7/16/24, 11:01 AM A Step by Step Guide for Data Visualization using Tableau

A Step by Step Guide for Data Visualization using Tableau

2
L
Gourav Singh
14 Oct, 2021 13 min read

This article was published as a part of the Data Science

Blogathon
This article covers all the basic to intermediate concepts
and features of Tableau from scratch. This is the perfect

article for you if you are an absolute beginner in Tableau.

Introduction to Data Visualization using

Tableau
Our goal as Data Analysts is to get the insights from our
data in such a way that everybody who sees them can
easily understand their implications and how to act on
them.
Tableau is a data analytics and visualization tool. It’s the
leading (33% market share followed by Power-BI) data
analytics and visualization tool in the market. Tableau
comes with a very easy drag-drop interface which makes
it easy to learn and you can work on almost every type of
data in Tableau.
This makes it an excellent choice for data analysts.
Table of Contents
This article will give you a walkthrough of all essential
features of the Tableau, which you must know in order to
work on it:
Installing Tableau on your System
Getting Started with Tableau!
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A StepTableau
by StepVisualizations – Charts, Tooltips, Maps
Guide for Data Visualization using Tableau
2 Tableau Visualizations – Formatting, Colors
Parameters, and Calculated Fields in Tableau
Analytics in Tableau (Forecasting, Clustering)
Creating Dashboards in Tableau
Crafting your own Story in Tableau

Installing Tableau on your System

Tableau provides us various services according to our
business need Tableau Desktop, Tableau Public, and
Tableau Online, all these offer Data Visual Creation.
Choice of Tableau depends upon the type of work.

Tableau Desktop is a program that allows you to execute

complicated data analysis tasks and generate dynamic,
interactive representations to explain the results. Tableau
also lets you share your analysis and visualizations with
the rest of your company, allowing everyone from
coworkers to top management to look into the data that
matters to them.
Before you can begin using Tableau, you need to
download the Tableau setup from the link and then accept
all the licenses and agreements. After installation, you will
get a home screen same as the given picture below.
After installation, if you find this Homescreen you are
good to go:

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Getting Started with Data Visualization

using Tableau
Once you have installed Tableau in the system, let’s start
with some real-world Data Visualization using Tableau.
Load Data in Tableau
We will be using global superstore data throughout the
article, which is perfect for learning purposes. This link
will take you to a page where you may download the
dataset. The downloaded file is a zip file that contains an
excel that looks like the given picture below:

Now we have an excel file and Tableau installed let’s load

the data set into Tableau. Tableau also gives us some
flexibility to create new columns, rename, split, edit alias,
join tables, some preprocessing before loading the data
into Tableau. The below image will demonstrate to you
how to load data and perform some preprocessing.

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Tableau supports various data formats which can be

loaded by choosing those options. Under a file we see
various options to load data from the local directory and
under to a server, we see options to load data from cloud
servers. for loading CSV files we select Text file options,
for excel and SQL files we choose their respective
options.
Connect Tableau to the data file:
1. To open the application, click the Tableau icon on your
desktop (or in your Start menu).
2. In the Connect panel at the left side of the Start page,
click the Excel link under the “To a File” heading to the
open file selection option.
3. Using the file selection box, select the Excel
worksheet that you want to open, and then click the
Open button to continue
4. Select
the Orders sheet from the navigation menu on the left
and drag it onto
the Drag Sheets Here area, as shown in the above gif.
5. After loading we can perform data cleaning, data
preprocessing, feature extraction to some extent.

Understanding different Sections in Tableau

Up until now, we have Tableau loaded with global-
superstore data and now we can see Tableau work-page.
Tableau work-page consist of different section. Let’s
understand them first before plotting our graphs.
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Source: Local
Menu Bar: Here you’ll find various commands such as
File, Data, and Format.
Toolbar Icon: The toolbar contains a number of
buttons that enable you to perform various tasks with
a click, such as Save, Undo, and New Worksheet.
Dimension Shelf: This shelf contains all the
categorical columns under it. example: categories,
segments, gender, name, etc
Measure Shelf: This shelf contains all numerical
columns under it like profit, total sales, discount, etc
Page Shelf: This shelf is used for joining pages and
create animations. we will come on it later
Filter Shelf: You can choose which data to include and
exclude using the Filters shelf, for example, you might
want to analyze the profit for each customer segment,
but only for certain shipping containers and delivery
times. You may make a view like this by putting fields
on the Filters tier.
Marks Card: The visualization can be designed using
the Marks card. The markings card can be used to
change the data components of the visualization, such
as color, size, shape, path, label, and tooltip.
Worksheet: In the workbook, the worksheet is where
the real visualization may be seen. The worksheet
contains information about the visual’s design and
functionality.

