Tableau Desktop Cookbook

Tableau Desktop Cookbook

by Lorna Brown
Released August 2021
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781492090113

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Book description

Whether you're a beginner just learning how to create data visualizations or a Jedi who's already used Tableau for years, this cookbook has a recipe for everyone. Author Lorna Brown provides more than 100 practical recipes to enhance the way you build Tableau dashboards--and helps you understand your data through the power of Tableau Desktop's interactive datavisualizations.

With this cookbook, Tableau beginners will learn hands-on how this unique self-serve tool works, while experienced users will find this book to be an ideal reference guide on how to employ specific techniques. It also links you to online resources and community features, such as Tableau Tip Tuesday and Workout Wednesday. By the time you reach the end, you'll be a competent user of Tableau Desktop.

You'll learn how to:

  • Build both basic and complex data visualizations with Tableau Desktop
  • Gain hands-on experience with Tableau's latest features, including set and parameter actions
  • Create interactive dashboards to support business questions
  • Improve your analytical skills to enhance the visualizations you've already created
  • Learn data visualization skills and best practices to help you and your organization

Publisher resources

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Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. What Is Data?
    2. An Introduction to Data Visualization
    3. An Introduction to Tableau
    4. Why I Wrote This Book
    5. Who Is This Book For?
    6. How the Book Is Organized
    7. Outcomes of the Book
    8. Conventions Used in This Book
    9. Using Code Examples
    10. O’Reilly Online Learning
    11. How to Contact Us
    12. Acknowledgments
  2. Starting at the Very Beginning
  3. 1. Introduction to Data
    1. 1.1. Connecting to Data
    2. 1.2. Searching for Data
    3. 1.3. Connecting to a File
    4. 1.4. Messy Data Sources
    5. 1.5. Connecting to a Server
    6. 1.6. Saved Data Sources
    7. 1.7. Connecting to Secondary Data Sets: The Data Model
      1. Creating Relationship Calculations
      2. Unioning Your Data: The Physical Layer
      3. Joining Your Data: The Physical Layer
    8. 1.8. Data Types
    9. 1.9. Creating Extracts
    10. Summary
  4. 2. Getting Started with Tableau
    1. 2.1. Creating a New Worksheet
    2. 2.2. The Tableau Workspace
    3. 2.3. The Data Pane
    4. 2.4. Dimension Versus Measure
    5. 2.5. Discrete Versus Continuous
    6. 2.6. Calculated Fields
    7. 2.7. Shelves and Cards
      1. Rows and Columns
      2. Marks Card
      3. Filters Shelf
      4. Continuous Filters
    8. 2.8. What Is Show Me?
    9. 2.9. Formatting in Tableau
    10. Summary
    11. Part I Conclusion
  5. Building a Foundation
  6. 3. Bar Charts
    1. 3.1. Horizontal Bar Chart
      1. Adding a Constant Line
      2. Changing to a User-Controlled Reference Line
      3. Adding Color to a Parameterized Reference Line
      4. Adding Average Lines
    2. 3.2. Grouping
      1. Visual Grouping
      2. Discrete Grouping
    3. 3.3. Top N Filter
    4. 3.4. Stacked Bar Chart
    5. 3.5. 100% Stacked Bar Chart (Percent of Total)
    6. 3.6. Discrete Bar in Bar Chart
    7. 3.7. Shared Axis
    8. 3.8. Shared Axis Bar in Bar
    9. 3.9. Bullet Chart
    10. 3.10. Histogram
    11. 3.11. Soundwave
    12. Summary
  7. 4. Text
    1. 4.1. Tables
    2. 4.2. Adding Totals
    3. 4.3. Highlight Tables
    4. 4.4. Rank Tables
    5. 4.5. Big Actual Numbers
    6. 4.6. Calculating Percent Difference
    7. 4.7. Using LAST and Hide
    8. 4.8. Custom Number Format
    9. 4.9. How to Zero Nulls
    10. 4.10. Showing Positive, Negative, or Neutral Values
    11. 4.11. Calculating a Good, OK, or Bad Status
    12. 4.12. Using Titles as BANs
    13. 4.13. Using SIZE
    14. 4.14. Word Cloud
    15. Summary
  8. 5. Lines
    1. 5.1. Line Charts
