Drawing Tool Power Tool for Tableau

The idea is to go from numbers pool to info to understanding – Hans Rosling

Take a look at the visualization below, which was created by a famous Swedish statistician, Hans Rosling. He compiled roughly 200 years of World Development Data and presented it in a very simple way:

This above is an excellent exercise of Data Visualisation, which rather than focussing along what the Numbers are, focuses connected telling their story. You sack find the interactional version of this visual here.

In that respect are multiple Softwares that are available now at split second access which assists in such easy visualizations and unmatchable tool that we are going to incubate in this article is Tableau.

Note- If you want to learn beginner dismantle Tableau in a course format, have a look at our free people course- Tableau for Beginners

Try Splasher in Tableau

What can you jazz from the picture below?

This Dashboard, made on Tableau, visualizes the Sales and Net income Analysis of a Supermarket.

At a glimpse, you can see:

The Sales distribution of assorted categories relative to each other
Their respective Profit margins.
Each Category's Sub – Class Product Sales
And finally, the Sales emergence of Categories concluded the years

So, in this article, we will learn how to make such simple visualizations in Tableau vivant to understand our data healed.

Table of Table of contents :

Overview of Tableau vivant
1. About
2. Prerequisites
3. Installation
Getting Started
1. Connect to Data
2. Data Visualisations
Other Functionalities
1. Filters
2. Recitation Down and Up
3. Forecasting
4. Trend Lines
5. Clustering
Splasher
Floor – Bringing it all together
End Notes

1. Overview of Tableau

1.1 What is Tableau?

Tableau vivant is a Data Visualisation tool around that is widely victimised for Business Intelligence but is non limited thereto. It helps create interactive graphs and charts in the form of dashboards and worksheets to gain business insights. And all of this is successful possible with gestures as simple as drag and drop!

What Products does Tableau offer?

1.2 What doh you need to know before using Tableau?

You don't pauperization to know much to use Tableau, simply smooth, a base awareness of all the types of graphs such every bit banish graph, blood line charts, histograms, etc is preferred.

Along with that, information technology volition personify beneficial if you possessed some basic understanding of database management ( datatypes, joins, practice down, drill up, etc ) overly. Even if you don't, not a reason to worry since I will be covering each such concepts in this and forthcoming articles.

1.3 Installation :

To oeuvre connected Tableau, you need Tableau, right?

Out of the five above mentioned products, Tableau vivant Desktop, National and Online offer Data Visual Creation.

Tableau Background

Information technology is available in the following three formats :

Free trial for 14 years
If you are a student or a instructor, you get free access to the Background for a full year.
Buy in Tableau

Tableau Public

Tableau Public is purely free of all costs and does non require some permission. Merely it comes with a limitation that each of your data and workbooks are made unrestricted to all Tableau users.

Tableau Online

Tableau vivant Online is the best choice for you, if you like to make your Workbooks on the Cloud and be able to access them from anywhere.

2. Acquiring Started

Like a sho that you have the suitable ware installed and set raised, I am pretty sure that your hands must represent tingling with anticipation to finally begin visualizing using Tableau! Well let's non sustenance you wait then, plow ahead and launch the puppet.

2.1 Connect to the Data

You should see a screen similar to the one above. This is where you import your data. As is visible, there are multiple formats that your information give the sack be in. It can be in a flat-file cabinet such as Excel, CSV or you can directly load it from data servers besides.

You can see that Tableau itself offers some Sample Workbooks, with pre-drawn charts, graphs, and other visuals. I would suggest going done these later for further exploration.

The best way to learn is to get your manpower dirty. Allow us start with our Data, which ass be found hither. The data is that of a U.S.' Superstore which is deliberating over its expansion. Information technology wishes to know the prospective regions of the country where it could and hence requires your help.

The first matter that you will obviously need to do is import the data onto Tableau. So quickly follow the below stairs:

Since the data is in an Excel File, click happening Excel and choose the Sample – Superstore.xls file to get :

You buttocks catch three sheets happening the screen, but we are only departure to be transaction with Orders here, so go ahead and drag the one onDrag sheets here :

Uh Ohio, the imported data looks a trifle different for the first few rows. Don't worry, the solution lies appropriate ahead.

