Tableau Desktop - A Complete Introduction

Explore the Tableau platform, compare Tableau Desktop and Tableau Public, review versioning and updates, and learn saving projects with attached files while avoiding Tableau Public bugs and applying recommended settings.

Explore how Tableau Desktop drives data preparation, analysis, and visualization, including dashboards and stories, while considering Tableau Prep for advanced ETL and private sharing via Tableau Online or Server.

Compare Tableau Desktop and Tableau Public on storage, sources, and connectivity. Desktop stores private data with live or extract connections; Public uses public storage with limited sources and extracts.

Explore the updated Tableau versioning, compare release and maintenance versions, and learn when to update to avoid breaking projects in large environments and apply security updates.

Learn how saving works in Tableau Public. Drag a field to enable saving after removing fields, and beware the extract error.

Learn how to access and use attached project files in Tableau, unzip and locate data sources, resolve path errors, and compare your project with mine.

Set up the recommended Tableau settings to match the shown setup. Adjust csv file properties, locale, and language so data displays consistently and you're ready for data preparation.

Explore the Tableau workflow and data preparation steps, including CSV connections. Learn to union and join tables, filter rows, rename and sort columns, and create calculated fields.

Explore the four-step Tableau desktop workflow: connect data sources, prepare data, analyze and visualize insights, then build dashboards and stories.

Learn to connect Tableau to CSV data using the data source tab, manage connections, preview data, and prepare a single data source for analysis.

Compare extract and live connections in Tableau Desktop, learn how snapshots differ from live data, and understand when to use each for efficient data analysis.

Explore union in Tableau to add rows from a second table under the primary left table, with specific or wildcard options, yielding a single table; Power BI calls this append.

Learn how unions in Tableau work across multiple CSV files within the same connection and data source, and why cross-connection unions are not supported.

Learn how to combine tables in Tableau using union, including specific and wildcard options, drag and drop, data sources, and validating row counts.

Investigate the refresh bug in Tableau Desktop when updating population data files with the extract well, which can create null values and inconsistent formatting.

Format columns in Tableau by selecting the column format, such as number, decimal, or date. The default is a whole-number format, which can misrepresent mixed data.

Sort rows in Tableau by data source order, ascending, or descending, while identifying null values and data errors and noting cross-file index gaps.

Explore how to use string filters in Tableau, including general, wildcard, condition, and top filters on the country field, handle nulls, and refresh data previews for accurate results.

Pivot data from wide to tall by converting age group columns into a single age group field and a population field, improving data structure and usability for visuals.

Learn to use aliases in Tableau to rename text members in discrete dimensions, fixing formatting like '14th of October' to '10-14' and displaying aliases with a toggle.

Understand calculated fields in Tableau, including basic, level of detail, and table calculations. See where to create them in the data source tab or worksheet and how they shape granularity.

Learn the core building blocks of a Tableau calculated field—functions, fields, operators, and literal expressions—and see how an if statement yields a row-level calculation across data.

Explore row-level calculations in Tableau by building calculated fields, using the max function to compare two sales fields, and converting negative costs to absolute values.

Explore string functions in Tableau, including contains, find, and replace, to filter shops by Manhattan. Learn how calculated fields use these functions, understand index results, and apply boolean formatting.

Learn how type conversion works by building a calculated field like shop profit message, combining strings with a numeric profit after converting to string, and handling decimal and integer formatting.

Explore how to create calculated fields with if statements in Tableau to classify profit into C, B, and A ratings based on defined profit limits.

Create a population cleaned calculated field to fix spaces and incorrect values in the population column. Convert to string to reveal raw values, then multiply by 1000 for actual counts.

Learn how to split a text column in Tableau Desktop using automatic and custom split options, using a dash as separator, and rename or hide resulting fields for cleaner data.

Learn to create groups in Tableau to summarize age ranges into categories like children, teenagers, adults, and seniors, and use a calculated field to fix alias issues before regrouping.

Explore the join feature in Tableau, learning how joins add columns across tables and differ from unions. Grasp left, right, outer, inner, and cross-database joins across data sources.