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Data Source: Using Data Source we can add new data,

modify, remove data.
Current Sheet: The current sheets are those sheets
which we have created and to those, we can give
some names.
New Sheet: If we want to create a new worksheet (
blank canvas ) we can do using this tab.
New Dashboard: This button is used to create a
dashboard canvas.
New Storyboard: It is used to create a new story

Creating Visuals in Tableau

Let’s begin with the real data visualization using Tableau-
Tableau supports the following data types:
1. Boolean: True and false can be stored in this data
type.
2. Date/Datetime:
This data type can help in leveraging Tableau’s default
date hierarchy
behavior when applied to valid date or DateTime
fields.
3. Number: These are values that are numeric. Values
can be integers or floating-point numbers (numbers
with decimals).
4. String: This is a sequence of characters encased in
single or double quotation marks.
5. Geolocation: These are values that we need to plot
maps.
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Follow these steps:

1. drag the dimension and measure in row and column
input field and it will automatically suggest a graph
best fitted on data.
2. you can change the graph by clicking on the show me
button and select whichever graph you want.
3. you can also remove the axis just by dragging and
dropping them under the marks card (remove field).
4. Show Me: When you click this label, a palette appears,
giving you rapid access to many options for showing
the selected types of fields. The palette changes
depending on the fields in the worksheet you’ve
selected or are active.

From the above image, you might have observed that the
default aggregation on the measure is sum but you can
change the aggregation to sum, avg, min, max, etc, you
can also customize the axis name, orientation, size, show-
hide axis as shown in the above image.
Enhancing The Analysis:

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In order to create a beautiful interactive visual, you must

A Step by SteptheGuide
understand for Data
following Visualization using Tableau
features:
2

a. Marks card
Marks card is very important for plotting graphs. In marks
card we have:
Colour button which is used to give different colors to
different categories and measures,
Size button is used to give size which depends on how
big a value is. The bigger the value means bigger the size
of a particular mark

Label button which is used to show labels to graphs,

clicking on the label button throws us some settings
where you can set the formatting of labels.
Tooltips, here you can add information like ( profit,
quantity, sales, discount, category, state, etc.) which will
be visible on hovering over the graph
The Details button allows you to display more information
without affecting the table’s structure. which is used to
show details about particular points. dragging a field on
details buttons will show the details of that point, and this
feature is majorly used for maps to show more details of a
particular point.

b. Filter

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After creating some plots you might want to use different

A Step
filters,bytoStep
do soGuide
followforthese
Datasteps
Visualization
: using Tableau
2
1. On the filter shelf, you can drag any measure or
dimension whichever you want to apply a filter on.
2. As you drop the field a box will appear, now you can
select any particular category, or top-n rows
according to measure values or you can write some
rules to select top rows or by using some parameters.
3. Now click on show filter after selecting the filter you
just applied.
4. You may want to apply multiple filters, to do so you
will need to add previous filters into context by
clicking on add to context here Context Filter is a
Tableau filter that is applied before all other filters.
You can choose different options standard, fit width,
fit height, entire view from the toolbar in order to fit
the visualization into the worksheet.
c. Hierarchy
You can quickly establish hierarchies with Tableau to keep
your data organized.
Hierarchy is basically nesting the same type of related
data together. Tableau calendar data is an example of a
hierarchy.

Date-time, calendar is in the form of hierarchy in Tableau,

which can be drilled down to year -> quarter ->month ->
day by clicking on the “+” button on the features tab,
You also can create your own hierarchy like country ->
state -> city -> postal code, just by dragging features to
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another and when needed clicking on ‘+’ button you can

A Step by Step
drill down Guide
further for Data
to city, state,Visualization
postal code. using Tableau
2

d. Parameter
A parameter is a workbook variable like a number, date, or
string that can be readily managed by the user to replace
a constant value in a calculation.

