Working with Worksheets

Now that we have connected to our data sources, we can begin to glean insights. You will discover these insights using the worksheet tab. A worksheet is where you will build charts and tables using the data you have connected to. If you have used Microsoft Excel in the past, Tableau's sheet structure should be familiar. The workbook is the Tableau file you have open. Within the workbook, you will work with sheets. There are three different types of sheets:

Sheet Icon	Sheet description
	Worksheet – This is the primary workspace in which you will be working with your data.
	Dashboard – This is a collection of worksheets on one page with filters to personalize the view.
	Story – This is a collection of worksheets and/or dashboards sequenced in a presentation format.

This chapter will explain how to use Tableau’...

Introduction to worksheets

After connecting to a data source, you will see a worksheet tab entitled Sheet1 in the lower menu ribbon. Click on it:

The worksheet page contains many items (menus, toolbars, panes, cards, shelves, and so on). You can think of the worksheet as the canvas on which you will paint your story or the view of the data you wish to present:

We will walk through the individual components of the worksheet here:

Section	Description
A	Workbook menu: This contains the workbook name, main menu, and options for the tableau workbook.
B	Data Source page: Click this icon to go to the Data Source page.
C	Data and Analytics pane: This contains the fields from data sources and options for manipulation and organization.
D	Cards: Drag fields from the data pane onto cards to edit and format the visualization.
E	Shelves: Drag fields from the...

Exploring the Data and Analytics panes

The Data and Analytics panes are two distinct panes. The Data pane is where you will work with fields from your data sources. The Analytics pane is where you will apply various analytical tools and techniques to the data in your view. Options in the Analytics pane will not be available (grayed out) until you have worked with data in the Data pane.

The Data pane

The Data pane displays all of the fields that are available in your data source. After connecting to a data source, fields are categorized as one of two roles—dimension or measure. Dimensions are represented as blue pills when set in shelves, while measures are green. The color of the icon in the Data pane corresponds to...

Shelves and cards

Where fields are placed will affect the layout of the visualization. As you work more with the tool, you will gain a better understanding of how to best approach building visualizations. You should always take the time to try multiple approaches.

You can add fields to shelves and cards by dragging and dropping. You can also double-click fields in the Data pane and Tableau will attempt to display the data using best practices; however, this does not always yield the desired results.

Shelves – Columns and Rows

Placing fields in either the Columns or Rows shelves creates headers in the view. It is important to remember that visualizations are built using marks, which are just records in your data...

Summary

In this chapter, we have learned about the components and features of the worksheet page. You should feel comfortable navigating the worksheet page, working with fields in the Data pane, applying analytic functions, and creating visualizations. As stated at the beginning of this chapter, the worksheet is the canvas on which you will paint your story. Familiarizing yourself with the worksheet will allow you to tell the best story.

In the next chapter, we will learn about the various chart types available in Tableau. We will also discuss how to use filters, sets, and groups and perform quicker analysis. Finally, we will talk about how formatting can help to create more effective visualizations.