Tableau Desktop Fundamental Course

1. What is data visualization.

(https://www.tableau.com/stories/topic/data-visualization)

A picture is worth a million rows. Data visualization with Tableau makes

insights come alive with impact and communicates complex ideas simply.
Expressive visualization enables you to get beyond static charts to create
multi-faceted views of data and explore every dimension. Tableau becomes a
natural extension of your thought process, making it drag-and-drop easy to
uncover hidden opportunities.

2. Purpose of data visualization.

(http://www.tableau.com/beginners-data-visualization)

Data Visualization Training for Everyone.

Data visualization refers to the process of converting data into a graphical

or visual representation. Because our brains process visual information so
efficiently, visualizing data graphically greatly speeds up the process of data
analysis. To quickly illustrate the difficulty of understanding data in numerical
form, time yourself as you search for the outlier in the following data set:
Now time yourself as you search for it in the same data set, but this time with
the data presented visually:

Much faster, isn't it? This was a simplistic example, but illustrates nicely the
time saved by using visualization as an analytic tool, rather than simply
generating nice charts and graphs for presentations. As the data sets become
more complex, the potential time savings become even greater.
3. Introduction to tableau.(overview of tableau)

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/tableau/tableau_overview.htm

As a leading data visualization tool Tableau has many desirable and unique
features. Its powerful data discovery and exploration application allows you
to answer important questions in seconds. You can use Tableau's drag and
drop interface to visualize any data, explore different views, and even
combine multiple databases together easily. It does not need any complex
scripting. Anyone who understands the business problem can address it with
a visualization of the relevant data. When the analysis is finished, sharing
with others is as easy as publishing to Tableau Server.

Tableau File types:-

The result of data analysis in Tableau can be saved in various formats to be

saved and distributed. These various formats are referred as different file
types and they are identified by different extensions. Their formats depend
on how they are produced and for what purpose they are used. They are all
stored as XML files which can be opened and edited.

The description of each of the file type and their usage is as follows:

File Type File Purpose

Extensi
on

Tableau .twb It contains information on each sheet and

Workbook dashboard that is present in a workbook. It has
the details of the fields which are used in each
view and the formula applied to the aggregation
of the measures. It also has the formatting and
styles applied. It also contains the data source
connection information and any metadata
information created for that connection.

Tableau .twbx This file format contains the details of workbook

Packaged as well as the local data that is used in the
Workbook analysis. Its purpose is to be share with other
Tableau desktop or Tableau reader users
assuming it does not need data from the server.
 Tableau .tds The details of the connection used to create the
Data tableau report are stored in this file. In the
source connection details it stores the source
type(excel/relational/sap etc.) as well as the data
types of the columns.

Tableau .tdsx This file is similar to the .tds file with the addition
Packaged of data along with the connection details.
Data
source

Tableau .tde This file contains the data used in a .twb file in a
Data highly compressed columnar data format. This
Extract helps in storage optimization. It also saves the
aggregated calculations that are applied in the
analysis. This file should be refreshed to get the
updated data form the source.

Tableau .tbm These files contain a single worksheet that is

Bookmark shared easily to be pasted into other workbooks.

Tableau .tps This file stores the colour preference used across
Preferenc all the workbooks. It is mainly used for consistent
es look and feel across the users.

4. What is Tableau

5. Why Tableau

6. About Tableau products

Tableau Desktop

Tableau Server

Tableau Public

Tableau Online
 Tableau Reader

7. Installation of Tableau Desktop

8. Connecting to Excel Data source

9. Understanding of Data window

Dimension?

Measure?

Data types and Symbols

10. Different ways of dragging dimensions and measures

Tableau Design Flow:-

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/tableau/tableau_design_flow.htm

As Tableau help us analyze a lots of data over many 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 good dashboards. 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 need to be completed to reach
this goal. Below is a flow 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, No 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, 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 use of filters,

aggregations, Labeling of Axes, Formatting of colors and borders etc.

Create Worksheets
We create different worksheets to create different views on the same data or
different data.