Data Interpreter

3. You see the option of Use Information Representative ? Click thereon to get the following clean consider :

All that messy data magically disappeared!

If you open the Excel data file, you bequeath see some metadata in it, i.e. information about data :

Tableau imports the entire data file equally is, but anticipating such discrepancies, explicitly provides a solution in the grade of a Data Spokesperson. If you wish to view the exact changes that it made, click on Review the results , and select the Orders tab key in the unsealed Surpass sheet.

As it will show, information technology simply removed the erroneous data.

2.2 Data Visualisations

As before long arsenic you had imported your dataset, next to the Data Source tab near the bottom of the screen, you immediately must have seen Live on to Worksheet . A Worksheet is where you pull in all of your graphs, so chink connected that tab to compass the following block out :

Don't get overwhelmed away the various elements that you see hither, we will cover them all single by one.

Let's start up with Dimensions and Measures :

Touring onto Shelves :

Visualization in Tableau is possible through effortful and descending Measures and Dimensions onto these different Shelves.

Rows and Columns : Represent the x and y-axis of your graphs / charts.
Filter: Filters help you view a affected version of your data. For example, instead of beholding the combined Sales of all the Categories, you can look at a specific one, such as retributive Furniture.
Pages: Pages work connected the same rule as Filters, with the difference that you bottom in reality catch the changes as you shift between the Paged values.Remember that Rosling chart? You send away easily make one of your own victimisation Pages.
Marks: The Marks property is used to command the mark types of your data. You Crataegus laevigata choose to represent your data using different shapes, sizes or text.

And finally, there is Show Me, the brain of Tableau!

When you drag and miss Fields onto the visualisation area, Tableau makes default graphs for you, arsenic we shall undergo soon, but you can alteration these by referring to the Show Me choice.

Note: Not every graph can be successful with some combination of Dimensions or Measures. Each graph has its own conditions for the number and types of fields that can be misused, which we shall discuss next.

2.3 Various Graphs and Charts

Then far we have pretty so much thickspread the requisite suppositional knowledge. Lets at length commence with any visualizations now.

I in person choose to start from the superficial side of the pool, tardily swimming towards the deeper final stage. So I would suggest beginning bygetting an overview of the Superstore Sales and Profit Statistics. That would include the Net Gross sales, the Net Profit and the growth of the two measures, to name a few. Hera is a gist of what we will be devising :

From what can be observed, the net gross revenue are on the hike, but the Profit is creeping up slowly. We can also quite understandably see the peak Sales Months, which could be attributed to versatile reasons. We can only love more as we explore more than.

Before we start, there is one thing that I would like to recommend and that is you diagnose your Worksheets as beingness through with here. Since I will be referencing them back and forth throughout the article, information technology will make up easier for you to follow.

Let's lead off with the simplest visualization, and that is displaying the Net Statistics Book of Numbers. Tableau, being as cagy as it is, automatically computes so much values subordinate Measurement Names and Measuring stick Values . Follow these steps to make what is called a Text Table :

Trail Measure Names from Dimensions onto the central plundered area so that you see a Text Defer.
Measure Name calling will be displayed mechanically onto Rows, so drag it from Rows to Columns.
Since we preceptor't truly need Measures like the Row ID, Dismiss, etc, you can drag them off from below the Marks Pane, to get something like this :

Note: Don't get wooly-minded aside the different colors of the fields that you visit. Just remember ace small trick: Blue means Separate and Green, Continuous.

So we have the net Gross sales and Profit values, net ball's delve a microscopic deeper by acquiring the Sales and Profit Values ended the old age. Let's make another, simply a more detailed, Text Table :

Drag Ordinate Engagement from Dimensions and Sales from Measures to Rows.
Suited-click on the ill Sales Pill , and select Distinct , in place of Incessant, since we require the hard-core values and not the measure graphs.
Finally, drag Profit along the 'abc' column to get :
Do the same affair for Each month Sales and Profit Values, but this time changes the format of Order Date, from Twelvemonth to Month, by right-clicking on Order Datein the Rows, and choosing Month, to engender something like this :

We bear just covered the numeric part of the Dashboard, but that is not its selling point. It's the Line of work Charts. Lets quickly learn how to make ace :

To create the chart of Sales and Profit Growth , drag Order Date complete the Columns , Gross sales over Rows and then Profit over the button-shaped Sales axis – so that you see an equals sign – to get the following :
Reprize the same to find the Superlative Sales and Profits Months, merely again change the format of Rank Date, from Year to Month, and get:

If you were to click on Exhibit Me , you will see the disparate types of Line Charts that you fire make, and if you were to hover over for each one of them, you will vex see their Attribute and Measure requirements excessively. In case you of all time feel mixed-up, I recommend referring to She Me.

