Learning Tableau

Learning Tableau

by Joshua N. Milligan
Released April 2015
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781784391164

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Book description

Leverage the power of Tableau 9.0 to design rich data visualizations and build fully interactive dashboards

In Detail

In the professional world, turning massive amounts of data into something that can be seen and understood is vitally important. This is where Tableau steps in. It has emerged as a clear leader in data visualization because it translates your actions into a database query and expresses the response graphically.

It also has the unique ability to do ad hoc analysis of millions of rows of data in just a matter of seconds with Tableau's Data Engine. Tableau is a rare software platform that is intuitive and even fun to use, which also enables you to dive deep into answering complex questions about your data.

Starting with creating your first dashboard in Tableau 9.0, this book will let you in on some useful tips and tricks, teach you to tell data stories using dashboards, and teach you how to share these data stories. Practical examples along with detailed explanations of how and why various techniques work will help you learn and master Tableau quickly.

What You Will Learn

  • Explore and analyze your data by creating basic and advanced data visualizations
  • Fix data problems, enhance your analysis, and create rich interactivity using custom calculations
  • Perform effective analysis by joining and blending data from different sources
  • Enhance your visualizations with custom formatting, labels, and annotations
  • Explore advanced topics such as sheet swapping, custom maps, and LOD calculations
  • Create meaningful dashboards in Tableau
  • Extend the value and functionality of your data
  • Share your data story using story points and fully interactive dashboards

Table of contents

  1. Learning Tableau
    1. Table of Contents
    2. Learning Tableau
    3. Credits
    4. About the Author
    5. About the Reviewers
    6. www.PacktPub.com
      1. Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more
        1. Why subscribe?
        2. Free access for Packt account holders
    7. Preface
      1. What this book covers
      2. What you need for this book
      3. Who this book is for
      4. Conventions
      5. Reader feedback
      6. Customer support
        1. Downloading the example code
        2. Downloading the color images of this book
        3. Errata
        4. Piracy
        5. Questions
    8. 1. Creating Your First Visualizations and Dashboard
      1. Connecting to data in Access
      2. Foundations for building visualizations
      3. Visualizing data
        1. Bar charts
          1. Extending bar charts for deeper analysis
        2. Line charts
          1. Extending line charts for deeper analysis
        3. Geographic visualizations
          1. Filled maps
          2. Symbol maps
        4. Using Show Me
      4. Bringing everything together in a dashboard
        1. Building your dashboard
      5. Summary
    9. 2. Working with Data in Tableau
      1. The Tableau paradigm
        1. A simple example
      2. Connecting to data
        1. Connecting to data in a file
        2. Connecting to data on a server
        3. Connecting to data in the cloud
        4. Shortcuts for connecting to data
      3. Working with extracts instead of live connections
        1. Creating extracts
        2. Using extracts
        3. Performance
        4. Portability and security
        5. When to use an extract
      4. Metadata and sharing data source connections
        1. Customizing a data source
        2. Sharing a data source
        3. An example of customizing and sharing a connection
      5. Joins and blends
        1. Joining tables
        2. Blending data sources
          1. A blending example
      6. Filtering data
        1. Filtering discrete (blue) fields
        2. Filtering continuous (green) fields
        3. Filtering dates
        4. Other filtering options
      7. Summary
    10. 3. Moving from Foundational to Advanced Visualizations
      1. Comparing values across different dimensions
        1. Bar charts
        2. Bar chart variations
          1. Bullet charts – showing progress toward a goal
          2. The bar-in-bar chart
          3. Highlighting a single category
      2. Visualizing dates and times
        1. The built-in date hierarchy
        2. Variations in date and time visualizations
        3. Gantt charts
      3. Relating parts of the data to the whole
        1. Stacked bars
        2. Treemaps
        3. Area charts
        4. Pie charts
      4. Visualizing distributions
        1. Circle charts
          1. Jittering
        2. Box and whisker plots
        3. Histograms
      5. Visualizing multiple axes to compare different measures
        1. Scatterplots
        2. Dual Axis
        3. Combination charts
      6. Summary
    11. 4. Using Row-level and Aggregate Calculations
      1. Creating and editing calculations
      2. Three levels of calculation
        1. A row-level example
        2. An aggregate-level example
        3. Row level or aggregate – why does it matter?
      3. Parameters
        1. Creating parameters
      4. Practical examples of calculations and parameters
        1. Fixing data issues
        2. Extending the data
        3. Enhancing user experience, analysis, and visualizations
        4. Achieving flexibility with data blends
      5. Ad hoc calculations
      6. Performance considerations
      7. Summary
    12. 5. Table Calculations
      1. An overview of table calculations
        1. Creating and editing table calculations
      2. Quick table calculations
      3. Scope and direction
        1. Working with scope and direction
      4. Addressing and partitioning
        1. Advanced addressing and partitioning
      5. Advanced table calculations
      6. Practical examples
        1. Moving Average
        2. Ranking within higher levels
        3. Late filtering
        4. Last occurrence
      7. Summary
    13. 6. Formatting a Visualization to Look Great and Work Well
      1. Formatting considerations
      2. How formatting works in Tableau
        1. Worksheet-level formatting
        2. Field-level formatting
        3. Additional formatting options
      3. Adding value to visualizations
        1. Tooltips
      4. Summary
    14. 7. Telling a Data Story with Dashboards
      1. Dashboard objectives
      2. Example – is least profitable always unprofitable?
        1. Building the views
        2. Creating the dashboard framework
        3. Implementing actions to tell the story
      3. How actions work
        1. Filter actions
        2. Highlight actions
        3. URL actions
      4. Example – a regional scorecard
      5. Story points
      6. Summary
    15. 8. Adding Value to Analysis – Trends, Distributions, and Forecasting
      1. Trends
        1. Customizing trend lines
        2. Trend models
        3. Analyzing trend models
      2. Distributions
      3. Forecasting
      4. Summary
    16. 9. Making Data Work for You
      1. Structuring data for Tableau
        1. Good structure – tall and narrow instead of short and wide
        2. Good structure – star schemas (data mart / data warehouse)
      2. Dealing with data structure issues
        1. Restructuring data in Tableau connections
        2. Working with poorly shaped data in visualizations
        3. Working with an incorrect level of detail
      3. An overview of advanced fixes for data problems
      4. Summary
    17. 10. Advanced Techniques, Tips, and Tricks
      1. Sheet swapping and dynamic dashboards
        1. Dynamically showing and hiding other controls
      2. Leveraging sets to answer complex questions
        1. Answering complex questions
      3. Mapping techniques
        1. Supplementing the standard geographic data
        2. Customizing a geographic view
        3. Some final mapping tips
      4. Using background images
      5. Summary
    18. 11. Sharing Your Data Story
      1. Presenting, printing, and exporting
        1. Presenting
        2. Printing
        3. Exporting
      2. Sharing a workbook with users of Tableau Desktop or Tableau Reader
      3. Sharing data with users of Tableau Server, Tableau Online, and Tableau Public
        1. Publishing to Tableau Public
        2. Publishing to Tableau Server and Tableau Online
        3. Interacting with Tableau Server
        4. Additional distribution options using Tableau Server
      4. Summary
    19. Index

Product information

  • Title: Learning Tableau
  • Author(s): Joshua N. Milligan
  • Release date: April 2015
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781784391164