Create and Organize Dashboards

Dashboards contain multiple worksheets which are linked it. So 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

Tableau File Types:-

The result of data analysis in Tableau can be saved in various formats to be saved
and distributed. These various formats are referred as different file types and they
are identified by different extensions. Their formats depend on how they are
produced and for what purpose they are used. They are all stored as XML files which
can be opened and edited.

The description of each of the file type and their usage is as follows:

File Type File Purpose

Extensi
on

Tableau .twb It contains information on each sheet and dashboard that is present
Workbook in a workbook. It has the details of the fields which are used in each
view and the formula applied to the aggregation of the measures. It
also has the formatting and styles applied. It also contains the data
source connection information and any metadata information
created for that connection.

Tableau .twbx This file format contains the details of workbook as well as the local
Packaged data that is used in the analysis. Its purpose is to be share with
Workbook other Tableau desktop or Tableau reader users assuming it does not
 need data from the server.

Tableau .tds The details of the connection used to create the tableau report are
Data stored in this file. In the connection details it stores the source
source type(excel/relational/sap etc.) as well as the data types of the
columns.

Tableau .tdsx This file is similar to the .tds file with the addition of data along with
Packaged the connection details.
Data
source

Tableau .tde This file contains the data used in a .twb file in a highly compressed
Data columnar data format. This helps in storage optimization. It also
Extract saves the aggregated calculations that are applied in the analysis.
This file should be refreshed to get the updated data form the
source.

Tableau .tbm These files contain a single worksheet that is shared easily to be
Bookmark pasted into other workbooks.

Tableau .tps This file stores the colour preference used across all the workbooks.
Preference It is mainly used for consistent look and feel across the users.
s

Tableau Data Types:-

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 source, tableau automatically assigns the data types, but you can also change
some of the data types if it satisfies the data conversion rule. Also the user has to
specify the data type for calculated fields.

The description of data types supported by Tableau is as follows:

Data Type Description Example

STRING Any sequence of zero or more characters. They are enclosed 'Hello'
within single quotes. The quote itself can be included in a string 'Quoted'
 by writing it twice. 'quote'

NUMBER These are either integers or floating points. It is advised to round 3

the floating point numbers while using them in calculations. 142.58

BOOLEAN They are logical values. TRUE

FALSE

DATE & Tableau recognizes dates in almost all formats. But in case we "02/01/2015
DATETIME need to force tableau to recognize a string as date then we put a "
# sign before the data. "#3 March
1982"

Tableau - Show Me:-

As an advanced data visualization tool, Tableau makes the data analysis very easy
by providing many analysis technique without writing any custom code. One such
feature is Show Me. Using it we just apply a required view to the existing data in the
worksheet. Those views can be a pie chart, scatter plot or a line chart.

Whenever a worksheet with data is created it is available in the top right corner as
shown below. Some of the view options will be grayed out depending on the nature
of the selected in the data pane.
Show Me with Two Fields

The relation between two fields can be visually analyzed easily by using various
graphs and charts available in show me. In this case we choose two fields and apply
a line chart. The steps are:

Step-1: Select the two fields (order date and profit) to be analyzed by
holding the control key.

Step-2: Click on the show me bar and choose line chart.

Step-3: Click on the Mark Label button on the scrollbar.

The below diagram shows the line chart created using above steps.
Show Me with Multiple Fields

We can apply similar technique as above to analyze more than 2 fields. The only
difference in this case will be the availability of fewer views in active form. Tableau
automatically greys out the views that are not appropriate for the analysis of the
fields chosen.

For our case lets choose the fields product name, customer name, sales and profit
by holding down the control key. As you can observer most of the views in Show Me
are greyed out. From the active views lets choose scatter view.

The below diagram shows the scatter view chart created.

11. Sample report and dashboard

12. Connecting to data source

Connecting to single table

Connecting to multiple tables

Connecting using custom SQL

Exporting or saving data connection

Editing data connection

 Replacing data connection

Refreshing the connection

Extract connection

Live vs extract

Data Source filters

switch to live

Refreshing extract

Quick Starts > Quick Starts about Connections and Data

Sources > Aggregated Extracts

Quick Start: Aggregated Extracts

You can optimize your extracts by only including the data you need. Specifically, you
can exclude columns, create filters to limit the number of rows, aggregate data, and
roll up dates.