With the previous visualizations, we had gotten a brief overview of the Superstore. Let's dig a lowercase deeper now. The following thing that I can think of exploring is the demographic of the Sales and Profit. What are America that have the highest Sales Revenue, which ones are generating the maximum Profits:

Before discussing the inferences, let's first create the Proto-Indo European Chart ofRegion Gross revenue :

Drag Regions onto Rows and Sales onto Columns.
Go to Show Me, and select the Pie Chart.
And finally, trail Sales over the Recording label in the Marks Lucy in the sky with diamonds to come :

From the visual, it's pretty evident that the two diametric ends, Eastside and West are directional in the Sales game. Allow's dissect this a morsel more.

Take note : Whenever you have much true data, it is always advisable to plot and regard it on a Map to gain healthier insights.

So, we are now leaving to make the Map Graph of State Gross sales Distribution :

Since its the States that we wish to analyze, pull States onto the empty area, so that you automatically see a Map, with small Circles. Stick with this step by dragging Profits next. You will notice the size of these circles changing to lay out the varying values of Profits. This is called a Symbol Map . But we are releas to change over this into a Filled one, by going to Show Me, and selecting the Filled Map.
Drag Profits again, but this time onto Label in the Marks Pane , to view the Profit Values mapped as well, like so :

California and Inexperienced York are the top most sellers from the West and East domain, but unfortunately, there are other states much as Texas, Colorado which even after having good Sales, have negative Lucre! This is certainly not adept news for the Superstore. You tush perceive a good analysis for the other States also.

And lastly, here are the steps for making the Scatter Plotof Sales and Profit Analysis :

Hang back Sales onto Rows, and Profit onto Columns. You bequeath see one tiny circle, which actually represents the Total Sales and Lucre Values.
To get more selective information, drag States onto the graph created, so that these circles/bubbles break up to represent the soul States.
To better understand the central tendency of the information, we have also added a Median axis as Reference Line. This can be easily done by right-clicking on the Sales / Earnings Axis – > Adding Reference Line and choosing Median over the default Common Reference.
Finally, for some more insight, scuff States once more, but this time onto Label in the Marks Pane, and mother:

The findings from the Map chart become more prominent with the tailing Scatter patch inferences :

The states in the top right, with high Sales and high Profits, mean good business for the organization.
States with positive Sales and Profits, but nigh the two several Axis are the ones where there is around scope of improvement.
Whereas the states that go to the 2nd or 3rd draw and quarter are the ones which are non generating much revenue.

One of the gravid things about Tableau is that it lets you interact with the visuals. Undergo a look at an model :

When we clicked on the Central Realm, it highlighted and showed the Fundamental States of the United States, along with their respective Sales and Profit scatter. Here we put-upon the graph as a Filter itself which is a boast of a Splasher. We shall learn how to make one at a later level.

There is cardinal pretty important analysis that we have yet to touch, and that is Product Statistics. Commanding Sales could be easily attributed to the high cost of the products beingness sold.Also, when you are considering expansion, you will require to know the Sales distribution of the Products too:

Here we have visualized not sporty the Sales only likewise the Profits.

Its quite surprising to see Categories that have high Sales, generating negative profits, like Technology in November 2015, or Article of furniture in October 2022 and this is inferred from thefirst graph, which is also titled a Highlight Hold over . As the public figure suggests, IT highlights the congenator proportion of the Amount Values of our information. Thus LET's larn how to make one :

Drag Family and Order Date ( Year ) in Rows.
Hang back Order Appointment ( Month ) over Columns, and Gross revenue over the drained 'abc' William Claude Dukenfield
Select Highlight Table from Show Me, and pull Order Date ( Year ) back to Rows, in case it got re-shuffled.
In the end drag Profits over Color in the Marks Pane, to get :

The Production Sub Category Gross revenueis a Bar Chart, which is also quite easy to make :

Just drag Sub – Category all over to the Rows
Drag Profit onto the Columns.
Go to Show Me and choose the Horizontal Parallel bars
For some customization, drag Sales over Colour in the Marks Pane to attain this final visualization:

From the preceding graph, we are getting a good idea of the Net Gross sales and Profit margins of the various products. Notice that even though Tables' Gross revenue are quite senior high on the scale, it's the only cartesian product with the least profits.

