How to Tableau

Getting the most out of your data

  • What it is

    Tableau Software is a powerful tool that allows you to see and interact with your data. While the initial view may be instructive in itself, the real power of the software is how it allows you to interact and ask questions yourself.

  • Carefree

    Don’t worry about breaking anything. Tableau is highly intuitive, but if you find yourself getting stuck, a simple click on a control gets you back to the beginning. A visualization is unbreakable.

  • Several controls

    The data displayed can be easily re-shaped via several different types of controls in Tableau: Parameters that might sort or change colors; filters that limit the data shown; or highlighters that show groups of data against the background of the entire set.

  • Export it

    Based on permissions granted in the workbook, you can export static images to add to PowerPoint, data in one of several formats, or even download the workbook off the web and edit it on your desktop (with a license).

The two images above display the same data in different ways, showing US educational attainment by state in 2012 and 2022.. You can click on the image for a larger view, or you can go directly to the live visualization by clicking here. That link should open in a new tab, allowing you to jump back and forth between this page and the interactive visualization.

Using the tabs across the top, navigate to the bar chart. This shows data in three columns: Attainment levels in 2012 (blue); attainment levels in 2022 (pink); and the change between the two, in percentage points. This view has minimal interactivity: Use the control in the green box at top right to select the level of educational opportunity. The view will update instantly. They, use the pink box to tell Tableau how to sort the data, choosing either the default 2012 value, the value in 2022, or the ten-year change.

The scattergram on the other tab is more complex and more interactive. It arrays the states on the two values (2012 and 2022). Similar to the bar chart, the green control at top left lets you decide which data group you want to display, The orange filter (sliders) allows you to limit states shown based on the range of ten-year change.

The pink control allows you to highlight a state (just type any part of the state name, or select from the scroll box) to see where a particular state ranks. And the light purple control allows you to color the data points by state or region.

Some tips: If you get stuck, you can undo or reset using the controls at the bottom right. And filters can’t contradict each other: So if you choose something like “New England” in one filter, you can’t select “California” in another.