Category: tableau

Tableau – Rename Worksheet ”; Previous Next You can give appropriate names to the existing worksheets by renaming a worksheet. This helps in relating the content of the worksheet with its name. For example, if we want to know which sheet has the view to know the segment wise profit then with a proper name of the sheet we can identify it. Renaming the Worksheet To rename a worksheet, right-click the sheet name and choose the option Rename Sheet. The following diagram shows the worksheet with the new name. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – LOD Expressions ”; Previous Next Level of Detail (LOD) expressions are used to run complex queries involving many dimensions at the data source level instead of bringing all the data to Tableau interface. A simple example is adding dimension to an already calculated aggregate value. Types of LOD There are three main types of LOD expressions. FIXED LOD This expression computes values using the specified dimensions without reference to any other dimensions in the view. INCLUDE LOD This level of detail expressions compute values using the specified dimensions in addition to whatever dimensions are in the view. EXCLUDE LOD These levels of detail expressions subtract dimensions from the view level of detail. FIXED Level of Detail Expressions Find the amount of Sales for each state in each region. Here, first create the formula field named Regional Sales using the formula as shown in the following screenshot. Next, drag the Region and State field to the Rows shelf and the calculated field to the Text shelf under the Marks card. Also drag the Region field to the Color shelf. This produces the following view, which shows a fixed value for different states. That is because we have fixed the dimension as region for the calculation of Sales value. INCLUDE Level of Detail Expressions INCLUDE level of detail expressions compute values using the specified dimensions in addition to whatever dimensions are in the view. Calculate the sum of sales per state for each sub-category of products. For this, drag the Sub-Category field to the Rows shelf. Then, write the expression in the Columns shelf as shown in the following screenshot. It produces the following view which includes both the dimensions in the calculations. EXCLUDE Level of Detail Expressions EXCLUDE level of detail expressions specify dimensions to exclude from the view level of detail. Exclude Region from Sales figure calculated for every month. Create the formula as shown in the following screenshot. On dragging the relevant fields to the respective shelves, you will get the final view for the EXCLUDE LOD as shown in the following screenshot. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Reorder Worksheet ”; Previous Next Sometimes you need to change the position of the existing worksheet to study them in a better way. This can be done in a simple way by dragging the sheet name from its existing position to the new position. Reordering the Worksheet To reorder a worksheet, click and hold the worksheet name and move it to the desired position. Consider the three worksheets as shown in the following screenshot. The following screenshot shows that a vertical dark line appears in the new position on dragging the third worksheet from left to the new position. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Operators ”; Previous Next An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical manipulations. Tableau has a number of operators used to create calculated fields and formulas. Following are the details of the operators that are available and the order (precedence) of operations. Types of Operator General Operators Arithmetic Operators Relational Operators Logical Operators General Operators Following table shows the general operators supported by Tableau. These operators act on numeric, character, and date data types. Operator Description Example +(addition) Adds two numbers. Concatenates two strings. Adds days to dates. 7 + 3 Profit + Sales ”abc” + ”def” = ”abcdef” #April 15, 2004# + 15 = #April 30, 2004# –(subtraction) Subtracts two numbers. Subtracts days from dates. -(7+3) = -10 #April 16, 2004# – 15 = #April 1, 2004# Arithmetic Operators Following table shows the arithmetic operators supported by Tableau. These operators act only on numeric data types. Operator Description Example *(Multiplication) Numeric multiplication 23*2 = 46 /(Division) Numeric division 45/2 = 22.5 %(modulo) Reminder of numeric division 13 % 2 = 1 ^(power) Raised to the power 2^3 = 8 Comparison Operators Following table lists the comparison operators supported by Tableau. These operators are used in expressions. Each operator compares two numbers, dates, or strings and returns a Boolean (TRUE or FALSE). Booleans themselves, however, cannot be compared using these operators. Operator Description Example = = or = (Equal to) Compares two numbers or two strings or two dates to be equal. Returns the Boolean value TRUE if they are, else returns false. ‘Hello’ = ‘Hello’ 5 = 15/ 3 != or <> (Not equal to) Compares two numbers or two strings or two dates to be unequal. Returns the Boolean value TRUE if they are, else returns false. ‘Good’ <> ‘Bad’ 18 != 37 / 2 > (Greater than) Compares two numbers or two strings or two dates where the first argument is greater than second. Returns the boolean value TRUE if it is the case, else returns false. [Profit] > 