Apply inner join operations to combine stock data from Apple, BMW, Toyota, Google, Alphabet, and Microsoft by date, using multiple connections and data previews to ensure clean, joined datasets.

Review and tidy the Tableau project by sorting the age group and country fields, adjusting column widths, and hiding unused fields, then verify data sources for errors and conclude module.

Review the general Tableau workflow and how to connect csv, excel, and text files, including data sources, filters, aliases, and calculated fields.

Learn to create charts in Tableau Desktop and distinguish measures from dimensions, while exploring data blending and relationships. Master calculated fields, level of detail expressions, and table calculations.

Review the workflow from data source preparation to analyze and visualize, then switch from the data source tab to the worksheet to create visuals, dashboards, and stories.

Navigate Tableau's worksheet interface, create worksheets, dashboards, or stories via the data source tab, and tailor visuals by dragging fields onto columns, rows, and cards while learning dimensions and measures.

Distinguish between dimensions and measures in Tableau by examining how descriptive fields like age group differ from numeric measures like population, and how aggregation and calculations apply.

Explore how to work with measures and dimensions in Tableau, convert fields, manage filters, and build area charts by combining years and regions through relationships.

Explore how relationships enable blending data from multiple data sources in Tableau by linking common dimensions. Use country code and region data to integrate insights in visuals without unnecessary joins.

Learn how to add relationships between data sources in Tableau by converting country code to a dimension, defining primary and secondary sources, and using linking fields to display regions.

Create a new worksheet to build a bar chart with country and population, utilizing region relationships. Enhance tooltips with region code and explore cross tab and duplicates.

Clarify the difference between discrete and continuous data in Tableau. Understand how data types and field roles, including dimensions and measures, affect colorization and analysis.

Explore how switching between discrete and continuous data in Tableau affects charts and axes, using region, year, and population to illustrate dimensions and measures.

Adjust the default aggregation for Tableau measures—from sum to average, median, minimum, and maximum—and grasp aggregation levels, distinct counts, and calculated fields across discrete and continuous dimensions.

Explore aggregate calculations in Tableau by creating calculated fields for measures, including sum-based population totals and male/female population divisions.

Learn how to create blended and dual axis charts in Tableau, combining population data by year with male and female measures, and understand when to use each axis concept.

Explore Tableau filters theory, including data source and extract filters, execution order from extract to data source to context to dimensions and measures, with some filters only in paid version.

Explore how data source filters, filters on dimensions and measures, and context filters influence Tableau worksheets and data blending across primary and secondary sources.

Filter data directly in the visual by keeping or excluding items, using top ten or top four country filters and year selections, then check the filters card for active filters.

Understand how context filters create a new worksheet, a new snapshot, to improve workbook performance by first narrowing data with year filters, then region filters, and note blended data limitations.

Apply filters to multiple worksheets in Tableau. Choose all related data sources, selected worksheets, or only this worksheet, and observe how changes propagate across visuals.

Master drill-down hierarchies in Tableau Desktop to show multiple detail levels within one field, using age and region examples, drag-and-drop creation, and data relationships.

Learn to sort and format axis values in Tableau, adjust y axis range and tick marks, apply manual order or drag-and-drop sorting for dimensions, and understand sorting limitations in tables.

Explore how the marks card in Tableau defines data points and visual appearance, swap mark types (area, bar, line, text) and use color, detail, and tooltips to tailor charts.

Explore how legends and filter cards enhance Tableau visuals by shaping color and detail through discrete vs continuous data, editing legend titles, and interactively filtering regions.

Explore how to apply and customize color palettes in Tableau, including discrete dimensions and continuous measure, edit colors, assign palettes, adjust opacity, borders, halo, and steps.

Format workbooks and worksheets in Tableau by adjusting fonts, font sizes, grid lines, and tooltips across the entire workbook, then tailor titles and styles for individual sheets.

Format a single worksheet in Tableau Desktop by overriding workbook defaults with font, alignment, borders, pane and header styling, and copy formatting across sheets for legends, filters, and axes.

Explore practical formatting techniques in Tableau as you customize fonts, colors, grid lines, titles, captions, and labels across worksheets. Learn to copy formatting for cohesive visuals.

