Marimekko Part 5: Totals
In Part 4 of the blog we learned how to make a basic Mekko Chart. In this part of the blog we are going to add in some totals, thankfully we can use some of our existing calculations to do this. The first is the...
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Marimekko Part 1: Polygons, Paths and Custom SQL
Before we can attempt a Marimekko, we need to understand a few of Tableau's lesser used tools. The first of these is the Polygon mark type which can be selected from the dropdown on the marks card. Since the Marimekko is actually made up of lots...
Marimekko Part 2: Parameters and Table Calculations
In Part 1 we learned how to use custom SQL to shape our data ready for use later on in polygons. In this part we will use parameters to allow dashboard viewers to exchange dimensions. This methodology can be applied to any chart type which is sliced...
Marimekko Part 3: Table calculations
In Part 2 we simulated a Marimekko using stacked bars but since the boundary for each element / polygon of a Marimekko in Tableau is made up from 4 Cartesian Coordinates we are going to use scales of 0 – 100 % for both X and Y...
DATEPARSE-ing Tips for Successful Speed Dating with Tableau 8.1
Thanks to another new and improved feature in the Tableau 8.1 release, we no longer have to spend time writing out long tedious calculations to reformat date fields! If you haven’t met the new DATEPARSE function, then let me introduce you. First, let me point out...
Alteryx and Tableau: Complementary Tools for Every Analyst
Alteryx and Tableau are powerful tools that can revolutionize data analytics and data consumption in any organization. Alteryx is a user-friendly ETL platform with a powerful suite of tools, including spatial and predictive analytics. Tableau is the best tool for sharing data in a dynamic visualization....
Extreme Viz Makeover with Tableau: Unemployment Aid, The Washington Post
I came across an interesting article today on WashingtonPost.com by Niroj Chokshi. It visualized the impending effects of the estimated 1.3 million people that will lose unemployment benefits when they expire on Saturday Dec. 28. I won't get into the politics of the issue, but...
Looking at 35 Years of NFL Data: Tableau 3-Minute Win Viz Challenge
My submission for the Tableau 3 Minute Win Viz Challenge - looking at 35 years of NFL data in only 3 minutes! The dashboard is also available on Tableau Public here....
A Look at Film Trilogies: Tableau 3-Minute Win Viz Challenge
As part of Tableau's The 3-Minute Win Challenge, I decided to build a 3 minute Tableau viz using film trilogy data. The rules of the challenge: Start from scratch. Build something useful. Do it quickly. The video must be no more than 3 minutes long. Your dashboard must start with...
Three Underused Features of Tableau 8 and 8.1
In the spirit of the season and inspired by Tiffany’s recent blog post (Design Efficiently in Tableau) listed below are three underutilized features of the Tableau 8.x families that will save you some time during design and analysis. Clipboard data source Tableau Status Bar, worksheet summary...
Displaying Long Text Fields in Tableau from Excel
The Problem Many times, it is necessary to display content in Tableau in a verbose manner. For example: displaying comments from a survey or showing lengthy project descriptions or calls to action in an executive dashboard. Connecting Tableau to a database with long string fields or textarea...
It’s your round at the bar…
In this post, drawing some circular inspiration from the front cover of David McCandless’ Information Is Beautiful, I’m going to take a simple bar chart and wrap it around a circle, for no other reason than to see if it can be done in Tableau. You...
Design Efficiently – Hot Keys & Keyboard Shortcuts in Tableau
Are you as efficient as you could be in Tableau when in comes to finding functionality? Most of Tableau's functionality is designed for access with Drop-Down Menus, Right Click Menus and Toolbar Buttons, but the software also has over 250 keyboard shortcuts. Coming in from the...
SAML Integration in Tableau 8.1
One of the best new features of Tableau 8.1 is SAML integration. SAML is an open source web-based authentication standard that uses XML to authenticate users. In Tableau, SAML can be used as an alternative to trusted tickets, so you will still need to create the...
Using R with Tableau 8.1: Getting Started
One of the much anticipated features of Tableau 8.1 is integration with R. Following is a compilation of notes and observations about this integration for those of you beginning to use this new feature. This was done using 8.1 Desktop and R installed on the...
Tableau Pills: Measures and Dimensions
This is the first in a three part series related to the four types of pills in Tableau. The four pill types are discrete dimension, continuous dimension, discrete measure, and continuous measure. Grasping these concepts is important to understanding Tableau and relational databases in general....
Questions from Tableau Training: Quick Filter Interaction
As an InterWorks Consultant, I get the privilege of traveling around the country at times to teach Tableau. In these classes are a variety of different people from different backgrounds and organizations. From CTOs and CIOs, to business analysts and just data geeks who desire...
Truly Global: Filtering Across Multiple Tableau Workbooks with the JavaScript API
You may be thinking, global filtering? Don’t we have that ability already? Why do I need to write code to do that? In Tableau Desktop, global filtering is typically defined as setting a quick filter to control all worksheets on a dashboard that use a...
Asking for Access to Your Data Warehouse
A few months ago, I received a call from a close friend who was very elated and very frustrated. She was elated because after many weeks of difficult conversations with her company’s IT department, she had finally received access to the data warehouse. At the...
Comparing Filtered Data to Unfiltered Data
Occasionally, you will find the need to compare filtered data against the total data source. As Tableau's filters remove the data from the data partition, this can sometimes be a tricky problem. You might be tempted to try the "Total" function in a formula like the...