1 Hide Unused Fields

Hidden fields are not included when you create an extract. By hiding unnecessary
fields before you create an extract, you make the extract smaller and improve
performance.

Click the drop down to the right of Dimensions on the Data pane and choose Hide
All Unused Fields.
2 Define Filters for the Extract

Right-click the data source and choose Extract Data.

In the dialog box, optionally define one or more filters to limit how much data gets
extracted.

Global filters are automatically added as filters on the extract.

3 Aggregate Data for Visible Dimensions

After defining any filters, choose Aggregate data for visible dimensions. This
aggregates the data using the default aggregation for measures.

If the extract contains Date fields, you can also choose Roll up dates to adjust date
granularity thereby further minimizing the size of the extract.

4 Click Extract

When ready, click Extract and specify a location for the extract (TDE) file. The
extract will only contain the visible fields and the data will be aggregated as you
specified.

Refresh the Extract at any time by choosing Data > Refresh All Extracts.

Closing data source

Clipboard data source

Data Blending
13. Different File extension types in Tableau

.tbm

.twb

.tde

.twbx

.tds

.tdsx

.tps

.tms

14. Tool bar menu icons

Undo

Redo

Save

Connect to data

Create new sheet or dashboard or story

Duplicate sheet

Clearing sheet

Swapping

Sorting

Labeling(abc)

Resetting cards

Pinning axis

Highlighting

Presentation view

15. Data window options

Add to sheet
 Show quick filter

Duplicate

Rename

Hide

Group by folder or data source table

Create folder

Change data type

Change Geo graphic role

Default properties

Replace references

Describe

Creating calculation field

16. Cross tab reports

simple cross tab report

cross tab report with more than 6 columns

cross tab report with more than 16 columns

showing header for single measure cross tab report

hiding and showing columns in cross tab report

adding sub totals, row and column grand totals

formatting cross tab reports

conditional formatting in cross tab report

KPI in cross tab reports

17. Hierarchies

Create Hierarchies

Hierarchies in cross tab reports

Hierarchies in charts
18. Bar and Line charts

Simple Bar chart

Tableau bar chart :-

Tableau - Bar Chart:-

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/tableau/tableau_bar_chart.htm

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A bar chart represents data in rectangular bars with length of the bar
proportional to the value of the variable. Tableau automatically produces a
bar chart when you drag a dimension to the row shelf and measure to the
column shelf. We can also use the bar chart option present in the Show Me
button. If the data is not appropriate for bar chart then this option will be
automatically greyed out.

In Tableau various types of Bar charts can be created by using a dimension

and a measure.They are given below.

Simple Bar Chart

From the Sample-Superstore, we choose the dimension, we take profit to

the columns shelf and sub category to the rows shelf. It automatically
produces a horizontal bar chart as shown below. In case it does not, you
can choose the chart type from the show me tool to get the below result.
Bar Chart with Colour Range

We can apply colours to the bars based on their ranges. The longer bars get darker
shades and the smaller bars get the lighter shades. To do this, we drag the profit
field to the color pallette under the Marks Pane. Also note that, it produces a
different colour for negative bars.
Stacked Bar Chart

We can add another dimension to the above bar chart to produce a stacked bar
chart which shows different colours in each bar. We drag the dimension field named
segment to the Marks pane and drop it in colors. The below chart appears which
shows the distribution of each segment in each bar.
 Side by side Bar chart

Staked Bar chart

Grouped Bar chart

Bar with line chart (Dual axis).

Tableau - Line Chart

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In a line chart a measure and a dimension are taken along the two axes of
the chart area. The pair of values for each observation becomes a point
and the joining of all these points create a line showing the variation or
relationship between the dimensions and measures chosen.