In the above image, our goal was to choose the top N

countries having maximum sales but here we wanted to
let the user select how many top countries they want to
list. To accomplish so, we’ll need to create the following
parameters:
1. Click the down arrow to the right of Dimensions in the
Data pane and select Create Parameter from the pop-
up menu that appears, as shown in the above image.
and give a name variable1.
2. Select a data type from the Data Type drop-down
menu, in my case, I have chosen to int range from 1–
100 list and the current value will be 5.
3. Click on show parameter will show the parameter
with a slider. but it hasn’t yet connected with any
working.
4. Here we wanted to choose top-N countries based on
the sales. drag country field to filter shelf and choose
top tab and then choose variable1 in by field section
and choose SUM(SALES).
5. Now slide the parameter value and observe the
difference.
e . Calculated field
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Tableau gives us the option to create a calculated field

A Step
wherebyweStep
can Guide
create for
our Data Visualization
own new using
field( column). Tableau
Tableau
2
comes with many functions like if-else, switch, case, date
diff, level of dimension which is extensively used for our
visualization
To segment data
level of details(LOD)
To change a field’s data type, for example, from a
string to a date.
To aggregate data
handling date time
To filter results
To calculate ratios
In Tableau, select Analysis > Create Calculated Field
then we give some rules to create a calculated field and it
will create a new field in the data shelf. which we can use
by dragging to the axis. more on the calculated field can
be read on the link.

Creating Calculated Field:

Here our goal is to calculate delivery days using order
date and ship date:
1. Select Analysis > Create Calculated Field and give
the name delivery days
2. Give the Rule to calculate delivery days in the rule box.
here we will use the DATEDIFF function to subtract
two dates.

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3. Type Rule: delivery days = DATEDIFF(‘day’,

A Step by Step Guide fordate])
[shipdate],[order Data Visualization using Tableau
2
4. now drag the delivery days field in rows or cols.
I would try to write a separate blog on calculated field on
Tableau ,
since calculated field is the most powerful features of
Tableau.
f. Format
Formatting in Tableau is very easy. Just click on the
format button wherever you want to format. we can
format text, numbers, percentage, decimals, date-time
format, label color, label size, axis line color, worksheet,
columns, header, etc . as shown in the above image.
Data Analytics in Tableau
In the Analytics tab, we have several analytical tools like
forecasting, clustering, trend line, Average line, constant
line, etc. let’s see in action.

Source: Local

Steps to perform Analytics:

1. From the Analytics tab on the left side, you can
choose various options.
2. Dragging and dropping a constant line on a particular
X, or Y-axis draws a line at a given constant value.
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3. Dragging forecast on your sheet will give you a time

A Step by Step Guide
forecasting for Data
of a given Visualization
measure, which you using
can editTableau
by
2
clicking right click on the forecasted part, there you
can choose the confidence interval, time steps to be
forecasted and forecast model, etc.
4. The trend line is not the same as forecasting. The
trend line only tells us if the overall trend is increasing
or decreasing.

Maps in Tableau
We can easily draw maps in Tableau if we have
geographical data aka a location field (country, city, state,
etc). Tableau has 2 types of maps, symbol map, filled
map.

Source: Local
Steps to create Maps:
1. Drag Country field in the worksheet, it will draw a
symbol map.
2. you can choose a symbol map or a filled map by
clicking on the show me button.
3. Adjust the size of the points on the map by clicking on
the size button from the marks card. the size of points
was determined by the magnitude of sales.
4. Dropping city on Details will show the names of cities
on the map.
you can also decide the colors of different states based
on the sales amount on the filled map.

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If you see unknown

A Step
labelby
on Step
map itsGuide for Datathose
just because Visualization usingnotTableau
location were
2
recognised by Tableau map engine .we can either filter
those null locations or we can
sort them by giving their specific country, city , state, pin-
code etc.
Colors: You can adjust colors of visualization based on
categories and on the magnitude of measure values.

