So you are making the jump from Excel to Tableau? Great!
You've probably noticed some of the functions you love so much in Excel don't exist in exactly the same format in Tableau. Take SUMIF and COUNTIF as an example. Tableau has an IF function, a SUM function and a COUNT function, but not SUMIF or COUNTIF.
So you want to concatenate multiple text values in Tableau, huh? Great!
In some ways, this process is easier in Tableau than Excel or other data-related tools. Whether you are concatenating string fields, static text, or even text-based parameters, all you need to do is add a plus sign between your values!
Does your dashboard feel cluttered because you're trying to communicate too much supporting information to your user? Making sure you cover everything your user needs to know can leave your output feeling more like an essay than a data-driven dashboard.
Info buttons are a staple of Tableau dashboards. They allow you to pack so much additional information to a dashboard without cluttering the view for users.
Do you know the difference between measures and dimensions in Tableau? How about discrete and continuous fields? These are common points of confusion for Tableau Desktop users. Knowing the difference allows you greater control and customization as you leverage fields for visualization in Tableau. In this video, we review what you need to know to use discrete and continuous fields to build the visuals you want to see!
Tableau is a powerful analytical tool, but learning its ins and outs can feel daunting. Whether you are a first time user, shaking off some rust, or trying to get a colleague up to speed, this video is designed to give an overview of the Tableau interface and get a user comfortable with creating worksheets, calculations and dashboards.
Are you having trouble getting your data to work in Tableau the way you want? Join us to learn how to prepare data for analysis in Tableau!
You can find a thousand tutorials on how to use Tableau, but they're all worthless until your data is structured for analysis in the format that Tableau likes. Don't get stuck in your analysis journey because Tableau doesn't like your data.
6 data formats to avoid, 8 key rules for structuring data, and 1 video you can't miss. Check out the recording to learn about the key concepts you can utilize to prepare for your data for Tableau.
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.
Manipulating text is one of the primary use cases for Tableau calculations. There are all sorts of things you may want to accomplish with string functions.
· Concatenate multiple text values into a single value.
· Grab characters from the beginning, middle or end of a text string.
· Filter on whether certain text criteria are met.
“Can Tableau do conditional formatting?”
Lots of new Tableau users, especially with Excel skills, want to know if they can use Tableau like Excel. Tableau isn’t really designed like Excel. It’s not intended for data input, but rather data preparation and visualization. That said, a lot of features you might be used to from Excel like highlighting cells or highlighting rows of values are possible!
So let’s say you built a worksheet in Tableau and the row labels aren’t repeating for every row in the table. For example, maybe a year or quarter field is only showing up once instead of repeating.
Can Tableau do conditional formatting like Excel? A lot of people will tell you that it’s not possible. However, they’re wrong! It might take a little creativity, but it can be done! Check out the video below to learn how you can select and conditionally format cells in a Tableau highlight table.
Blending is nearly as old as Tableau Desktop itself. Executing a blend in Tableau is a method for relating data from multiple different tables so it can be analyzed together. For instance, a sales value and a quota.
Tableau formatting is a world of its own. While there are loads of options, there are also some under the radar tricks which can help you build workbooks faster and cut down on repeat work.
Hey everyone! We are back with another one of the “To Date” calculation videos many people know us for.
Need to calculate Quarter to Date vs. Previous Quarter to date in Tableau? Check out the video below to learn the simplest method.
In addition, you can easily tweak this formula to compare to the same quarter last year, or any other quarter of interest.
The superstore data that Tableau provides is a helpful tool for practice, mockups and trying out concepts. However, one of the frustrations is that it can get “out of date” so to speak so the latest date in the data set might be December 31, 2021 even though today’s date is month’s later.