20000 [Category] > ‘Q’ [Ship date] > #April 1, 2004# < (Less than) Compares two numbers or two strings or two dates where the first argument is smaller than second. Returns the boolean value TRUE if it is the case, else returns false. [Profit] < 20000 [Category] < ‘Q’ [Ship date] < #April 1, 2004# Logical Operators Following table shows the logical operators supported by Tableau. These operators are used in expressions whose result is a Boolean giving the output as TRUE or FALSE. Operator Description Example AND If the expressions or Boolean values present on both sides of AND operator is evaluated to be TRUE, then the result is TRUE. Else the result is FALSE. [Ship Date] > #April 1, 2012# AND [Profit] > 10000 OR If any one or both of the expressions or Boolean values present on both sides of AND operator is evaluated to be TRUE, then the result is TRUE. Else the result is FALSE. [Ship Date] > #April 1, 2012# OR [Profit] > 10000 NOT This operator negates the Boolean value of the expression present after it. NOT [Ship Date] > #April 1, 2012# Operator Precedence The following table describes the order in which operators are evaluated. The top row has the highest precedence. Operators on the same row have the same precedence. If two operators have the same precedence, they are evaluated from left to right in the formula. Also parentheses can be used. The inner parentheses are evaluated before the outer parentheses. Precedence Operator 1 –(negate) 2 ^(power) 3 *, /, % 4 +, – 5 ==, >, <, >=, <=, != 6 NOT 7 AND 8 OR Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Data Types ”; Previous Next As a data analysis tool, Tableau classifies every piece of data into one of the four categories namely – String, Number, Boolean and datetime. Once data is loaded from the source, Tableau automatically assigns the data types. Contrarily, you can also change some of the data types if it satisfies the data conversion rule. The user has to specify the data type for calculated fields. Following table lists the description of data types supported by Tableau. Data Type Description Example STRING Any sequence of zero or more characters. They are enclosed within single quotes. The quote itself can be included in a string by writing it twice. ”Hello” ”Quoted” ”quote” NUMBER These are either integers or floating points. It is advised to round the floating point numbers while using them in calculations. 3 142.58 BOOLEAN They are logical values. TRUE FALSE DATE & DATETIME Tableau recognizes dates in almost all formats. But in case we need to force Tableau to recognize a string as date, then we put a # sign before the data. “02/01/2015” “#3 March 1982” Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Design Flow ”; Previous Next As Tableau helps in analyzing lots of data over diverse time periods, dimensions, and measures, it needs a very meticulous planning to create a good dashboard or story. Hence, it is important to know the approach to design a good dashboard. Like any other field of human endeavor, there are many best practices to be followed to create good worksheets and dashboards. Though the final outcome expected from a Tableau project is ideally a dashboard with story, there are many intermediate steps which needs to be completed to reach this goal. Following is a flow diagram of design steps that should be ideally followed to create effective dashboards. Connect to Data Source Tableau connects to all popular data sources. It has inbuilt connectors which take care of establishing the connection, once the connection parameters are supplied. Be it simple text files, relational sources, SQL sources or cloud data bases, Tableau connects to nearly every data source. Build Data Views After connecting to a data source, you get all the column and data available in the Tableau environment. You classify them as dimensions and measures, and create any hierarchy required. Using these you build views, which are traditionally known as Reports. Tableau provides easy drag and drop feature to build views. Enhance the Views The views created above needs to be enhanced further by the use of filters, aggregations, labeling of axes, formatting of colors and borders, etc. Create Worksheets Create different worksheets to create different views on the same or different data. Create and Organize Dashboards Dashboards contain multiple worksheets which are linked. Hence, the action in any of the worksheet can change the result in the dashboard accordingly. Create a Story A story is a sheet that contains a sequence of worksheets or dashboards that work together to convey information. You can create stories to show how facts are connected, provide context, demonstrate how decisions relate to outcomes, or simply make a compelling case. