weeks click Last and then select the number 3. Date periods include the current unit of time. For example, if you select the last three weeks Tableau will include the current week and the two previous weeks. The range of time that you have selected is displayed in the upper right of the Filter dialog box.
Creating cross-data-source filter
Add a single filter that will work across several data sources (in the dashboard) To do this: You already have the filter created, drag it into your dashboard, and click the box surrounding the filter and click the little arrow for the drop-down menu. Select "Apply to Worksheets" and "All Using Related Data Sources" -> works because we have already specified the relationships between our data sources. Also, in the drop-down menu for the filter, select "Only Relevant Values." As people make other selections, then only the right regions are going to show up. Feeds filters down -> as you make one selection, you're only going to get matching values in the other sources.
Union
Adding new rows to a data set with the same columns
Dashboard Objects
Dashboard allows you to combine multiple sheets and add interactivity. In addition to sheets, you can add objects that add visual appeal and interactivity. •Horizontal and vertical objects provide layout containers that let you group related objects together •Web Page objects display target pages on the dashboard •Blank objects help you adjust spacing between worksheets or cover the worksheets to prevent unnecessary interaction from the users •Text can provide headers, explanations, and other information •Button let the users to navigate from one dashboard to another •Image objects allow you to link them to specific target URLs •Extension let you add unique features to dashboards or integrate them with applications outside Tableau.
How to create an Area Chart
Dimension on Columns shelf, Measure on Rows shelf, Dimension on Color, Area as Mark Type
Dimensions and Measures
Dimensions are categorical fields that can lists of items or locations; Qualitative data. Measures are numerical fields that we can "do math on" or aggregate/multiple/divide; Quantitative data. If Tableau puts an ID field (for example) as a measure, you can drag and drop it on the dimensions pane to fix it.
Live
Direct connect to data. Slows speed but allows you to make updates to source. This refers to a data source that Tableau accesses to provide real-time or near real-time data. Tableau makes queries directly against the database or other sources and returns results.
Shapes
Have the ability to add custom shapes for scatterplots. The Shape card will appear on the Marks card when you have a scatterplot.
Save metadata properties in a .TDS
From Data, select the data source to save metadata properties. Choose "Add to Saved Data Sources" then to save the metadata as tds or tdsx format. TDS files save time and avoid confusion by allowing you to set up the metadata so users can get straight to building visualizations. By default, Tableau saves .tds and .tdsx files to the Datasources folder under your Tableau repository. When you use the default location, you can connect to the data source on the Connect pane. Use this format if everyone who will use the data source has access to the underlying file or database defined in the connection information.
Grouping by Proximity
Objects in a chart or two charts that are very close to one another and so they will be seen as connected.
To union tables using wildcard search
On the data source page, double-click the New Union to set up the union. Click Wildcard (automatic) in the Union dialog box. Enter the search criteria that you want Tableau to use to find tables to include in the union. Click Apply or OK to union.
To union tables manually
On the data source page, double-click the New Union to set up the union. Drag a table from the left pane to the Union dialog box. Select another table from the left pane and drag it directly below the first table. Click Apply or OK to Union.
Path
The Path shelf allows you to encode data by connecting marks using an order: -Dimension - When you place a dimension on the Path shelf, Tableau connects the marks according to the members in the dimension. If the dimension is a date, the drawing order is given by the date order. If the dimension holds words such as customer names or product types, the drawing order is given by the order of the members in the data source. -Measure - When you place a measure on the Path shelf, Tableau connects the marks according to the values of the measure. The measure can be aggregated or disaggregated.
Set (continued)
When you drag a set to the viz in Tableau Desktop, you can choose to show the members of the set or aggregate the members into In/Out categories. In most cases, when you drag a set to the viz, Tableau displays the set using the In/Out mode. This mode separates the set into two categories: In - the members in the set Out - the members that aren't part of the set You can also right-click on the Set and select "Show In/Out of Set" As an alternative to showing the set using In/Out mode, you can list the members in the set. Showing the members in the set automatically adds a filter to the view that includes only the members of the set. Right-click the Set and select "Show Members in Set." Combine Sets After creating two or more sets, you can combine them by right-clicking on one of the sets and selecting "Create Combined Set..." You can select the sets you want to combine and select how you want to combine them - different types of joins.
