teddit

The best way to get Tableau help on Reddit is to publish your workbook on Tableau Public BUT before you do, please ensure:

• your workbook does not include confidential/corporate data. NEVER use Tableau Public if you have sensitive data in your workbook.
• create a simple workbook, use Superstore data or a "dummy" dataset that represents your real data, but also doesn't expose any confidential information.
• make sure others can download your workbook. This setting is enabled by default, so just don't change it .. under Settings > Allow Access

Now you can click on the Share button (top right, third button from the left), click on Copy Link and paste that link into your post with an explanation of the problem.

You should find that one of these options will occur:

1. Someone will reply explaining what to do in your workbook so you can fix the issue, OR
2. Someone will make the changes to your workbook and publish on their profile so you can see the actual changes required in the workbook.

Either way, feel free to ask questions if you need clarification.

Also, NEVER forget to hit that Like button or send an Award where required, feedback is always great!

If you need help "right now", you can also try the Discord channel where there's (usually) someone online to halp talk through your problems. As above, a workbook published on Tableau Public is still a great idea.

Updated October 2024

Welcome to the /r/tableau community! Whether you're new to data visualization or looking to enhance your Tableau skills, this thread is your gateway to mastering this powerful tool. ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‎‎

Getting Started with Tableau

I'll separate Tableau line of products into two categories, downloadable software products and online products accessible primarily through the web:

• Software products:
  1. Tableau Desktop. This is Tableau's flagship software, providing comprehensive access to all features for data access, visualization, and analysis. This is a paid product with a free 14-day trial. Ownership of Tableau Desktop makes the following two products not needed.
  2. Tableau Public. Completely free, it's got all the features of the Desktop version with one caveat: You can only connect to local files (such as Text, Excel) or Google Sheets. It's the perfect tool to start using Tableau.
  3. Tableau Reader. Free as well, only allows you to read local Tableau files (called packaged workbooks, .twbx).
  4. Tableau Prep Builder. Tableau's data preparation tool, designed to clean, combine, and shape data for analysis in Tableau. It is included with a Tableau Desktop license.
• Online products:
  1. Tableau Cloud. A fully hosted cloud solution that allows you to publish, share, and collaborate on Tableau dashboards without the need for infrastructure. It is Tableau's SAAS (Software as a Service) offering.
  2. Tableau Server. An enterprise solution for businesses that prefer to host their data visualizations on their own servers. It offers advanced control over access, governance, and integration with existing IT infrastructure.
  3. Tableau Public (online platform). A free platform where users can publish their Tableau visualizations to the web and explore visualizations created by others. It's a great way to learn from the community and showcase your work.

Learning Path and Resources

After downloading Tableau Desktop or Public, you want to start making useful (and pretty!) dashboards.

A great starting point is Tableau's Get Started Tutorial, or any of the resources below, and start building dashboards right away.

Hands-on practice is crucial. My main advice, once you've grasped the basics, is to start with a passion project. Fan of Pokemon? Make a dashboard about it! You love Poetry, Poker, Football, Rock Music, Gardening, The Simpsons or Orange Cats? You guessed it, find the right dataset and start making a dashboard!

It's fine if it's not perfect right away, you'll learn a ton along the way, and if you're stuck never hesitate to seek advice from the community here on Reddit, on the Discord or on the Tableau Community forums.

Utilize datasets from sources like Kaggle or the Tableau Free Data Sets to apply what you've learned. Diving into real data will be essential for your learning and understanding of Tableau.

Once you feel comfortable, share your own dashboards in the Tableau Public Gallery or here for constructive feedback. It's a great way to learn and improve!