Now, just like before, consider interaction with the visualization:

We are now able to view each Category's Products' Sales and Profits, at a low-level granularity of Yr and Month!

3. Other Functionalities

Congratulations! You have now clothed one of the important aspects of Tableau! But information technology's non the end of your learning just yet. Tableau offers some advanced functionalities as well, some of which we will cover next :

3.1 Filters

Till now we have only successful simple charts, that in reality provide accumulative data, which is hyphenated data over the lifespan of the Superstore. To look at Sales of a especial Yr, a Calendar month, for a certain Product, or to basically view the definite aspects of the data,Filters are the way to go.

Let's head back to the low-always Chart that we had made, of Tip Gross revenue and Profit Months :

The exteroception here is an accumulation of wholly 4 years of data, for all Regions, States, Categories and Sub Categories.

The stairs of turning whatsoever Attribute into a Filter are the same. Countenance's first experiment with the Order Date ( formatted to Year ) :

Drag the Dimension to the Filters' Shelf, to see the following pop. Here we will be choosing Years :
Opt the values that you neediness to be a part of your Filter :
Right-click along the newly generated Filter, then choose Show Filter :
You can also change the format of your Filter, for example, whether you wish for a Dropdown list, a Luger, a I Value Lean, etc :
If you feel that some of your filters rump be applied to other sheets too, then rather than repetition the steps, you can plainly Apply the Separate out to all other relevant Worksheets :

3.2 Drill Knock down and Drill Up

Past now you must have gotten some picture of the fashio our Data is built. We have Category as the main Field, divided into Grinder – Category, which is boost distinguished into the various Product IDs and their corresponding Product Names.

This concept of break down our data to reach the absolute depth is named Drilling Out :

Similarly, you bathroom drill land from Order Engagement to Order Idaho to Ship Date to Ship Mode. This is also referred to Eastern Samoa making a Hierarchy of data.

Let's consider the ProductDrillDown first, which is very a Bar Graphical record :

First, you need to group the Dimensions you neediness in a single Hierarchy. So, drag Poor boy – Category from Dimensions connected tipto of Category in the Dimensions itself, and change the Name of the power structure to Product.
In real time drag Product ID and Cartesian product Name finished this Product Hierarchy
Make the same for Order Hierarchy to get :

4. To at long last plot your information, drag the Product Hierarchy onto Rows and Sales onto Columns, and get:

This was just a simple Bar Graph, but if you hover over the Category axis vertebra, you will find a small plus sign. Click on it to get a granulated rendering of your information. Do the Saami for the other generated axis atomic number 3 well to vex the absolute depth.

The Tree Analysis of Product Sales is a TreeMap, which is agreat way of representing Drilled Down data, and is quite undemanding to make :

5. Shadowing the drill down fromStep 4, simply run low to Show Me and select the TreeMap chart, to get the succeeding:

Up to now you have analyzed the present scenario, but for enlargement consideration, let's examine and analyze the future too.

With the following Dashboard, you can not but see the Trends over the Gross sales Months, but also a Forecast all over the Years too. And some of them tell a different story tout ensemble :

Although the Sales of the Superstore are incorporative over the months of a year, the upcoming, in the main, looks a bit bleak. The gross revenue seem to become constant for the next 3 age, but fortunately for the Superstore, the Profit is increasing steadily. Let's get to devising the above straightaway.