Histograms
You can also create histograms from continuous values. How to define discrete bins from a continuous measure Right-click on the Continuous measure in the Data Pane that you want to analyze and from the drop-down, select "Create" and then "Bins..." In the dialog box, you can change the field name if you want to. Then you can change the size of the bin. Before you do this, you have to think about how large you want the bins to be and how many bins you will have. You can get an idea of what a good value, or a good range of values, might be by looking at the Range of Values area and there you see your minimum and maximum values as well as the difference. Once you select the bin size, your measure will show up under Dimensions in the Data Pane. To create the histogram, drag your Continuous Measure to the data area and then click on the histogram visualization in the Show Me pane.
Colors
Discrete: Tableau assigns discrete colors (even if the scale looks like it ranges from light to dark, Tableau will still assign discrete colors) You can edit the color for each field separately Continuous: Tableau gives us a continuous color scale
Path (continued)
Lets you connect points in your visualization in a particular drawing order. Think of it as a connect-the-dots style drawing. To do this you need to have your data arranged in a particular order. You need to have all your destinations (both starting and ending locations) in one column, with one row for each of your 'Start' and 'End' locations. For example here is part of a fictional dataset for where I went on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So I have one column for all the locations and then separate rows for 'Start' (eg Home) and 'End' (eg Work). To establish the direction I want the line drawn (the path order), I have put a 1 for the row that is the start of the journey, and a 2 for the end of the journey. Lastly I need to give each journey pair a unique identifying key Path ID. To build your path map: Drag your latitude and longitude onto the rows shelf On the Marks card, change the Marks type to Line (Note: the Path Shelf is only available when the Line or Polygon mark type are used) Separate each journey by dragging your unique Path ID onto the Detail on the Marks card or onto the Color Drag the Path Order onto the Path shelf in the Marks card. Right-click to change the Path Order into a Dimension (to stop it being aggregated as a sum).
Trend Line and practice adding, editing, and removing one
Line that best fits your existing data which you can then use to extrapolate future results based on past performance. To see the overall trend. -R-Squared value = the predictive power of this line/amount of variation explained by the model. -P-value: lower value is better. Typically, when you are looking for significance, you want significance at the 5% level, or 0.05. -Curved lines (top and bottom) around your trend line indicate the 95% confidence interval - the range of values in which Tableau has calculated it's 95% likely the average actually falls.
How to create an extract
Method 1: Connect to a data source. Switch the connection type from "Live" to "Extract." Go to one of the worksheet and the extract will be created. Method 2: From Data, select the data source to extract. Select "Extract Data" to create the extract. `
Line Chart
Perfect for time series data. Perfect if you want to see how the totals are moving through time. Viewing continuous data sets (most often time series data). Dimensional time breaks down into discrete entities and sums them (e.g., Q1 sales over 4 years). Continuous time drills into granularity year, quarter, month, week, day, hour, minute. Allows comparison of different dimensions over same period of time. (In the drop-down for date, you can change the time period from discrete to continuous - the top part is discrete and the bottom part is continuous). The discrete time makes the data more choppy and the continuous time makes the data more continuous.
Add reference lines, distributions, and boxes
Reference lines: You can add a reference line at a constant or computed value on the axis. Computed values can be based on a specified field. You can also include confidence intervals with a reference line. Ex: To add a reference line that shows the average as a horizontal line, right-click on the field you want to add the reference line for in your visualization (in this example: Quantity), and select "Add Reference Line." In the dialog box that pops up, you can select the scope (entire table, per pane, per cell), the value (SUM(Quantity) and Average), label of the reference line (ex: Computation), line only or with confidence intervals, and formatting options (color and pattern of the line, fill above or below or both). You can also check the box: "Show recalculated line for highlighted or selected data points." To edit or remove your reference line, just right-click on the field again in your visualization (in this example: Quantity) and click "Edit Reference Line" or "Remove Reference Line." Quartile or quintile lines: divide your data into four, five, three, or two sections. Right-click on the field you want to add the reference line for in your visualization (in this example: Quantity), and select "Add Reference Line." In the dialog box that pops up, you can select "Distribution." You can then select the scope again: entire table, per pane, or per cell. In the Computation for Value, you can select percentages, percentiles, quantiles, or standard deviation. In this case, we will select quantiles and choose the number of tiles we want.