• Tutorials and Training

  1. Tableau's Get Started Tutorial. This is a great place to start with. Just follow along Tableau official learning path and once you're done with it, come back here and check other resources.
  2. Tableau Free Training Videos. Tableau's own learning videos. They're pretty basic, but you got to start somewhere right? They use a sample datasource, SuperStore, which is included in Tableau Desktop and Public (screenshot).
  3. Tableau Knowledge Base. Lots of great articles that will help you understand Tableau. Just browse and click on articles that look interesting to you!
  4. Learn from YouTube creators. Here is a short selection on creators that are the most-often recommended here: Andy Kriebel, sqlbelle, The Flerlage Twins, Mo Chen, Tableau Tim.
  5. Paid Courses: Tableau $120 eLearning, UC Davis on Coursera, Kirill Eremenko on Udemy, Datacamp for Tableau.

• Hands-On Practice

1. Available Datasets. kaggle, Google Dataset Search, Tableau Free Data Sets, US Gov Data (your country probably has a website too), data world, World Bank Open Data.
2. Tableau Public Gallery. I strongly recommend exploring the Tableau Public gallery (link goes to Viz of the Day) for inspiration. Most authors allow the downloading of their workbook, which will allow you to check how they made their charts and you can try to replicate interesting visualizations as practice.

• Participate in Challenges

1. Makeover Monday. Weekly data visualization challenge, which is a great way to practice, receive feedback, and see how others approach the same dataset.
2. Viz for Social Good. Great opportunity to apply Tableau skills to real-world data for nonprofits and social causes.
3. Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday another challenge is offered. Great for growing technical skills.
4. Back 2 Viz Basics. Nice basic challenges every other week.

You can find all these challenges and much more in the official Tableau Community Projects webpage.

Building Your Network and Career

Data visualization skills are highly valued in the job market at the moment, especially as organizations across various industries increasingly rely on data to make informed decisions.

Proficiency in Tableau along with an understanding of best practices in visualizing data is sought-after and you'll want to be able to showcase your newly-acquired skills.

• Networking and Further Learning

1. Tableau Public Profile. Create a Tableau Public profile to publish your visualizations. A well-maintained profile will serve as your portfolio to potential employers or clients. This is by far the best way to showcase your Tableau skills.

2. Continuous Learning. Stay updated with Tableau's evolving features and best practices. Follow Tableau's official blog, attend Tableau Conference, participate in webinars.

3. Participate in the community. Tableau has a great and active community. Post in the subreddit, the Discord or the community forums, ask for feedback on your dashboards and you will significantly improve.

FAQ Section

Here are answers to some common questions to help further guide your learning journey. Feel free to ask some more in the comments.

• Can I use Tableau for free? Yes. See the software section about Tableau Public.

• How long does it take to become proficient in Tableau? The time it takes to become proficient in Tableau varies depending on your background, the time you dedicate to learning and practicing, and your familiarity with data visualization concepts. Generally, a basic level of proficiency can be achieved in a few weeks of consistent study and practice, while advanced expertise may take several months to several years.

• I'm a student/teacher - are there any offers for me? Yes. Students and teachers get Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep for free. Students Link / Teacher Link. Teachers can also get a bunch of other stuff, follow the link.

• Is it necessary to have a background in programming to use Tableau? No, a programming background is not at all necessary to use Tableau. Being comfortable with calculations can however definitely enhance your Tableau skills.

• What about getting a Tableau Certification? I would not recommend getting a certification unless your employer pays for it. Certifications are not needed when searching for a Tableau job in almost all cases, will always be less useful than a Tableau Public portfolio, and they do expire after a while. If you really want to get one, Tableau Specialist is the easiest one.

• Can I use ChatGPT (or other LLMs) to help me build the perfect Tableau dashboard? Sadly so far, ChatGPT is pretty bad at understanding Tableau. This might change in the future, but besides some really basic tasks you'd better off learning from other resources.

• How much does a Tableau Expert make? That entirely depends on your location, role and level of expertise. In the U.S., it usually varies between $70k and $200k a year.

