Working with Tableau Published Data Sources (PDS) can be fantastic for data governance, integrity, performance, and privacy. It can also be frustrating when trying to combine them with other data sources.
A Published Data Source is a finalized version of data source - similar to a PDF. All the editing you want to make to your data needs to happen before the PDS is completed.
Do you struggle to get Tableau filters to work the way you want? Do FIXED expressions confuse you? Do you want Tableau to perform better?
If you want to get the most out of Tableau, you have to understand how the Order of Operations work! Check out the recording below where we cover:
Data Source vs. Extract Filters
Why Top Filters and FIXED LOD Expressions might misbehave
Context vs. Dimension Filters
Using Sets as Filters
Filtering on Table Calculations
Level of Detail Expressions are one of the fundamental Tableau tools that every Tableau user should have in their toolbox. However, many people struggle to conceptualize how LODs work, or in what instances to use them.
Do you want to increase the display font size of a dropdown filter in Tableau? You'd think it would be as easy as increasing the font size in the formatting window, but it isn't. Increasing the font size in the formatting window only increase the title font or the font size of a list, but not the font size of a current selection in the dropdown.
If you want to learn a workaround which allows you to customize the display font size (and also customize what text display when multiple or all values are selected), check out this video!
The visual look and feel of our dashboards make a huge impact to our end-users, and can increase the adoption rate of dashboards, particularly by non-technical users. We can't under-estimate the "wow-factor" of a good-looking dashboard!
But how do you begin to build a good looking dashboard when you're sitting with one that looks like an out-of-the-box Tableau dashboard? The answer is to craft your own design style using best practices and inspiration from others.
Hierarchies are a simple Tableau tool that allows us to drill through dimension levels, from least specific to most specific. Hierarchies typically work best when our dimensional data is organized in levels, like location (State, City, Address), or person (Office, Department, Team, Individual).
However, hierarchies can be limited. The interface to find the drill-down button is not obvious to our end-users, and drilling down from level 1 to level 4 can be cumbersome. In this video, we'll not only look at how to build and use hierarchies, but work through one or two tips on how to create optimized functionality for some selective features of hierarchies, giving you a better overall end-user experience.
📊 There will never be a better time to learn Power BI! If you come from a Tableau background and want to understand the core skills you need to successfully build data models and reports in Power BI, this one is for you!
We cover how to transform data in Power Query, model data in Power BI, build and customize visuals, and how to format a report!
Whether you want to prioritize your personal skills development or your organization is making the jump from Tableau to Power BI, start here to build a solid foundation for future Power BI success!
Dumbbell charts are an eye-catching way of comparing two values. They can be used for detailed comparisons or simple KPIs. Dumbbell charts are are effective at displaying the relationship between two data points and highlighting the magnitude of change between them. By using a simple yet powerful visual representation, dumbbell charts enable you to easily compare and contrast data points, identify trends, and uncover insights that might be hidden in traditional visualizations.
One of the biggest gripes about Tableau Prep is that it isn't as fast as people want. However, most people aren't leveraging the best way to improve performance; input filters!
Input filters allow you to filter the data at input ensuring that unneeded data is never loaded into and processed in Tableau Prep. This can lead to massive performance benefits.
Ready to learn how to apply input filters and numerous ways they can be configured? Check out this video!
Do you feel stuck when working with bar charts? How do you take them from the standard (although a bit boring) chart we all know to something powerful, engaging, and compelling?
We've put together a free webinar on our 12 top tips to taking your bar charts to the next level.
We looked at things like:
•Color-changing labels
•Multi-axis bar charts
•Multiple labels on a bar
•Drilldowns
Do you want a warning message to pop up in Tableau when there is no data or a user makes an invalid selection? Look no further, we've got the solution for you!
We've worked with numerous clients to help them apply their own version of this method to their dashboards. Ultimately, it comes down to creating a warning message sheet, putting it in a vertical layout container with the worksheet it will replace when activated, and applying some logic and customizations to the warning sheet so it only shows up when you want it to.
Ready to add dashboard warning messages to your Tableau toolkit? Check out this video!
If you're looking to turn your static Tableau dashboards into interactive powerhouses, buttons are a fantastic way to do that! In today's tutorial, we're diving into one of Tableau's most underutilised secrets: using buttons to control parameters. This isn't just about making dashboards look sleek (though they absolutely will), it's about creating an experience so intuitive that your users will actually want to explore your data.
Do you need to use Tableau to compare values to an equivalent date from a prior year? For example, "How did sales from this Monday compare to the same Monday from last year?"
This is different than comparing to the exact same date from last year since the comparison is probably 364 days (52 weeks) ago. Additionally, this can be made complicated if there are any gaps in your data. For example, if your business doesn't record transactions on Saturdays, you can't simply use the LOOKUP function to go back 364 days because that would take you back too far. Additionally, if you apply a filter and "lose" days in your data set as a result, the LOOKUP approach will fail.
Have you ever tried to manually change the label color for different segments of your stacked bar chart? It's really tricky! While Tableau has a default color which can be white, black, or white and black alternating, you can't dictate how that should be attributed, and it can't be edited individually.
Here's a fun workaround that lets you control every aspect of the labels in your stacked bar chart from color to size to anything else! We’ll use a dual axis chart (a Tableau workaround hero!), and a reversed axis.
One of the most powerful, underrated features in Tableau Prep is the Difference From or "Multi-Row Formula" function. It allows you to calculate the difference in values between rows of data. This is useful when you need to calculate the time elapsed between dates or the general difference in values (e.g. dollars, counts, temperatures) from one row to the next.
This kind of calculation is only available in Tableau Desktop with a Table Calculation which is limiting because Table Calculations can only execute against data that's present in a worksheet. Pre-calculating differences in the underlying data can be a game-changer!
If you're looking to harness the power of SQL's LOOKUP/PARTITION in Tableau Prep, look no further! Check out this video for a full breakdown.
KPI's are a powerful way to draw our end-users' attention to specific key metrics. By adding in visual information in the form of bar charts, we're able to create a comparison of the current year with the previous year.
While there are numerous ways to show this kind of comparison, here are three easy and effective time-series KPI's that can add an element of visual flair to any dashboard! These bar charts are simple to create and use one or two nifty calculated fields to add the visual flair we’re looking for.