Quick Filter
To create a quick filter: click on the down arrow beside your pill and select "Show Filter: - this will automatically add the dimension to the Filter card. You can drag a dimension or measure to the Filter card, click on the pill, select "Apply to Worksheets" and you can choose "All Using This Data Source" In your Dashboard, you can right-click on any of your sheets and select Quick Filters and all those filters you just created and applied to all sheets will be there. You can edit filters by right-clicking on them and select "Multiple Values (Dropdown)" instead of "Multiple Values (List)" You can double-click on your FIlter name and edit the name, font type, font size, etc. Click the little drop-down arrow on your Filter box outline and click "Only relevant values" - ex: if you select Asia as your region, only the countries in Asia should be showing up in the County filter. Click the little drop-down arrow on your Filter box outline and select "Format Quick Filters..." to change the shading of the Filter boxes, changing font type, etc.
How to Group your Data
You can create a group to combine related members in a field. Method 1: In the view, select one or more data points and then, on the tooltip that appears, click the group icon (paperclip). If there are multiple levels of detail in the view, you must select a level to group the members. You can select to group all dimensions, or just one. Method 2: In the Data pane, right-click a field and select "Create" then "Group." In the Create Group dialog box, select several members that you want to group, and then click Group. The selected members are combined into a single group. A default name is created using the combined member names. To rename the group, select it in the list and click Rename. Include an Other Group: When you create groups in Tableau, you have the option to group all remaining, or non-grouped members in an Other group. To include an Other Group: In the Data pane, right-click the group field and select Edit Group, In the Edit Group dialog box, select "Include 'Other'"
Clear Filters
To clear filters, you can go to the Worksheet menu on the top tab, go to "Clear" and click "Clear Filter." You can also clear the filter by dragging the pill from the Filter card back to the data area.
Table calculations (continued)
1. Create a simple text table, and right click on the SUM(Sales) on the Mark card to select "Add Table Calculation" 2. You can select the type of table calculation and how you want it's being calculated 1. Table (across) - Computes across the length of the table and restarts after every partition. 2. Table (down) - Computes down the length of the table and restarts after every partition. 3. Table (across then down) - Computes across the length of the table, and then down the length of the table. 4. Table (down then across) - Computes down the length of the table, and then across the length of the table. 5. Pane (down) - Computes down an entire pane. 6. Pane (across then down) - Computes across an entire pane and then down the pane. 7. Pane (down then across) - Computes down an entire pane and then across the pane. 8. Cell - Computes within a single cell. 9. Specific Dimension - Computes only within the dimensions you specify.
Manual Sort
1. Right click on the field to sort, and select "Sort" from "Default Properties" 2. Select "Manual" from the Sort By. Drag the categories up/down to sort the data, or use the up/down arrow to sort. You can also right-click on the pill in the visualization and select Sort.
Combined Axis Chart
A combined axis merges two or more measures into a single axis so you can plot as many measures as you like in the same chart. The biggest advantage of this is that you have the option of adding an additional dual axis to the chart later if you need another mark type to reflect another measure. Other advantages include being able to include all the measures that you wish and that the formatting often takes fewer steps to get what you want. The only real disadvantage is that you have less freedom with the formatting and can only have a single mark type. To create a combined axis chart: drag one dimension or measure to the shelf and then drag another dimension or measure to hover over the axis created for the first dimension or measure - when you see the two green bars, drop it there Tableau then automatically creates Measure Values and Measure Names. A combined axis chart merges two or more measures. 1. Bring dimensions to Rows and Measure Names and Measure Values to Columns. 2. Bring Measure Names to filters and select the measure values to show on the graph.
Condition Filter
After dragging a pill to the Filter card, a box pops up and select "Condition" You can input a condition based on the drop-downs they provide you or input your own formula You can also see the range of values that are available by selecting the "Load" button
Wildcard Filter
After dragging a pill to the Filter card, a box pops up and select "Wildcard" Options include contains, start with, end with, exactly matches; and you can type in the Match value You can also check the "Exclude" box and exclude values that match your value Clear your filter by clicking the clear button and clicking apply. Note that the match is not case-sensitive.