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Environment Setup ”; Previous Next In this chapter, you will learn about the environment setup of Tableau. Download Tableau Desktop The Free Personal Edition of Tableau Desktop can be downloaded from Tableau Desktop. You need to register with your details to be able to download. After downloading, the installation is a very straightforward process in which you need to accept the license agreement and provide the target folder for installation. The following steps and screenshots describe the entire setup process. Start the Installation Wizard Double-click the TableauDesktop-64bit-9-2-2.exe. It will present a screen to allow the installation program to run. Click “Run”. Accept the License Agreement Read the license agreement and if you agree, choose the “I have read and accept the terms of this license agreement” option. Then, click “Install”. Start Trial On completion of the installation, the screen prompts you with the option to Start the trial now or later. You may choose to start it now. Also, if you have purchased Tableau then you may enter the License key. Provide Your Details Provide your name and organization details. Then, click “Next”. Registration Complete The registration completion screen appears. Click “Continue”. Verify the Installation You can verify the installation by going to the Windows start menu. Click the Tableau icon. The following screen appears. You are now ready to learn Tableau. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Tableau – Navigation ”; Previous Next In this chapter, you will get acquainted with various navigational features available in Tableau interface. On running Tableau desktop, you get the menu at the top which shows all the commands we can navigate. Let’s open a blank workbook and go through the various important features under each menu. Menu Commands On closing the getting started window, you get the main interface with all the available Menu commands. They represent the entire set of features available in Tableau. Various sections of the menu are shown in the following diagram. Next, you can see some details of each menu. File Menu This menu is used to create a new Tableau workbook and open existing workbooks from both the local system and Tableau server. The important features in this menu are − Workbook Locale sets the language to be used in the report. Paste Sheets pastes a sheet into the current workbook, which is copied from another workbook. Export Packaged Workbook option is used to create a packaged workbook, which will be shared with other users. Data Menu This menu is used to create new data source to fetch the data for analysis and visualization. It also allows you to replace or upgrade the existing data source. The important features in this menu are as follows − New Data Source allows to view all the types of connections available and choose from it. Refresh All Extracts refreshes the data from the source. Edit Relationships option defines the fields in more than one data source for linking. Worksheet Menu This menu is used to create a new worksheet along with various display features such as showing the title and captions, etc. The important features in this menu are as follows − Show Summary allows to view the summary of the data used in the worksheet such as, count, etc. Tooltip shows the tooltip when hovering above various data fields. Run Update option updates the worksheet data or filters used. Dashboard Menu This menu is used to create a new dashboard along with various display features, such as showing the title and exporting the image, etc. The important features in this menu are as follows − Format sets the layout in terms of colors and sections of the dashboard. Actions link the dashboard sheets to external URLs or other sheets. Export Image option exports an image of the Dashboard. Story Menu This menu is used to create a new story which has many sheets or dashboards with related data. The important features in this menu are as follows − Format sets the layout in terms of colors and sections of the story. Run Update updates the story with the latest data from the source. Export Image option exports an image of the story. Analysis Menu This menu is used for analyzing the data present in the sheet. Tableau provides many outof-the-box features, such as calculating the percentage and performing a forecast, etc. The important features in this menu are as follows − Forecast shows a forecast based on available data. Trend Lines shows the trend line for a series of data. Create Calculated Field option creates additional fields based on certain calculation on the existing fields. Map Menu This menu is used for building map views in Tableau. You can assign geographic roles to fields in your data. The important features in this menu are as follows − Map Layers hides and shows map layers, such as street names, country borders, and adds data layers. Geocoding creates new geographic roles and assigns them to the geographic fields in your data. Format Menu This menu is used for applying the various formatting options to enhance the look and feel of the dashboards created. It provides features such as borders, colors, alignment of text, etc. The important features in this menu are as follows − Borders applies borders to the fields displayed in the report. Title & Caption assigns a title and caption to the reports. Cell Size customizes the size of the cells displaying the data. Workbook Theme applies a theme to the entire workbook. Server Menu Server Menu is used to login to the Tableau server if you have access, and publish your results to be used by others. It is also used to access the workbooks published by others. The important features in this menu are as follows − Publish Workbook publishes the workbook in the server to be used by others. Publish Data Source publishes the source data used in the workbook. Create User Filters creates filters on the worksheet to be applied by various users while accessing the report. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;