Create your first data visualization with Tableau Public
This article aims at giving you the basic tools you need to make your first dashboard on Tableau Public.
You may be a business owner tackling spreadsheets from your accountant, a researcher wanting a deeper insight into your material or just someone who wants to visualize some data. Whichever it may be Tableau Public is a great way to start. You can download Tableau Public here:
https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/download
Let’s dive in. Once you’ve installed tableau, go ahead and open the program. First, you’re going to be met with a blue/grey themed welcome page. This welcome page is divided into three shelves, “Connect” for connecting tableau to a data source, “Open” to open existing projects you’ve saved and “Discover” which has some shared projects and resources you can look through. We’re just going to focus on “Connect” today.
Find out what kind of data source you’ll be connecting to and select it from the left side menu under “Connect”. Under “to a file” you can choose from many different files types, make sure you match the file type to your data source (.csv, .xlsx, .pdf, .etc). If you’re connecting to a server find the “to a server” on the left side menu and select your desired server type to connect to.
You should now be on a page where you can see the data you’ve connected to. This is a good spot to clean up any data before jumping into the visualization. Depending on the data you’re using, you may want to change a few column names or table relations in this step (we’ll go more into data cleaning and relations in another article). On the bottom left you should see a box called “Sheet 1”, click this to start your visualization.
Tableau is a very powerful tool , however with its power comes complexity. Let’s demystify some basic concepts together and get you onto your first dashboard. On the left you’ll see a shelf called “Data”, there’s a tab for “Analytics” as well but for now we’ll focus on “Data”. The data you just connected to should be visible in this shelf. The shelf to the right of the “Data” shelf is used for details like filtering, colouring, sizing and much more. In the middle you’ll have a nice white canvas with a thin template showing you where different data could be placed. Drag a data field from your data source and hover it over the canvas. You’ll notice you can add your data to either axis. Now hover your field over to the top above the canvas, you’ll notice there’s a “Columns” and “Rows” shelf just above. Go ahead and drop your data there. In this row/column zone we’ll be able to set the dimensions of your visualization. I’d suggest adding the fields in tableau similarly to your original data source to start with (example: if your table had dates as columns then drag the dates field into columns).
You should now have a tableau worksheet with dimensions and measures, congratulations! We’re almost finished a presentable data visualization dashboard. In the top right corner there’s a “Show Me” drop down menu. Pick a visualization template that fits your data source and the insights you’re trying to gain from it. There may not be all of the templates available to you but that will change as you configure your worksheet and incorporate new data fields that can be expressed through those templates (Tableau will hint at the bottom of the drop down menu which dimensions and measures will work with what template).
Beside the “Sheet 1” you originally selected to open the worksheet, you should see a box with a grid icon and a “+”. Hover your mouse over it and it should read “New Dashboard”. Click this to create your first Tableau dashboard. Now you’ll notice that the workspace is blank and the shelf on the right that used to be called “Data” and contained your data tables is now called “Dashboard” and contains your worksheet. This shelf has tools for you to resize, preview other device screens, and add objects such as text or images. Drag and drop your worksheet from this shelf onto the dashboard. From here you’ll be able to resize your worksheet, add final details and finalize your visualization. Remember, your worksheet is still at the bottom of the page that you can go back to edit it at any time.
Lastly, you’ve done all this work creating a beautiful visualization so it’s time to see the final product. On the far right of the toolbar you’ll see an icon that looks like a projector screen. Click this to preview a final product of your visualization. If you’re happy with your work and want to keep it you can create an account with tableau and save it to their public servers.
You’ve created you first data visualization with Tableau Public. Great job! I hope this article has given you a foundation in Tableau skills so that you can enjoy and continue using tableau.