Geographic Roles
Assigning a geographic role based on the type of location (such as state versus postcode) helps ensure that your data is plotted correctly on your map view. When a field is assigned a geographic role, Tableau creates a map view when you add the field to Detail on the Marks card. In other words, Tableau geocodes the information in that field. When you assign a geographic role to a field, Tableau adds two fields to the Measures area of the Data pane: Latitude (generated) and Longitude (generated). These fields contain latitude and longitude values and are assigned the Latitude and Longitude geographic roles. If you double-click each of these fields, Tableau adds them to the Columns and Rows shelves and creates a map view using the Tableau background map.
Choropleth or Polygon Map (Filled Map)
Best for showing ratio or aggregated data for polygons. These polygons can be counties, regions, states, or any area or region that can be geocoded in Tableau. Showing geospatial trends. Showing data in the context of built in geocoded census data sets. Drag Latitude and Longitude to the Columns and Rows and a geocoded dimension to the Detail on the Marks card. Once you select a measure and put it on the Color in the Marks card, the visualization will automatically turn into a choropleth map.
Using Blue/Green Fields on Filters
Blue Field: Displays a dialog box asking which 'members' of the discrete field should be included in the view. The fact that the blue field is discrete means that Tableau simply needs to know which of the available values should be included. Green Field: Displays a different type of dialog box; before Tableau can complete the filter, it needs to know whether you would like to filter based on an aggregation of the data or whether you would like to filter on the raw data. -Choose ALL VALUES if you want to filter on the raw data. This causes tableau to compare your filter settings with the value which is held in each row of your data. Ex: you could choose to filter out all sales where the dollar value was less than $5. -Choose an aggregation if you want to filter out 'members' of the dimension by which you aggregate the data. Ex: if you choose to aggregate by 'State' and you are filtering on SUM(Sales) then your filter settings may exclude states which have total sales of <$500,000.
Using Blue/Green Fields on Color
Blue Field: Since blue fields represent a discrete set of values, the response from Tableau is to choose a set of colors which are themselves discrete and apply each of these colors to a member of the field placed on the shelf. -It is now possible to edit the colors chosen by Tableau either by double clicking the legend entries or by using the drop down on the color legend (top right corner). Green Field: When you place a continuous variable on the color shelf, Tableau responds by adding a sequential color to the members of the dimensions in play. In this case, Tableau has defaulted to show a light to dark gradient of green. -This can be edited by double clicking the color legend, but this time a different dialog box is presented - one in which the color palettes are all sequential, they are however of two types: -Standard Sequential: these color palettes are composed of a single color and provide a gradient from light to dark. -Diverging Sequential: these color palettes are based on two or three colors. Tableau provides a gradient between the colors as shown below.
Using Blue/Green Fields on Rows/Columns
Blue field: displays a Tableau Header (show the member names of each field on the shelves) Green field: AXIS will be drawn; or more correctly, one axis per row/column A scatter plot is typically a view which has two axis - one vertical and one horizontal. Using what we know about green and blue fields, we know that a view requiring two axis must have a green pill on both rows and columns. A table of data does not have an axis - therefore we can assume that only blue fields should be placed on rows or columns to create a table. Note that the green field is placed on the text shelf rather than on rows or columns as we do not want to create an axis.
How to create stacked bar chart
Bring dimensions to rows, and measure values to columns. Bring measure names to filters and select the measure values to show on the graph. Bring Measure Names to color.
Extract
Brings in data to workbook. Improves speed. This is a snapshot of data created from a static source of data, like an excel spreadsheet. The extract could also contain information from a relational database, cloud based data or from other live connections. Extract is a local file that's optimized for use with Tableau. It's a local cache of the data that Tableau will extract, convert into the extract, and then save it for us on our machine. We can then connect directly to that, bypassing the slowness of the original data source. Best practices is to put it into your Datasources folder in your Tableau repository. Any changes that are made in the data source are not gonna be reflected unless we refresh the extract.