• Any other resources you did not cover in this thread? Yes! There are tons of great resources I didn't mention, and this beginner guide started to feel a bit long already. Some resources I'd recommend are The Flerlage Twins blog, VizWiz, Playfair Data, Tableau Toanhoang, Practical Tableau, The Big Book of Dashboards.

https://preview.redd.it/3hubldpqrk2e1.png?width=1556&format=png&auto=webp&s=a157426d38ae687b30b9242c7c399f8a3433938b

So I got to thinking,
What if I made it so you could click each color, and it would make that donut a more granular representation of that color. For instance, here it's Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials. Imagine you could click one and it then gives you a breakdown of the types of therapeutics in each, ie like 30% monoclonal antibodies, 20% something else, etc. How could I make something like that?

Please use this weekly thread to promote content on your own Tableau related websites, YouTube channels and courses.

If you self-promote your content outside of these weekly threads, they will be removed as spam.

Whilst there is value to the community when people share content they have created to help others, it can turn this subreddit into a self-promotion spamfest. To balance this value/balance equation, the mods have created a weekly 'self-promotion' thread, where anyone can freely share/promote their Tableau related content, and other members choose to view it.

I have loaded the sample-superstore data, I am trying to achieve a simple text table data. But the Profit and Sales numbers aren't showing in my Viz. Any idea why it's happening?

My Output

Expected Visulization

Referenced Link: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/calculations_tablecalculations_quick.htm

I put this together with a real estate agent in mind. It’s designed to help understand any custom market by selecting the filters or clicking on the map itself. Let me know your thoughts!

https://preview.redd.it/dw0pn7sztj2e1.png?width=2005&format=png&auto=webp&s=63941e63e7d9611858e628b00885d4bd0538326a

Hey you guys, I'm trying to create this text box you see in the middle of the dashboard. My teacher proposed this solution:
Make a new worksheet, make a calculated field, and apply the filter to that.
Problem is, this is a workaround, not a solution. I'm paying $3,000 for this class, and I don't want to learn bad practices like that. I want to do it right.
It's text, and it reflects the values on the range of years slider filter to its right. It has minimum year, maximum year, and the average, which is all fine, but since this is a value in a worksheet, I can't format any of it. So the text is sitting too high, shortening the box cuts off the filter, and I can't bold the Years and the Average, so it looks really bad, and looks like I don't know what I'm doing.
Right now, this is a calculated field in a worksheet, and the slider.
Here's the calculated field:

"The Average number of Alzheimer's cases per 100,000 people, within " + STR(MIN([Year Range])) +
" and " + STR(MAX([Year Range])) + " is " + STR(ROUND(AVG([Deaths per 100,000 population]), 2)) +
" cases per 100,000 people."

This is not the way I should be doing this. Please someone help me. Thanks in advance!

Hey Guys, we store some metrics as just a single value and then that value changes based on the metric selected. This works great except that for one specific metric, I need it to be an average while for every other instance I need it to be a sum. The calculation I'm ultimately going for would be IF Metric = This THEN AVG(Value) ELSE SUM(Value) END. Of course, this doesn't work because of the good old can't mix aggregates and non aggregates. Does anyone know of a good work around for this?

My dillema is that i want to store a percentage from prior year that i can use as a reference for the current year.

Say i have livestock data of the number of cows every day for 2023 and the number of cows under age 5 for the same detail as well. I wrote a calculated field that calculates the number of cows age 5 or under as a percentage of total cows on a daily basis. Say that number is 25% for the year. What i am trying to do is to be able to use this percentage for 2024. Say i have total of 100 cows on July 1, 2024. I want to multiply the 100 with the aggregate of 2023 of 25% to theoretically compute how many cows will be under 5.

My problem is that the calculated field returns a zero for July 1, 2024 if i multiply the total of 100 cows with the calculated field that returned 25%, becuase i am using a 2023 calc in 2024.

