This chapter is an introduction to the Tableau workspace. A Tableau chart begins on the Data Source page when you create connections to files or databases. When creating Tableau worksheets, you’ll work with cards, shelves, controls, and legends. Adding fields from the Data pane to shelves, tiles on the Marks card, or tooltips adds data to the view.

The first step for any chart is to connect to a data source. Tableau has approximately 100 connectors to files, databases, data warehouses like Snowflake, web data connectors, and native API connectors where you provide a hostname, port, username, password, authentication key, or token.

Several fundamental Tableau concepts are crucial to successful chart development. Tableau dimensions, measures, geographic roles, groups, sets, discrete and continuous dates and measures, aggregation, parameters, the measure names field, the measure values field, and actions are a vocabulary unique to Tableau.

Data has a unique vocabulary that includes data types, null values, totals, subtotals, grand totals, logical and physical layers, joins, and unions. In Tableau, you will also work with partitions, scope, aggregation, and the concept of tall data.

An effective chart or dashboard has good data, answers questions at a glance, and targets the audience. Simplicity can be a challenge, so I have broken the tasks into a beginning, middle, and end. For example, near the end, you might review the checklist of enhancements or use the validation and testing ideas 

Tableau charts with multiple measures are often used to show comparisons, add formatting, or show additional marks. Additional measures can show trends, a range of values, top and bottom values, the percentage of the whole, changes over time, related metrics, year-over-year comparisons, top and bottom values, first and last, minimum or maximum, or compare target or goal to actual performance. 

This chapter looks at a Square mark type that creates a heat map, treemap, or highlight table. A Gantt mark type is sometimes used to create a bullet graph. A box-and-whisker chart uses a circle mark type with reference lines and a reference band. Scatter Plots use two measures with a Shape mark type, and RAG ratings utilize colored shapes to show red, amber, and green performance indicators.

The implementation of filters in Tableau is anything but simple. Multiple filters add complexity, and filters differ depending on whether you are filtering a dimension, measure, date, set, or group.

Sorting is straightforward in Tableau with manual sorts, nested sorts, or computed sorts, although you can’t sort a continuous field.

Date headers (instead of an axis with a range of dates) utilize a discrete date field instead of a continuous field. Date parameters or a date field on the Detail tile of the Marks card are utilized in titles. In the Format pane, you can configure Tableau to use numbers or text for each date level you include in your view, such as month, weekday, and year.

Table calculations are ideal when you need a basic calculation like rank, percent of total, a running total, or a year-over-year comparison. Table calculations are based on the level of detail data; if you exported the data from a worksheet, the level of detail would be a table that contains the fields and filtered data from that specific view.

The Calculation Editor has a reference pane on the right with sample syntax, with categories for numbers, strings, dates, type conversion, logical expressions, aggregate functions, user functions, table calculations, and spatial functions. Tableau also has Level of Detail functions that are unique to Tableau, so I’ve included two very detailed LOD examples from the point of view without an LOD and then again with an LOD.

Formatting in Tableau can be a challenge because there are many ways to accomplish the same task. There’s also a lot going on: shading, alignment, lines, headers, axes, titles, tables, totals, annotations, reference lines, trend lines, shapes, fonts, alignment, number formats, date formats, cell size, row height, column width, chart fit settings, and more. To begin, I label chart elements like panes, column and row headers, field labels, and marks.

Labeling in Tableau encompasses mark labels, worksheet titles, axis titles, annotations, legends, row and column headers, and other text elements. Tableau is very flexible. You can use ‘measure names’ as labels, reposition mark labels, and choose only to show the first or last mark label, show only one mark label, or show any combination of mark labels. We’ll look at several real-world label examples including adding a header for a field on the text tile.

Tableau dashboards may combine several charts, text objects, navigation buttons, filters, and images. Dashboards also have their actions that filter, go to a URL or sheet, change a parameter, or change set values. We also look extensively at the containers that hold all the objects, and I’ve included nine tips to make it easier to position and resize objects within containers. Finally, we’ll take a brief look at stories.

Tableau’s interactive features include tooltips, highlighting, drill-down hierarchies, parameters, and actions. Tooltips have command buttons to filter, group, view the underlying data, launch Explain Data, and create sets. Calculated fields can turn off highlighting. Actions go to worksheets or URLs, change set values, send emails, or change parameters. Actions run on hover, select, or in menus.