Tableau Your Data!. Murray Daniel G.

analyze with Tableau. Highlight and copy the data from the website and then use the Paste Data option to input it into Tableau. Once pasted, Tableau will copy the data from the Windows clipboard and add a data source in the data window.

      The Tableau Data Server menu allows you to refresh and append data sources that you have published to Tableau Server. Details related to these features are covered in Chapter 12.

      The Edit Relationships menu option is used in data blending. This menu option is necessary if the field names in two different data sources are not identical. It allows you to specifically define the related fields. Chapter 2 covers details related to data blending.

      The Replace Data Source is most typically used when you are working with spreadsheet data sources (and the spreadsheet name has been changed) you need to direct Tableau to the new version of the spreadsheet. This feature isn’t limited to spreadsheets; it also works for database sources.

      Worksheet Menu

Several frequently used features exist in this menu. The Export option allows you to export your worksheet as an image, in an Excel text tables, or to an Access database file. The Actions and Tooltip menu options are covered in detail in Chapter 8. Figure 1-9 shows an example of the output from the Describe Sheet menu option.

Figure 1-9: Describe Sheet output

      Using the Describe Sheet menu option creates a summary of the sheet metadata that displays summarized information about the sheet contents and source data. Notice that you can copy the output from Describe Sheet and paste it into another application.

      Dashboard Menu

      The Action menu is a very useful feature that is reached from both the Dashboard menu and the Worksheet menu. Chapter 8 covers the three types of actions in detail.

      Story Menu

      The Story menu is one way you can start a Story Point view. This feature is covered in detail in Chapter 10.

      Analysis Menu

      As your skills grow, you’ll venture to this menu to access the Aggregate Measures and Stack Marks options. These switches allow you to adjust default Tableau behaviors that are useful if you need to build non-standard chart types. You’ll build an example in Chapter 7 that requires the use of these options. The Create Calculated Field and Edit Calculated Field options are used to make new dimensions or measures that don’t exist in your data source.

      Tableau Desktop Version 9 offers many new features related to calculated values and table calculations. Chapter 4 has been significantly revised to show the new ways you can create calculated values and table calculations.

      Map Menu

      The Map menu includes options for Background Maps, Background Images, Geocoding, Edit Locations, Map Legends, Map Layers and Map Options.

      The Background Maps option is used to alter the base map type that is being used in your sheet view. The None menu option removes the map image from the background but still plots the marks using latitude and longitude for the placement of the data marks. Use the Offline option if you don’t have access to the Internet but still want to look at the map view. The offline maps are less-detailed than Tableau’s online maps. Select the Tableau Classic map option if you want to add census data to your maps via color-encoded polygon shapes.

      Geocoding is used to import custom locations to Tableau. For example, you may want to plot your company office locations on a map. The Edit locations option is used to correct locations in your data that Tableau doesn’t automatically recognize. For example, you may have a misspelled city or state name. Selecting the Map Options exposes the Map Options window that will float over the map. The options contained in that menu allow you to control whether the user can pan and zoom, show the map search control or show the view toolbar.

      All these options and more are covered in Chapter 5.

      Format Menu

      You may not use this menu very often because pointing at anything in your workbook and right-clicking gets you to a context-specific formatting menu more quickly. On rare occasions, you may need to alter the cell size in a text table. Do that from the Cell Size menu option. Or, if you don’t like the default workbook theme, use the Workbook Theme menu option to select one of the other two options. You learn many tips and tricks about formatting in Chapters 7 and 8.

      Server Menu

      Use this menu if you need to log in and publish work to Tableau Server. The Sign In menu option is used to enter your server address and security credentials. The Switch User and Switch to Self menu options are used for simulating the login credentials of another user to see how a dashboard or workbook will appear for them. Create New User Filter is used to create filters that will hide information from view that you have included in the data source. Chapter 11 covers these options in detail.

      The section in Chapter 11 on options for securing reports describes how to use the menu option to create user filters. This provides row-level security by using a dimension to filter out data from view.

      If you are using Tableau Desktop to build dashboards for fun or for a blog post, use the Tableau Public menu. To use this service, you must sign up for a free Tableau Public account. The menu options here allow you to save and manage workbooks saved to your Tableau Public account.

      Window Menu

      The Presentation Mode option removes all design tools from view, making your worksheet or dashboard data stand out. If you want to share a single sheet with someone else, use the Bookmark/Create Bookmark option to save a .tbm file that you can share with another Tableau user. I never use the rest of the menu options in this menu because there are easier ways to accomplish the same things, as discussed throughout this book.

      Help Menu

      The top section of this menu includes menu options that access Tableau’s online manual, training videos, and sample workbooks. All of these options are accessed from the Start page covered earlier in this chapter. Use the Choose Language option to change the default language that Tableau Desktop uses to display text in menus, windows, cards, and content. This also changes how Tableau expresses geographic names in maps and for map search. After you select the new language, Tableau will prompt you to restart Tableau Desktop to effect the desired language change.

      The most important feature in the Help menu is contained in the Setting and Performance menu option. The Start Performance Recording option tells Tableau to collect key performance metrics about your workbook. Stopping the performance recording causes Tableau to build a Tableau dashboard of your Tableau workbook performance. This is a critical feature that is covered in detail in Chapters 8 and 12.

      If you need to find your product key, the Manage Product Key menu option will display it. Finally, the About Tableau menu option (Windows only) displays the Tableau version that you are running. If you are using a Mac, this information is located in the Tableau menu option. This information is particularly important if your company is running multiple versions of Tableau. You can install multiple releases of Tableau on your computer, but because different versions are not backward compatible, you should confirm that you are using the correct release before you start creating new analysis.

       Understanding the Toolbar Icons

The toolbar displayed in Figure 1-10 makes the most commonly needed functions conveniently accessible. The section headings that follow match the pop-ups that occur in Tableau when you point at the icon.

Figure 1-10: Toolbar icons

      Start

      Clicking the small Tableau logo on the left side of the toolbar toggles you between the Start page and the workspace.

      Undo/Redo

      Undo