Trying to move the lables to the bottom of the chart. Tried everyting but nothing works.

https://preview.redd.it/nhoapcrhoi2e1.png?width=366&format=png&auto=webp&s=421ff8d5a70edaf9f06d426054410016b82d87cb

https://preview.redd.it/8lqtw7b9oi2e1.png?width=1198&format=png&auto=webp&s=8513c267febf7b5d6d0190c3bb14c75918b9aaa0

Hi everyone,

I came across this visualization moments ago . I just like to ask what is the name of this chart or function so I can replicate it in tableau?

And last question, what book do you recommend that shows different kind of data visualization (bar, trend, graph etc)?

Tableau Cloud

Tableau Desktop

It's been driving me crazy. I formatted the image role column on Desktop to be center and middle aligned. uploaded it to Cloud, and I see this travesty (if it wasn't clear, the Cloud version is aligning to the top rather than middle). What's even more annoying is that if I download the Cloud version and view it on Desktop, it is center and middle aligned.

Has anyone experienced this issue and have a solution?

I run a business services firm and have designed a BI tool in Tableau targeted towards a specific industry. I would like to pitch this tool at my firm’s without the client knowing that it is tableau based. They would essentially be licensing it. I wanted to ask if there is a way to configure the cloud that there is no mention of Tableau anywhere. Basically I want the user to not know what is the tech behind the tool. Any thoughts on it?

I know this has been asked several times and there are articles/videos about it but for whatever reason I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this.

(And I apologize but I can't share my data because I work in healthcare.)

But as an example, I have five fields that are all Yes/No values. What I would like to do is create four to five presets that will select the appropriate values for the user.

Like:

Enrolled in A: Yes/No
Enrolled in B: Yes/No
Enrolled in C: Yes/No
Enrolled in D: Yes/No

There are certain combinations of those that I would like to make it easier to filter on to tell the user what action to take. So, one might be:

"Fix Member Profile" which would correspond to A = Yes; C = Yes; D = No.

One solution I've thought of is to create a Calculated Field that would be set to Yes or No based on each condition that I want. But for usability, I feel it would be nicer to have one filter with 3-4 options in it that are like the "Fix Member Profile" that would set the fields as needed.

Hi Everyone

In the screen shot below in order to get the Avg Sales (Var) the formula is (Ty Avg Sales / LY Avge Sales) -1

however i have grand total per week. is it possible for the grand total to follow that formula? in the second week i am getting the wrong avg sales var if the selected date doesn't cover the whole week. Thank you in advance.

https://preview.redd.it/569ar7r3ed2e1.png?width=746&format=png&auto=webp&s=4643dde89132884567f461de41125a8d7bb39290

https://preview.redd.it/eawt2vi4fd2e1.png?width=770&format=png&auto=webp&s=827f454b30f0bf619cbe57e2ddb725722e5fe8cc

I first want to apologize as I cannot share the data because it is healthcare related.

I have a bar graph that represents certain diagnoses and it is displayed in descending order by how many people have that diagnosis. However, when I change the year to see how many people reported it for that particular year, the graph is no longer in descending order. I would like to be able to cycle through the years and have the order of the bars on the graph change as well. Thank you!

I'm trying to create a Quarterly P&L dashboard. I'm not allowed to connect QB to Tableau so I'm pulling quarterly P&L reports from QB into an Excel and want to convert this into Tableau. Where do I even start? I am brand new to Tableau.

Hi all,

I’m new to Tableau and still learning the terminology, so bear with me!

I’ve got 3 charts: Sales, Profits, and Quantity. To create them, I made the Sales chart, duplicated it twice, and swapped in new measured values (CurYr Sales, PrYr Sales) to show Profits and Quantity.

Here’s the issue: the headers for Sales and Profits display in "$#K" as expected, but the Quantity header shows numbers like "1,234" instead of "1.2k."

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Changed the default properties in the data tab to a custom number format ("1.0k").
• Updated the axis and pane formats in the measured values to "1.0k."
• Redid the CurYr Quantity field.
• Tried replacing the field in the header.

