Tableau

Filter worksheets allow you to manage all your filters from one place, and more easily create interactions on your dashboard

1. Create a worksheet that contains all your filters
2. To control what worksheets are impacted by a filter, right click on the filter and select “Apply to Worksheets” and choose specific worksheets of everything in your workbook
3. Add the worksheet to your dashboard. This worksheet will be floating
4. Add all your filters and parameters from this worksheet
5. Adjust the size of the worksheet to be 10x10. Put the worksheet off in the corner of the dashboard. Users will not interact with this worksheet so you will want it out of the way

When using hidden page filters you will need to add a filter summary so the user is aware of what filters have been applied in the view. Follow these steps:

1. Create a blank worksheet that includes all filters. If you have already created a filters worksheet (in the previous step) use that worksheet
2. Right click the worksheet and select show caption. Edit the caption to be most readable for your user

How-to video

1. Use a floating container and add a blank element before adding a worksheet or other element. Sometimes it is easier to add a worksheet when there are additional elements in the container.
2. Double click on the top handle of a worksheet/dashboard object to control the higher level container | View how
3. When adding chart elements (legends, filters, parameter) to a view they can often get dumped into the Workbook filters pane or in a hidden container. Open hidden page elements (workbook filters, page filers, navigation) to locate hidden objects | View how
4. You can duplicate empty dashboard containers, making build out easier. Delete charts, copy empty container, undo, paste your new container | View how
5. Hold Shift while moving a worksheet over a container, let go of shift to put the object in the container | View how

Use dynamic zone visibility to conditionally hide content (filters, images, worksheets, navigation objects, entire layout containers) from a page

1. Create a parameter driven boolean calculation
2. In your dashboard, select the worksheet or page element you want to hide and select the calculation using the “Control visibility using value” option. Troubleshoot with content on this page: https://help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/dynamic_zone_visibility.htm
3. Make sure your Tableau Desktop version is up to date to include this feature.
4. Tutorials:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1DuCEyfRfI
• https://playfairdata.com/how-to-do-advanced-dynamic-zone-visibility-in-tableau
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehnBM0ym6yI

This process allows you to add or change color palettes, including categorical, sequential, or diverging color palettes.

1. Go to finder > Documents > My Tableau Repository > Open Preferences.tps in a text/code editor or IDE (this is an XML document and does not open in Tableau)
2. Add or change custom color palettes by coding in new hex codes
3. Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9PXfF_gXZY

Tableau uses “points” for fonts, while Figma uses pixels. You will need to convert the fonts when building out a dashboard to match your designs.

1. In Tableau, chart elements are 9, larger chart elements are 11, chart titles are 15
2. Convert your Figma to Tableau text using this: https://simplecss.eu/pxtoems.html

1. Uncheck “Show sheets as tabs.” This will allow you to have dashboards of different heights
2. Check “Include external files.” This ensures that all the button images (eg Navigation, Workbook Filters) will publish with the workbook

This method allows you to change the worksheet in view

1. Create a parameter (it is easiest to use an integer or a float here) and add the required options for your selector and appropriate labels (eg “Bar Chart”, “Line Chart)
2. Create a boolean calculation for the parameter using just the parameter field. Add the calculation to the filter shelf
3. Edit the filter custom values and allow for only the specific parameter selection. Do this for each  worksheet. You can test if these are working as the worksheet will disappear if you select different chart types: the “Bar Chart” worksheet disappears when you have “Line Chart” selected
4. Add the worksheets to your dashboard in a layout container. Remove title and any padding. They will automatically fill the container when selected
5. Tutorials
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fExopuDJz7g
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPn6XfzVGCQ

This formatting option allows you to insert unicode characters into negative/positive values. This makes KPI card labels easier to build

1. Select your measure and choose Format > Custom
2. The formatting syntax is separated by semicolons showing: positive numbers “;” negative numbers “;” null values. For showing percent change use this custom formatting: "▲ "##.#%;"▼ "##.#%
3. View how
4. Resources
• Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIvsVKQpB4c
• Unicode characters: https://jrgraphix.net/r/Unicode/
• Article: https://datavis.blog/2022/07/31/tableau-custom-number-formatting/

You can use a parameter to change the measures or dimensions used in a visual. This gives the user the ability to control the details or aggregations of a visual.

