Tableau is a powerful data visualization software that enables users to create interactive and dynamic visualizations of their data without requiring advanced technical skills. As a student, you can access Tableau’s student program using your Trinity email. Once your account is verified, you can receive a one-year software license and access to its eLearning suite.
For this tutorial, we will use Tableau Public, a free software version available to everyone. However, it’s important to note that this version has some limitations, such as that all visualizations are publicly available, and some advanced features may not be accessible. Despite these limitations, Tableau Public still provides a powerful and accessible platform for creating visualizations and exploring data.
This tutorial covers the following:
- Setting up Tableau Public on your device.
- Connecting data (Microsoft Excel) to Tableau Public.
- Using Data Interpreter to clean data.
- Using the Show me toolbar to choose visualization.
Setting up Tableau Public on Your Device, Connecting Microsoft Excel Data, and Cleaning with Data Interprete
- Click on download now from the official page to get Tableau Public for Windows or Mac.
- Download the sample spreadsheet about public educational organizations in Connecticut. Go to file, then Download, and lastly, Microsoft Excel.
- Open Tableau Public on your device. Select Microsoft Excel (you can always select other options depending on the file you have).
- On the left side of the screen, you will see all the sheets attached to the spreadsheet. In this case, drag Education_directory.cvs to the center. The dataset will be displayed automatically.
- Before starting your analysis or visualization, ensure the downloaded spreadsheet is clean and free of unnecessary data. Tableau Public provides a powerful data interpreter tool that automatically identifies and removes extraneous headers, footers, empty rows, and columns from your data. To use it, you must check the box next to the Data Interpreter under the sheets on the left side of the setting to turn it on. If you need more information on how to clean your data using Google spreadsheets, check out our tutorial on Clean And Organize Your Data With Google Spreadsheets.
Short Instructional Video
Video 1: “How to use Data Interpreter to clean your data in Microsoft Excel,” Self-hosted video, 00:29 seconds, posted by Myri Ayala.
Using the Show me toolbar to choose visualization
- Download the sample spreadsheet about public educational organizations in Connecticut and connect it to Tableau Public to get started. Once you’ve done that, drag the “Education_directory.cvs” sheet to the center of the screen.
- Next, click on “Sheet 1” (a pop-up message “Go to worksheet” usually appears). On the left-hand side, you will see the “Data” bar, which contains a table with alphabetic data (shown in blue with an “ABC” icon) and numerical data (shown in green with a “#” symbol).
- Since we want to know how many public schools are available by region, we must drag the “Region” sheet to the rows and the “Education_directory.cvs” sheet to the columns. Tableau will automatically interpret this procedure and return an answer.
- To visualize the findings, look for the “Show Me” toolbar in the top right corner of Tableau. This toolbar provides all the possible visualizations available based on the data type you’re working with (e.g., stacked bars, maps, and column charts, to name a few). Select your preferred visualization. Tableau usually highlights the recommended option in red, so watch for that.
Short Instructional Video
Video 2: “How to use the Show Me tool,” Self-hosted video, 00:28 seconds, posted by Myri Ayala