Create and format text tables (cross tabs/pivot tables) in Tableau by dragging and dropping two dimensions into the columns and rows shelf, then apply totals, formatting, and highlight table techniques.

Explore quick table calculations and more advanced table calculations in Tableau to derive running totals, differences, and percent of total from your data tables, with flexible compute directions.

Explore creating own table calculations in Tableau Desktop, including using index and rank functions, customizing compute across or down, and applying calculations to specific dimensions.

Create a scatter plot to compare two measures—the female population and female share of total population—using dimensions for marks, with year filters, color by age categories, and axis adjustments.

Compare groups and sets in Tableau, showing how groups manually summarize members and sets categorize members by conditions, with fixed, dynamic, and combined sets and practical examples.

Create and compare fixed, dynamic, and combined sets in Tableau to colorize countries by female share and population, using context to make selections dynamic across years.

Learn the theory of level of detail (LoD) calculations in Tableau to increase data granularity, including include, exclude, and fixed options, with examples from a blended data project.

Learn to apply level of detail calculations in Tableau using include, exclude, and fixed expressions to control aggregation across countries, age groups, and filters.

Create folders in the data pane to organize dimensions and measures, drag items, colorize worksheets, and switch between folder and data source views for a clearer project structure.

Create and use bins in tableau to categorize data by population ranges, switch data to continuous, and count countries, using fixed lod calculations and context filters.

Explore how to use groups, sets, and bins in Tableau Desktop to organize data, convert a measure into a dimension, and apply criteria for member inclusion across country examples.

Create interactive maps in Tableau by turning country data into geographic roles, using latitude and longitude, and visualizing with symbol maps colored by country and sized by CO2 emissions.

Explore map interactions in Tableau: search, navigate, pan, zoom in and out, and use rectangular, circular, or lasso selections to filter data, with map options to restrict interactions.

Explore map layers and the map menu to customize backgrounds, views in Tableau. Learn to switch between simple and field maps and add data layers like CO2 or population.

Use parameters in Tableau to let users set the top X countries by population, with a 3–15 integer range bound to the country filter.

Use parameters in calculations to define a population threshold that classifies countries as small or large for year 2015. Apply an if statement with aggregated population and a parameter control.

Master measures and dimensions in tableau, build visuals from maps and charts, and apply data blending, discrete vs continuous fields, filters, sets, and level of detail calculations.

Explore creating dashboards and stories in Tableau, master dashboard interactivity and layout, and learn to align visuals across sheets to present compelling results.

Review the current project status, confirm completion of data collection, preparation, analysis, and visualization, and proceed to create dashboards and story sheets to finalize the Tableau desktop workflow.

Explore how dashboards consolidate visuals from multiple sheets into a single, meaningful view that quickly conveys the data’s core idea, and learn to size, format, and arrange content with containers.

Drag and drop visuals into the dashboard, rename the title to population data worldwide, adjust workbook font size to eight, and manage containers for a cohesive treemap dashboard with legends.

Learn how to use horizontal and vertical objects as containers to drag visuals, add tables and text, embed web pages, and achieve automatic dashboard alignment.

Learn how tiled objects automatically fit into the dashboard without overlap, and how floating objects can be positioned and resized freely with adjustable stacking order.

Position and format legends in Tableau dashboards, switching between floating and tiled layouts and adjusting size, borders, and padding. Learn how legend edits sync with the worksheet and enhance interactivity.

Discover how to add interactivity in Tableau Desktop by creating actions that filter across visuals, linking area charts and treemaps, and managing data blending challenges with country codes.

Apply styling to the dashboard by refining containers and layout, adjust color palette, and configure year filters and ignore actions to emphasize data across years.

Learn how stories differ from dashboards, enabling multi-page presentations of visuals using drag-and-drop, formatting, and navigator options to build engaging Tableau stories.

Continue practicing with your own Tableau Desktop projects, using the course as a reference to refresh calculations and table calculations, and dive deeper via community resources.

Apply what you learned from this Tableau Desktop course to your day-to-day projects: build demo projects, solidify the foundation, and continue learning with more courses.