All tagged Tableau Parameters
Text tables can be overwhelming for users. It's hard to know where to focus your attention!
Where are the highest and lowest values in the data? What patterns are there? Upgrading a text table to a highlight table can often do wonders, but a highlight table doesn't provide a singular focus. It will likely highlight high, and maybe low values too.
That's where a custom highlighter can be so handy. Why not let you user control which values they want to call attention to?
Normally, when using a parameter to swap between measures, you're limited to using a single number format in a text table. But what happens when using the same number format makes no sense?
In our example, we're swapping between Total Cost (reported in $) and Visits (a count). We don't want to report Visits as a dollar-denominated amount, and we don't want Total Cost to be reported without a dollar symbol! So what can we do?
Have you ever been asked to include a table of data that’s way too detailed for the dashboard you’re working on? Sometimes we really just want to see all the numbers. But we might not necessarily want to display all that information at once.
That’s where a Show/Hide option could be effective. Using a parameter, we can enable our end-users to select whether they want to see all the data in the underlying table, or just some summary data (like some total columns).
A reference line is a useful worksheet element. It’s a simple tool - just a line based on a single value that we want to reference in our views.
But, did you know that you can change the value of a reference line using a parameter?
An adjustable reference line turns your static reference line into an interactive tool that you and the end-users of your dashboards can use in a variety of ways. You might run basic forecasts, explore outcomes using 'what if" scenarios, or change a comparison threshold.
Does your data set have multiple date fields? For instance, maybe you have both an "Order Date" and a "Delivery Date". Or maybe you have both a "Hire Date" and a "Termination Date".
Sometimes, you need to filter on both date fields at once to answer questions like, "How many people were hired and how many people were terminated in the Marketing Department this year?"
Users love filtering and sorting options in Tableau dashboards, right?
Odds are, you know you can use a parameter to change the top number of values displaying in a worksheet. However, did you know you can also use a parameter to change whether it's the Top 10 or Bottom 10 values displaying? Did you know that same parameter can control whether the sort order is ascending or descending? It's true!
In the past, swapping worksheets in a Tableau dashboard has been possible but frustrating. Using a parameter, we could swap out worksheets, but it was really difficult to also swap out any filters, parameters, or legends attached to those worksheets.
Now, with Tableau’s Dynamic Zone Visibility, that’s all changed! Dynamic Zone Visibility allows us to switch between multiple connected elements on a dashboard, from single worksheets, to multiple worksheets; from a certain set of parameters to another; or from one worksheet with its legends, filters, and parameters, to another.
Parameters are a powerful tool in Tableau. They allow your end user to customize the view that they're seeing by selecting your pre-defined parameter values.
But where do we begin when using parameters? Well, the "Swap-A-Field" Parameter is the perfect place!
When you have a worksheet with many values, one of the best ways to present it to your user is to filter on the most relevant values. Those will often be the highest or lowest values. Tableau has a built in dimension filter which allows you to pick the top (or bottom) number of values you would like to display (e.g. Top 10).
You know what Tableau doesn't have out of the box? The ability to select the top *percent* of values to filter on. Don't sweat it though, because we've got you covered! With a parameter, calculation and filter application, we can filter on a top percent of values and give end users the options to change the top percent of values being displayed.
Highlight tables are one of my all-time favorite Tableau visuals. You can pack so much information into a limited space. One of the only weaknesses of highlight tables is that they usually display every label (too cluttered) or no labels (too bare). Most users are looking for a specific insight. Maybe the want to focus attention on the highest values, lowest values, or top N.
This video covers how you can create a parameter which is used in a Tableau dashboard to control two date ranges at once, a “selected period” (e.g. month to date) and a “comparison period” (e.g. previous month to date).
Sometimes, you need a totally customized date filter for a Tableau dashboard. A fully customized date filter allows you to list the exact date ranges you want a user to be able to select from, and then filters the worksheets in the dashboard to that selected range. Check this video out to learn how you can utilize a parameter, calculation with date logic and worksheet filters to give your users a fully customized list of date ranges they can select and filter on.
You probably know that you can only set one number format per field in Tableau. That means that if you create a dynamic measure driven by a parameter (check out this blog post for details) you have to choose a number format. You could choose percent, decimal or currency, but you can’t get the format to swap.
On a number of occasions, I’ve been asked if Tableau can use a top filter to show the top percent of a population. For instance, some varieties of that questions has been…
Imagine you are looking at a Tableau visual and want to to view the data translated into your local time zone. Transactions take place all over the country in different time zones but you’d like to see them all in local Pacific Time (for instance).
One of my quarantine activities has been freeing up space on my computer. In the process, I found a video I meant to post to the blog that I made a year ago! Thankfully, it is still as relevant as ever. Check out the video to learn how you can encode different sort options in a drop-down for your end users to select from.