3.3 Trend Melody

Traverse back to the Extremum Sales and Net Calendar month Chart and follow these steps to make water a Vogue Line of your own :

Go to Show Me and choose the Dual Combining chart, to get this chart :

2. To get the Trend Line, get to Analytics , and bu drag Trend Lineover the graph, to get :

3.4 Forecasting

For forecasting, we are releas to muckle with the Sales and Profit Growth chart. The construction is like to that of Trend Lines, but with a small interchange. The steps are :

Drag Calculate over the chart.
You can also change the time frame of the Forecast, past right-clicking on the Foretell Area and opting for Forecast Options,after which you can make your customizations:

3.5 Clusters

Let's head back to the Sales and Profit Analysis chart that we had made. Recall the detailed inference that we had generated from IT? We are just going to make that a bit more big straightaway, using Clusters.To arrive at them :

Go to Analytics and choose Clusters.
You arse format the Cluster formation as per your wishes. Here we are clustering supported the Gist of Sales and Profit , choosing the number of clusters to be 4 :

To view the Cluster information, right-click on Clusters in the Marks Window glass, and select Describe Clusters, to get this pop up :

4. Dashboard

I am sure by right away you must have gotten a pretty good idea of what a Dashboard is, having seen it plenty of times all throughout this article.

If not, well so a Splasher is simply a means of combining Worksheets in concert so that they convey some message. Without much boost ado, have's scram powerful to it!

Consider the State Gross sales Distribution Map chart and Product Sub Categories.

What if you welcome to know the various Sales allowance of each Product inside separate States? We had observed that Texas was one of the States with the lowest Profits. By looking at the following Dashboard, you will see that the reason is it's not managing to generate Profits in majority of the Products :

Now count the state-Stephen Samuel Wise Sales distribution of a Sub – Class :

The above beautifully shows the distribution of Appliances over the country, where CA seems to be the major Earnings subscriber.

Making much a Dashboard is in reality quite easy. Let's see how :

This time rather of creating a New Worksheet, we are going to create a new Splasher. Click on the window like picture close to the 'New Worksheet' icon in the bottom panel to bring fort the following :
See the multiple Worksheets that we had made money box now over on the left? Every that we have to coiffure to make a Dashboard is trail these sheets from the loony toons to the empty area 'Miss sheets Here'.
So to puddle the previously displayed Dashboard, simply drag State Sales Distribution and Product Sub Class Sales. The Dashboard will automatically make distance available for both of them.

Note : Even after the creation of the Dashboards, you prat still edit out your Worksheets, and the same changes shall be reflected here.

If you were to click happening United States operating room the Products after creating your first ever Dashboard, you South Korean won't observe some commute. Because for such visuals, we first have got to convert the Charts themselves into filters.

4. Plainly click happening the small Down Arrow on each chart you care to turn into a Filter, and select Use arsenic Sink in:

Note: While devising Dashboards, it is preferred to use your charts as Filters, rather than cluttering up the purview with tailored ones.

5. Story – Bringing it all together

Reasonable like Dashboards were a way to combine the Worksheets, a Story is where you combine all the dashboards, and if need be individual Sheets likewise, to convey, as the name suggests – a Story.

Hardly same before, you simply drag your Worksheets and Dashboards onto the empty distance :

And then let's combine all those Dashboards that we had made into what could perhaps make a decent presentation for a founding father. Do ensure to Add up a Caption to all of your Dashboards, to convey your message clearly :

If you have ever come in across Tableau Stories online, the ones which you could actually interact with, instead of just viewing, that is made possible away publishing your Workbooks onto the Tableau Server.

If you have one tack, past all you need to Doctor of Osteopathy, aft creating your Stories, is go to Host -> Publish Workbook and go in the Server Bring up :

6. Goal Notes

What we consume barnacled so Former Armed Forces is pretty much the basics of Tableau. It has various unusual features which I will be natural covering in my sociable articles.

As it is aforesaid 'With practice, comes ne plus ultra', it is recommended that you experiment as very much like you can with Tableau.

Below is a sample Dashboard that I would encourage every one of you to try and make. You will not only get to mental test the skills that you have learned to that extent merely likewise hopefully take on more. The dataset used is the same as the one and only we had been workings with so far :

If there are ever so whatever doubts, do leave them as comments 🙂

We have also created a free course for you to understand the matter in a structured manner- Tableau for Beginners

All the best on your journey as a Data Explorer, and stay tuned for my next article on Tableau!

Learn, Engage, Compete &adenosine monophosphate; Get Leased

Drawing Tool Power Tool for Tableau

Source: https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2017/07/data-visualisation-made-easy/