Context Filter
By default, all filters that you set in Tableau are computed independently. That is, each filter accesses all rows in your data source without regard to other filters. You can think of a context filter as being an independent filter. Any other filters that you set are defined as dependent filters because they process only the data that passes through the context filter. To create a context filter: Select Add to Context from the context menu of an existing categorical filter. The context is computed once to generate the view. All other filters are then computed relative to the context. Context filters: Appear at the top of the Filters shelf Are identified by a gray color on the Filters shelf Cannot be rearranged on the shelf.
Dashboard Hierarchy
Create a natural flow for your viewers to help them follow through the dashboard and make the experience more intuitive We want to align the images and the layout to the way people read a screen and then place our text, color, images, and content in a way that kind of helps follow along or influence the order of what people will see when. In general, people start in the top left of the page, and then work left to right and then top down. Use three layer approach of Foundation, Controls, and Content Foundation Base of our dashboard Could be just the title or the space on the outer edges; could also be the background The thing that everything else is going to go inside of Control Viewers are going to be able to interact with the dashboard Action items that work on the report; couple of key elements of our report Content Where are actual content is going to go Graphs, tables, etc. Takeaways Start at a high level, and work toward specifics Group similar segments together Placement of our objects should be targeted with a story in mind To format the dashboard: Click "Dashboard" from the top menu and select "Format" from the drop-down menu. Then select the background color from Dashboard Shading To create a title: Go to the Dashboard tab and under Objects, select Text and drag it into the space To add in your sheets: Go to the Dashboard tab and your sheets will all be listed under the Sheets section You can also add in your filters from the right-hand side by dragging into your dashboard.
When to use data blending rather than cross-database joins
Data blending is useful in the following conditions: •You want to combine data from different databases that are not supported by cross-database joins (cross-database joins do not support connections to cubes such as Oracle Essabse, or to some extract-only connections such as Google Analytics. In this case, set up individual data sources for the data you want to analyze, and then use data blending to combine the data sources on a single sheet). •Data is at different levels of detail (Sometimes one data set captures data using greater or lesser granularity than the other data set.) •Use data blending instead of joins under the following conditions: •Data needs cleaning (if you tables do not match up with each other correctly after a join, set up data sources for each table, make any necessary customizations (that is, rename columns, change column data types, create groups, use calculations, etc.) and then use data blending to combine the data. •Joins cause duplicate data (duplicate data after a join is a symptom of data at different levels of detail; you may notice a one to many relationship) •You have lots of data (With large sets of data, joins can put a strain on the database and significantly affect performance)
Size
Discrete: Tableau separates the marks according to the members in the dimension and assigns a unique size to each member. Continuous: Tableau draws each mark with a different size using a continuous range. The smallest value is assigned the smallest sized mark and the largest value is represented by the largest mark. Tableau displays a legend showing the range of values over which sizes are assigned. You can modify how these sizes are distributed using the Edit Sizes dialog box.
Dual Axes
Dual axes: two independent axes that are layered on top of each other. Dual axes allow you to compare multiple measures and are useful when you have two measures that have different scales. To create: drag two dimensions or measures to the rows field. Then right click the second dimension or measure and select "Dual Axis." Select the second axis and select "Synchronize Axis." You can also double-click on the pill and select "Mark Type" and select "Bar." Once you have a dual axis chart, you will be able to use different marks for each measure. On the Marks Card, you will now have the option to format the two measures differently.
Formatting chart elements
Line chart: click on the line and go to Color in the Marks card and change the color of the line Click the line; go to Size in the Marks card and change the size of the line Click the line and go to Label in the Marks card and check the "Show mark labels" box to show all the data labels in the line To edit the axes: Click on the axis and select "Edit Axis" and in the dialog box, you can check whether or not to include zero, can change the range from Automatic to Fixed, can change the scale to reversed or logarithmic, can also change the tick marks from automatic to fixed or none. If you want to edit a specific point: Right-click on it and you can: mark the label. You can also click on the line and go to the top menu and click "Format" -> you can change the Shading, the Border, change line thickness or line type. To add drop lines (extend lines from this point to both the vertical and horizontal axes): Right-click a specific point and select "Drop Lines" and click "Show Drop Lines" Useful if you want to call attention to a particular point.