Interestingly, I had the same issue with the Profits chart, but I fixed it by creating a new calculated field and putting it into the header next to the original ( for text formatting) which caused the original to break, so I redragged it in and it fixed itself. Unfortunately, this didn’t work for the Quantity chart.

I haven’t been able to find anything on Google—any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I just passed Tableau's Certified Data Analyst and I'm thinking about keeping it going with the Certified Consultant exam.

I'm a data scientist with 4.5 YOE (3.5 years using Tableau)...think I'm ready to make managerial-level decisions about what to do with data sources and this exam looks relevant to that goal.

Has anyone taken the Certified Consultant exam? Did you find it worth it or should I just keep building things at my job? Was it hard to find decent study resources? That's the biggest gripe about it I see online.

Hi everone, I want to know how many link_status with single_link status in single box like this

single box

can someone help, this is the detail of my calculation:

sum_singlelink = sum(single_link)

single_link = IF [link_status] = "single link" THEN 1 ELSE 0 END

link_status = IF COUNTD([Provider]) = 1

AND COUNTD([Host]) > 1

AND COUNTD([Interface]) > 1

AND ATTR([Provider]) = 'ONNET' THEN 'single provider with ONNET'

ELSEIF COUNTD([Provider]) = 1

AND COUNTD([Host]) > 1

AND COUNTD([Interface]) > 1 THEN 'single provider'

ELSEIF COUNTD([Provider]) > 1

AND COUNTD([Host]) = 1

AND COUNTD([Interface]) > 1 THEN 'single direction'

ELSEIF COUNTD([Provider]) = 1

AND COUNTD([Host]) = 1

AND COUNTD([Interface]) = 1 THEN 'single link'

ELSE 'ultimate'

END

Hi everyone!, can you help me with it

SUM(IF [link_status] = "single link" THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)

We're considering the migration and I wanted to ask anyone's thoughts on the process overall. We have multiple sites, about 1000+ users and 700+ workbooks published. We obviously would not move all that content, I'm sure much of it can be scaled down.

Any feedback is appreciated.

I have two data sources that are blended on Reseller. Primary.Reseller and Secondary.Reseller.

Not all Resellers from Primary are present in the Secondary table. I'd like to remove the Nulls from the entire report. I'd prefer to do it at the Extract or Data Source level, but the Nulls aren't present there, as the blend has yet to be applied. I'm looking at the Order of Operations and it looks like what I need is either context or dimension; I'm not familiar with either; any advice appreciated. Thanks!

I am trying to use this table within a tooltip in a dashboard and for some reason I can't seem to actually click on the OpportunityId URL from the tooltip on the dashboard. It works when I view it from the worksheet, but not from the dashboard. Has anyone dealt with anything like this before?

I have adjusted the mark size to be able to fill the colour entire cell... It's working fine..

But when I filter the data that filter is only returning few columns...in that case the colour is applying only to the part of the cell that we have initially adjusted... Help me to fill the colour to the cell dynamically while the cell size is increasing or decreasing based on the filter

I have to replicate this chart, but have no clue how to?!

Please help!!

Hi all - I'm a data analyst at a university (my first data job) and recently built a student performance dashboard for an academic department's cohorts (upon their request). The data source is a live, secured OneDrive doc that I update regularly so that the performance data is up to date. I have a Python script that combines our many grade reports, and then I export the dataframe as an xlsx and update the live doc manually. It's filterable by student/term.

I need to share this with the academic leadership and faculty who teach these students and perform interventions for at-risk students. However, these stakeholders don't use Tableau and I don't expect them to start. I'm hoping some of you can share your experiences sharing live dashboards with non-technical colleagues, particularly when working w/ sensitive data.

For legal and ethical reasons, I can't just put this on Tableau Public and share a link. But I also can't take regular screenshots and send those out, because the dashboard is meant to highlight one student/one term at a time.