Innovative Tableau

Chapter 19. 3 Ways to Use Dual-Axis Combination Charts: Tip 1

Dual-axis combination charts, or combo charts, are named that because they have two axes and they display a combination of different mark types. For example, you can create a visualization that displays a measure with bars on one axis and another measure as lines on the second axis. This is one of my favorite chart types to use in Tableau because the ability to add a second axis and control the axes independently of each other unlocks some additional flexibility. This newfound flexibility creates several practical applications that you can use to improve your analysis, user experience, and design.

The next three chapters show you how to make a dual-axis combo chart in Tableau as well as three different ways to use them: their traditional use; a method for making your end user part of the story; and an option for improving the aesthetics of your dashboard.

Two Ways to Make Dual-Axis Combo Charts

Let’s begin by making a traditional dual-axis combination chart using the Sample – Superstore dataset. Even if this is familiar to you, I’ll be sharing a second approach that you might not know and will save you a click. This first chart shows sales by year as bars on one axis and profit ratio by year as lines on the other axis. Both measures are also broken down by the Category dimension.

Let’s create one of the charts, Sales by Year by Category:

Next, place the second measure (in this case, Profit Ratio) on the Rows Shelf: ...