1. Create a parameter with display values of the specific measures you want in the view
2. Write a CASE statement calling the specific measures/dimensions you want in your view. This can also be written to control the granularity used in a view
3. Use the CASE statement as the measure of your view
4. Tutorial: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/parameters_swap.htm

You can allow your user to set aggregations of a field by combining two or more parameters in a field

1. Create two or more parameters that a user would select to create a custom dimension
2. Write a case statement setting the values for each of the parameters

This dashboard feature allows you to generate text summarizing a chart or element of a dashboard

1. Add a “Data Story” dashboard object. Select the worksheet you want summarized.
• Consider building a sheet specifically for feeding into the Data Story, which will make the summarizing process simpler.
2. Follow the formatting preferences: View image
3. Use the “edit” option to remove content you don’t want
4. Keep this text simple and limited to only a few points or descriptions. Try to prevent any horizontal scrolling behavior

If you have a large number of filters you can hide them behind a chart using the show/hide button

1. Add a layout container to the dashboard. Add the filters to the layout container.
2. Select “add show/hide button” from the worksheet selector. You can use these button images or write a text button
• Buttons to potentially add: more filters, info, red green icons… ask designers?
3. Place the filters into a vertical container and put it next to the chart it will control
4. Place the button next to the chart, also in a layout container

The option of reference or average lines allows you to add a label to your bars different from labels pane. This can be useful for the following reasons:

1. You can add a “total” amount to stacked bar charts
2. You can add a dimension label to a part of the bar chart and add a measure label along with it.

Any fonts available in your Font Book (repository of local fonts) can be accessed in Tableau. To add them:

1. If you are on a PC, Segoe UI fonts will come preloaded on your computer and you can skip this step. If you want to check the fonts on your machine go to Settings > Personalization > Fonts > Look for “Segoe UI”
2. If you are on a Mac, you need to add these 3 font files to your Font Book. This will allow you to access Segoe UI, Segoe Semibold, Segoe Light
• Download the 3 .otf files
• Drag the font files into your Font Book | View how
3. If you are a dashboard viewer/user on a Mac you will need to have Segoe UI on your machine to ensure all fonts are rendering correctly.
• Download this Segoe UI font and add it to your Font Book

As a default, Tableau highlights all measure columns in a table along a single measure. To limit this behavior, do the following:

1. Add “Measure Values” to the color shelf. Right click the pill and select “Use Separate Legends”. This will break each column to be colored separately
2. If you don’t want a column colored, select and edit the legend. Choose custom diverging, select only 2 steps, add #FFFFFF for each side of the color range
3. View how

You can add multiple dimensions to the color shelf by dragging the dimension to “Detail” and then changing it over to “Color.” Make sure your second dimension is simple (eg a in/out set, or a boolean statement)

Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y34q0RrheSk

While making a scatter or dot plot, controlling the transparency allows the user to see overlapping data points but when semitransparent it can be difficult to see marks on the chart. Use a dual axis chart with shapes to highlight a particular mark or group of marks

1. Create a dual axis chart
2. Have one of the measures show all dimensions you want to view. Make this mark type a circle and lower the transparency of the circles
3. Have the second measure show only highlighted or in-focus dimensions and NULL others. Do this by using a set, or creating a boolean parameter driven calculated field. Make the mark type a shape and drag your dimension to the shapes card
4. Assign your shapes to have the in focus dimension show as the preferred shape and the non-focus shape be blank
• Here is a blank shape file

Custom shapes allow you to plot different objects on a chart. To use shapes in your workbook follow these steps:

1. Collect your shapes (Are there shapes we want to add in for Delish?)
2. Open documents > My Tableau Repository > Shapes > Create a new folder > Add shapes
3. You may need to “reload shapes” in the shapes mark assignment

You can use a control sheet to build out buttons in your workbook and control a parameter selection. Follow these steps:

1. Create a parameter for the action you are wanting (eg changing a measure, navigating to a dashboard, toggling something into view)
• Create a boolean calculation of the parameter. This will be used to highlight the active parameter value in the button
2. Create a control sheet of the parameter values and display values you want to show up on the button. This will be an excel file. Add the data source to your workbook
3. Create a worksheet for this button group and bring the parameter values and display values into view. Hide the parameter values header so you can only see the display values
• Bring the boolean calculation your created onto the color shelf to highlight the active parameter value
4. Bring the worksheet with the button group onto your dashboard and format
5. In the dashboard, create a parameter action the uses the button group to control the parameter value

1. Create a calculated field with any text in it (e.g. “dummy text”)
2. In the dashboard, create a highlight action that only highlights the “dummy text” calculation
3. Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wLrr_9JS1c

1. Add the image to the dashboard. Dimensions: 1400 x 650
2. Add a show/hide button and bring it to the top navigation bar. Use these image buttons and bring padding to 0.
3. Add a space between the button and Navigation to center the buttons. The space should be 475px wide.
4. Have the image open as default when publishing. When closed, the button should appear as blank.
5. View How

View info banner and button images