    2. 5.2. Continuous Line Charts
    3. 5.3. Trend Lines
    4. 5.4. Forecasting
    5. 5.5. Custom Date Format
    6. 5.6. Running Total
    7. 5.7. Year over Year Growth
    8. 5.8. Year to Date (YTD) Growth
    9. 5.9. Moving Average
    10. 5.10. Slope Chart
    11. 5.11. Sparklines
    12. 5.12. Small Multiple Line Charts
    13. 5.13. Small Multiple Controlled Version
    14. Summary
  9. 6. Basic Mapping
    1. 6.1. Symbol Map
    2. 6.2. Filled Map
    3. 6.3. Dual-Axis Map
    4. 6.4. Mapping Nongeographic Fields
    5. Summary
  10. 7. Basic Dashboards
    1. 7.1. Build a Basic Dashboard
    2. 7.2. Adding Basic Dashboard Interactivity
    3. 7.3. Objects
      1. Using Horizontal and Vertical Containers
      2. Adding a Text Object
      3. Adding an Image Object
      4. Adding a Blank Object
    4. 7.4. Layout Tab
      1. Borders
      2. Background
      3. Using Padding
      4. Item Hierarchy
    5. Summary
    6. Part II Conclusion
  11. Broadening Your Data Viz Knowledge
  12. 8. Square
    1. 8.1. Treemaps
    2. 8.2. Calendar Heatmap
    3. 8.3. Marginal Bar Charts
    4. Summary
  13. 9. Tooltips
    1. 9.1. Basic Tooltips
    2. 9.2. Viz in Tooltips
    3. 9.3. Multiple Layout Viz in Tooltip
    4. Summary
  14. 10. Area Charts
    1. 10.1. Basic Area Charts
    2. 10.2. Stacked Area Charts
    3. 10.3. Percent of Total Area Charts
    4. 10.4. Discrete Area Charts
    5. 10.5. Pareto Charts
    6. Summary
  15. 11. Circles, Shapes, and Pies
    1. 11.1. Scatter Plot
    2. 11.2. Using Custom Shapes
    3. 11.3. Density Marks
    4. 11.4. Clustering
    5. 11.5. Trend Lines
    6. 11.6. Explain Data
    7. 11.7. Connected Scatter Plot
    8. 11.8. Dot Plot
    9. 11.9. Dot Strip Plot
    10. 11.10. Jitter Plot
    11. 11.11. Box Plots
    12. 11.12. Using Shapes for BANs
    13. 11.13. Pie Charts
    14. 11.14. Donut Chart
    15. Summary
  16. 12. Gantt
    1. 12.1. Basic Gantt Charts
    2. 12.2. Barcode Charts
    3. 12.3. Waterfall Charts
    4. Summary
  17. 13. Stories
    1. 13.1. Creating a Story
    2. 13.2. Adding a New Story Point
    3. 13.3. Blank Story Point
    4. 13.4. Duplicate Story Point
    5. 13.5. Annotations on a Story
    6. 13.6. “Save as New” Story
    7. Summary
    8. Part III Conclusion
  18. Advancing Your Techniques
  19. 14. Sets
    1. 14.1. General Set
    2. 14.2. Conditional Set
    3. 14.3. Top N Set
    4. 14.4. Combined Set
    5. 14.5. Constant Set
    6. 14.6. Set Control
    7. 14.7. Set Actions
    8. Summary
  20. 15. Parameters
    1. 15.1. Float/Integer Parameter
    2. 15.2. String Parameter
    3. 15.3. Date Parameter
    4. 15.4. Measure Switcher
    5. 15.5. Dynamic Scatter Plot
    6. 15.6. Dimension Switcher
    7. 15.7. Parameter Actions
    8. 15.8. Parameter Actions: Drill Down
    9. 15.9. Parameter Actions: Min and Max Date Range
    10. Summary
  21. 16. Advanced Table Calculations
    1. 16.1. Previous Value
    2. 16.2. Lookup
    3. 16.3. Window Calculations
    4. 16.4. How to Create a Control Chart
    5. Summary
  22. 17. Level-of-Detail Calculations
    1. 17.1. Include LOD
    2. 17.2. Exclude LODs
    3. 17.3. Fixed LODs
    4. 17.4. Nested LODs
    5. Summary
  23. 18. Advanced Mapping
    1. 18.1. Density Marks
    2. 18.2. MakePoint
    3. 18.3. MakeLine
    4. 18.4. Marks Layer
    5. 18.5. Distance
    6. 18.6. Buffer
    7. 18.7. Spatial Joins
    8. Summary
  24. 19. Advanced Dashboarding
    1. 19.1. Actions
      1. Highlight Action
      2. URL Action
    2. 19.2. Dashboard Objects
      1. Navigation Button
      2. Download Object
      3. Extensions
    3. 19.3. Floating
    4. 19.4. Toggle Containers On and Off Using Show/Hide
    5. 19.5. Device-Specific Dashboards
    6. 19.6. Publishing Dashboards
    7. Summary
    8. Part IV Conclusion
  25. 20. My Top 20 Tips
    1. 20.1. Proactive Tips
    2. 20.2. Technical Tips
  26. Index

Product information

  • Title: Tableau Desktop Cookbook
  • Author(s): Lorna Brown
  • Release date: August 2021
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781492090113