book

Tableau Desktop Cookbook

by Lorna Brown

September 2021

Beginner to intermediate

684 pages

15h 47m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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What Is Data?An Introduction to Data VisualizationAn Introduction to TableauWhy I Wrote This BookWho Is This Book For?How the Book Is OrganizedOutcomes of the BookConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesO’Reilly Online LearningHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
1.1. Connecting to Data1.2. Searching for Data1.3. Connecting to a File1.4. Messy Data Sources1.5. Connecting to a Server1.6. Saved Data Sources1.7. Connecting to Secondary Data Sets: The Data ModelCreating Relationship CalculationsUnioning Your Data: The Physical LayerJoining Your Data: The Physical Layer1.8. Data Types1.9. Creating ExtractsSummary
2.1. Creating a New Worksheet2.2. The Tableau Workspace2.3. The Data Pane2.4. Dimension Versus Measure2.5. Discrete Versus Continuous2.6. Calculated Fields2.7. Shelves and CardsRows and ColumnsMarks CardFilters ShelfContinuous Filters2.8. What Is Show Me?2.9. Formatting in TableauSummaryPart I Conclusion
3.1. Horizontal Bar ChartAdding a Constant LineChanging to a User-Controlled Reference LineAdding Color to a Parameterized Reference LineAdding Average Lines3.2. GroupingVisual GroupingDiscrete Grouping3.3. Top N Filter3.4. Stacked Bar Chart3.5. 100% Stacked Bar Chart (Percent of Total)3.6. Discrete Bar in Bar Chart3.7. Shared Axis3.8. Shared Axis Bar in Bar3.9. Bullet Chart3.10. Histogram3.11. SoundwaveSummary
4.1. Tables4.2. Adding Totals4.3. Highlight Tables4.4. Rank Tables4.5. Big Actual Numbers4.6. Calculating Percent Difference4.7. Using LAST and Hide4.8. Custom Number Format4.9. How to Zero Nulls4.10. Showing Positive, Negative, or Neutral Values4.11. Calculating a Good, OK, or Bad Status4.12. Using Titles as BANs4.13. Using SIZE4.14. Word CloudSummary
5.1. Line Charts5.2. Continuous Line Charts5.3. Trend Lines5.4. Forecasting5.5. Custom Date Format5.6. Running Total5.7. Year over Year Growth5.8. Year to Date (YTD) Growth5.9. Moving Average5.10. Slope Chart5.11. Sparklines5.12. Small Multiple Line Charts5.13. Small Multiple Controlled VersionSummary
6.1. Symbol Map6.2. Filled Map6.3. Dual-Axis Map6.4. Mapping Nongeographic FieldsSummary
7.1. Build a Basic Dashboard7.2. Adding Basic Dashboard Interactivity7.3. ObjectsUsing Horizontal and Vertical ContainersAdding a Text ObjectAdding an Image ObjectAdding a Blank Object7.4. Layout TabBordersBackgroundUsing PaddingItem HierarchySummaryPart II Conclusion

8.1. Treemaps8.2. Calendar Heatmap8.3. Marginal Bar ChartsSummary
9.1. Basic Tooltips9.2. Viz in Tooltips9.3. Multiple Layout Viz in TooltipSummary
10.1. Basic Area Charts10.2. Stacked Area Charts10.3. Percent of Total Area Charts10.4. Discrete Area Charts10.5. Pareto ChartsSummary
11.1. Scatter Plot11.2. Using Custom Shapes11.3. Density Marks11.4. Clustering11.5. Trend Lines11.6. Explain Data11.7. Connected Scatter Plot11.8. Dot Plot11.9. Dot Strip Plot11.10. Jitter Plot11.11. Box Plots11.12. Using Shapes for BANs11.13. Pie Charts11.14. Donut ChartSummary
12.1. Basic Gantt Charts12.2. Barcode Charts12.3. Waterfall ChartsSummary
13.1. Creating a Story13.2. Adding a New Story Point13.3. Blank Story Point13.4. Duplicate Story Point13.5. Annotations on a Story13.6. “Save as New” StorySummaryPart III Conclusion
14.1. General Set14.2. Conditional Set14.3. Top N Set14.4. Combined Set14.5. Constant Set14.6. Set Control14.7. Set ActionsSummary
15.1. Float/Integer Parameter15.2. String Parameter15.3. Date Parameter15.4. Measure Switcher15.5. Dynamic Scatter Plot15.6. Dimension Switcher15.7. Parameter Actions15.8. Parameter Actions: Drill Down15.9. Parameter Actions: Min and Max Date RangeSummary
16.1. Previous Value16.2. Lookup16.3. Window Calculations16.4. How to Create a Control ChartSummary
17.1. Include LOD17.2. Exclude LODs17.3. Fixed LODs17.4. Nested LODsSummary
18.1. Density Marks18.2. MakePoint18.3. MakeLine18.4. Marks Layer18.5. Distance18.6. Buffer18.7. Spatial JoinsSummary
19.1. ActionsHighlight ActionURL Action19.2. Dashboard ObjectsNavigation ButtonDownload ObjectExtensions19.3. Floating19.4. Toggle Containers On and Off Using Show/Hide19.5. Device-Specific Dashboards19.6. Publishing DashboardsSummaryPart IV Conclusion
20.1. Proactive Tips20.2. Technical Tips

Content preview from Tableau Desktop Cookbook

Chapter 20. My Top 20 Tips

Throughout this book, you have been given the opportunity to learn skills and techniques that are fundamental to understanding Tableau, and you should now feel comfortable in creating your own visualizations. To conclude this book, I want to share with you my Top 20 Tips to continue on your journey of learning and mastering Tableau Desktop. These are split into the categories of “Proactive” and “Technical.”

20.1 Proactive Tips

Proactive tips are things that you can be doing outside of Tableau Desktop. All of these tips will help you along your journey with Tableau.

1. Create a Tableau Public Account

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend creating a Tableau Public account. Tableau Public is a place for inspiration and sharing your own work. This can also become your portfolio to showcase your Tableau progression. Once you have started publishing to Tableau Public, never delete a visualization, because it shows progression of your Tableau skills as time goes on.

2. Interact with Community-Based Initiatives

Now that you have your Tableau Public account, it’s time to start participating in Community-Based Initiatives and Projects. These initiatives are run by Tableau or Data community members. Makeover Monday is a weekly initiative that gives you a data set and a visualization to work with; you then have to create a better visualization using the data provided. This is a great way to practice your design and analytical ...