Data Blending
Method for combining data that supplements a table of data from one data source with columns of data from another data source. The view uses all rows from the primary data source, the left table, and the aggregated rows from the secondary data source, the right table, based on the dimension of the linking fields (left join). Dimension values are aggregated using the ATTR aggregate function, which means the aggregation returns a single value for all rows in the secondary data source. If there are multiple values for the rows, an asterisk (*) is shown. Measure values are aggregated based on how the field is aggregated in the view.
Pages
Pages add an extra dimension to our dashboard by letting us show a history and trail of changes over time. In a new sheet, you can create a visualization and drag one of your Filters to the Pages box. This will create a new box underneath the Pages box and you can toggle between different visualizations. Ex: if you drag "Year" from the Filter card to the Pages card, you will get a box where you can toggle between the Years and the visualization will change depending on the Year. There is also a "Play" button in that box and if you click it, the toggle (slider) will automatically go from one value to the next, automatically changing the visualization. You can also click the "Show History" button and then you have options including "Marks to show history for", "Length", "Show" (Marks, Trails, Both), format of Marks, fade of marks, etc. If you select "Both" then go to the last Year and select a point/mark, then you can see the trail the point/mark has taken from the first Year to the last Year. Once you create the Pages option, go back to your Dashboard and your new sheet will appear on the left-hand side and your Pages option will appear on the right-hand side and you can drag it into your Dashboard view.
Created calculated fields based on a parameter -> practice
To create a parameter, navigate to the Dimensions field and from the drop-down arrow next to the name, select "Create Parameter..." from it. In the dialog box, you can change the name to anything you want. You can also select the Data Type, the current value, the display format (ex: percentage and then select the number of decimal places), allowable values (All, List, Range) In the example, the video chooses Range and then selects minimum and maximum values and the step size. Once you press "OK", the Parameter will show up in the Data Pane under the Parameter category. You can then right-click on the Parameter and select "Show Parameter Control." Next step: create a calculated field based on that parameter Right-click on the parameter and then select "Create" and "Calculated Field..." Tableau automatically puts in the parameter value for us in the box - because we selected "Calculated Field..." from that parameter You can then rename the calculated field in the dialog box. Once you finish writing the formula, press "OK" and then drag the newly-created Measure into the visualization. In the example, once they added the new Measure to the visualization, the number formats were different - right-click on the new Measure and select "Default Properties" and "Number format..." Select "Currency (Custom)" and remove the 2 decimal places and press "OK" Now when you change the parameter, the calculated field on the visualization will change.
Speed Up Context Filters
To improve performance of context filters, especially on large data sources, follow these general rules. Using a single context filter that significantly reduces the size of the data set is much better than applying many context filters. In fact, if a filter does not reduce the size of the data set by one-tenth or more, it is actually worse to add it to the context because of the performance cost of computing the context. Complete all of your data modeling before creating a context. Changes in the data model, such as converting dimensions to measures, require recomputing the context. Set the necessary filters for the context and create the context before adding fields to other shelves. Doing this work first makes the queries that are run when you drop fields on other shelves much faster. If you want to set a context filter on a date you can use a continuous date. However, using date bins like YEAR(date) or context filters on discrete dates are very effective.
Web Page Object and URL Action
To interactively display information from the web inside a dashboard, you can use a URL action with a web page object. Drag a Web Page object onto your dashboard, and enter a URL. From your dashboard, select Dashboard > Actions. In the Actions dialog box, click Add Action and then select Go to URL. Specify a name for the link. If you choose to run the action using a menu, such as a menu option on a tooltip, the name you specify here is what's displayed. Under Source Sheets, select the view or data source that will initiate the action. For example, if you want the action to be initiated when a user clicks a link on a map's tooltip, select the map view. Specify whether people viewing your dashboard will run the action on hover, select, or menu. Enter the URL, starting with the http:// or https:// prefix, such as http://www.example.com.You can use field values as parameters in your URL. For example, if Country is a field used by a view in your dashboard, you can use <Country> as a parameter in your URL.
Aliases
You can create aliases (alternate names) for members in a dimension so that their labels appear differently in the view -> just in the view/visualization. Aliases can be created for the members of discrete dimensions only. They cannot be created for continuous dimensions, dates, or measures. Assigning aliases only works for categorical fields. It does not work for numeric or date fields.