Source: Local
From the above image you see that the color of bars has
decided by the profit amount, more profit means more
bluish in color, more loss means more reddish in color
adjusting colors is so simple in Tableau:
1. Drag a dimension or measure in the color shelf under
the marks card.
2. Now you see colors are now visible as a legend.
3. Now click on the legend and then choose edit colors.
4. you can choose a wide variety of colors, modes of
coloring like stepped or continuous bar and
5. you can edit the range of colors as well.
Tooltip: When we hover over a particular point on the
graph we see a box showing up details about that
particular point, this is basically a tooltip. we can add
information to show as a tooltip, let’s see an example.

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2

As you can see dragging a field on the Tooltip button adds

details in the tooltip which can be seen on hover, we can
also customize the text, color, font of the tooltip.
Designing a Dashboard in Tableau
Combining multiple views with filters, interactivity,
legends on the same page is simply our dashboard. it
helps us to see all views on the same page with fully
interactive features. Let’s see an example.

Steps to create a dashboard in Tableau:

1. Click on the new dashboard button and it will create a
new blank dashboard.
2. Adjust the layout of the dashboard. you get fixed or
automatic sizes based on the screen size to choose
from.
3. On the left-hand side, you can see that our all graphs
(viz) are visible so you simply need to drag and drop
them into the dashboard.
4. You can drag as many as sheets you want to include in
our dashboard.

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5. Clicking on the sheet and then change into floating

A Step by Stepinto
converts Guide for Data
a floating Visualization
object which can beusing
placedTableau
2
anywhere in the dashboard.
6. On the lower left side, you get options to format our
dashboard. you can
include images, weblinks, change color, title & text of
our
dashboard. If you find managing spaces and layout
difficult in the dashboard try floating sheets.
You can also apply filters on different visuals present in
our dashboard. More information on the dashboard may
be found here.
Storytelling in Tableau
The story in the Tableau is narrated walkthrough of one or
more sheets or dashboards. each view in the story is
called a Story Point.
In storytelling, we take a visual and write a narration about
the insight that has found from visual

Creating a story is the same as creating a dashboard, just

drag our visual on the story page and give narration. You
can add as many visuals as you want along with narration.

Source: Local
Actually creating story points in Tableau is easy. You can
see an example of creating a Story Point and experience

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Tableau’s free on-demand training at the same time! Go to

A Step by Step
Tableau’ Guide
s training for Data Visualization using Tableau
page.
2

Saving your Tableau Work:

Tableau comes with autosave features so you don’t need
to worry if you couldn’t save your work manually.
You can save your work in various ways:
Tableau Desktop
To save a Tableau workbook locally, Select File > Save.
Specify the workbook file name in the Save Asdialogue
box. Tableau saves the file with the .twb extension by
default.
Tableau Server
In case the data is confidential and the story needs to be
shared with the entire team, Tableau Server comes in
handy. Select Server > Publish Workbook or click Share
in the toolbar to publish a story to Tableau Server.
Tableau Public
With Tableau Public all the views and data are made
public and anybody on the internet has access to it.
Select Server > Tableau Public > Save to Tableau Public
and give your credentials. before accessing Tableau
public you should have a Tableau public account.
Tips:
When in Doubt, Right-Click
The Undo Button Is Your Friend
Pay Attention to Visual Cues
Save Early and Often

Final Thoughts on Tableau

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This is all you need to know about Tableau in order to

A Step
createbygood-looking
Step Guide charts
for Data
andVisualization
dashboards. I using
tried toTableau
2
cover as much as I could although it’s not the ending. You
can learn more about formatting, calculated field, pages,
animation, extensions, etc. in order to go in-depth with
Tableau you must practice different kinds of data and it
will help you analyze and present data efficiently and in a
nice manner. I highly encourage you to go through the
free learning material given by Tableau.
Thanks for reading, do share the article if you have
learned something new, feel free to comment. See you

next time !!! ❤️

The media shown in this article are not owned by Analytics
Vidhya and are used at the Author’s discretion.
Blogathon Data Visualization In Tableau Tableau

Gourav Singh
14 Oct, 2021
Applied Machine Learning Engineer skilled in Computer
Vision/Deep Learning Pipeline Development, creating
machine learning models, retraining systems and
transforming data science prototypes to production-grade
solutions. Consistently optimizes and improves real-time
systems by evaluating strategies and testing on real world
scenarios.

Beginner Data Visualization Tableau

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A Step by Step Guide for Data Visualization using Tableau

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