Simple Line Chart

We choose one dimension and one measure to create a simple line chart.
Lets drag the dimension Ship Mode to Columns Shelf and Sales to the
rows shelf. Choose the Line chart from the Marks card. We get the below
line chart which shows the variation of Sales for different Ship modes.
Multiple Measure Line Chart

We can use one dimension with two or more measures in a line chart. This
will produce multiple line charts each in one pane. Each pane represents
the variation of the dimension with the one of the measures.

Line Chart with Label

Each of the points making the line chart can be labeled to make the values
of the measure visible. In this case let's drop another measure Profit Ratio
into the labels pane in the Marks card. Choose average as the aggregation
and we get the below chart showing the labels.
 Cross Tabs:-

Tableau - Crosstab

A crosstab chart in tableau is also called a Text table which shows the data
in textual form. The chart is made up of one or more dimension and one or
more measures. This chart can also show various calculations on the
values of the measure field like running total, percentage total etc.

Simple Cross Tab

Using the Sample-superstore let's plan to get the amount of sales for each
segment in each region. We need to display this data for each year using
the order dates available. To achieve this objective we follow the below
steps.

Step -1 Drag and drop the dimension order date to the columns
shelf.

Step-2 Drag and drop the dimensions region and segment to the
rows shelf.

Step-3 Pull the measure Sales to the labels Shelf under Marks.

The below chart appears which shows the Cross Tab

Cross Tab - Color Encoded

We can get the values color encoded in the cross tab chart by dropping the measure
field into the color shelf as shown below. This color coding shows the strength of the
color depending on the value of the measure. The larger values have a darker shade
than the lighter values.
Cross Tab with Row Percentage

In addition to the colour encoding we can also get calculations applied to the values
from the measure. In the above example, we apply the calculation for finding the
percentage total of sales in each row instead of only the sales figures. For this, we
right click on SUM (Sales) present in the marks card and choose the option Add
Table Calculation. Then we choose percent of total and summarize it as Table
(Across).
 On
clicking OK in the screen above we find the crosstab chart created with percentage
values as shown below.

Bar with in Bar chart (Dual axis)

About marks shelves (Color, Size, Label, Tool Tip)

Annotations (Mark, Point and Area)

Formatting sheets

19. Worksheet options

 Renaming of sheet

Deleting sheet

Duplicating sheet

Duplicating as cross tab

Export sheet

Copy/Paste formatting

Copy/Paste sheets

Show title, caption, summary options

Describing sheet

20. Filters

Quick filters

Filtering Dimensions

Filtering Measures

Range filters

Context filters

Filter options

Applying filter to specific sheets

Applying filter to data source

Date filters

Conditional filters

Top filters

Relevant filters

21. Parameters

Create parameter

Parameter options

Sheet selector using parameter

 Selecting measure using parameter

22. Sorting

Icon Sorting

Sorting options

Manual sorting

Computed sorting

23. Groups

Creating Groups

Dynamic Groups using calculated field

24. Sets

Creating Set

Combined Sets

Sets in calculation field

25. Table calculations

Running Total

Difference

Percent Difference

Percent of Total

Rank

Percentile

Moving Average

YTD Total

Compound Growth Rate

Year over Year Growth

YTD Growth

26. Bins
 Creating Bins

Bin size with parameters

Custom Bins

27. Forecasting

Show Forecast

Forecast options

Describe Forecast

28. Trend lines

Show Trend lines

Edit Trend lines

Describe Trend lines

Describe Trend model

29. Reference lines

Adding reference line

Reference line per cell, per pane, entire table

Adding reference band

Formatting

Distribution

Box Plot

30. Different types of charts in tableau

Highlight Table

Heat map

Tree map

Maps

Pie Chart

Scatter Plot
 Area Chart

Babble Chart

Word Cloud

Gantt Bar Chart

Bullet Chart

Box and whisker plot

31. Dashboards

Dashboard design

Dashboard size selection

Difference between Normal, Fixed width, Fixed height and Entire view

Tiled vs Floating

Dashboard components (Horizontal, Vertical, Text, Image, Web page, Blank)

Managing dashboards and sheets

Dashboard Actions

Formatting Dashboards

32. Creating Story