Build a dashboard

In Tableau, every chart lives on its own worksheet (sheet). A dashboard is a page where several sheets sit side by side so they can be read at a glance. You need three sheets you already have: Total Revenue (the big KPI number) and Revenue by Month (line chart) from Module 4, plus Revenue by Region (a bar chart by city) from the end of the Tidy up the data lesson in Module 2. No Revenue by Region yet? Click the New Worksheet icon in the tab strip at the bottom, drag Region to Rows and Revenue to Columns, click Sort Descending on the toolbar so Jakarta is at the top, then double-click that sheet’s tab and name it Revenue by Region. Every step in this module works the same in Tableau Public and Tableau Desktop.

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Click a number on the picture or in this list to highlight that area.

1. 1Size Dashboard size: Fixed size (default Desktop Browser (1000 x 800)), Automatic, or Range.
2. 2Sheets Every worksheet in the workbook; drag one onto the canvas.
3. 3Objects Extra items such as Text, Image, Blank, and Horizontal and Vertical containers.
4. 4Tiled / Floating Tiled arranges items neatly without overlap; Floating lets you place an item freely on top of others.
5. 5Dashboard canvas The page where the KPI, line chart, bar chart, and Region filter card are laid out.

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Click the New Dashboard icon in the tab strip at the bottom (the second small icon after the last sheet tab), or choose Dashboard → New Dashboard. A Dashboard 1 tab opens and the Data pane on the left turns into the Dashboard pane. Double-click the Dashboard 1 tab, type Sales Dashboard, then press Enter.

   Tip: Type the name exactly as Sales Dashboard, because the Stories lesson and publishing in Module 6 use it again.

2. 2

   Step 2: Under Size (number 1), keep Fixed size at Desktop Browser (1000 x 800). A fixed size makes the layout look the same on everyone’s screen.

   Watch out: Automatic resizes to fit the reader’s window. Handy, but on small screens the charts can get squeezed. Decide on a size early, because changing it once the dashboard is full shifts the layout around.

3. 3

   Step 3: Drag sheets from the Sheets list (number 2) onto the canvas (number 5). Start with Total Revenue: the first sheet fills the whole canvas. Drag Revenue by Month to the bottom part of the canvas, then Revenue by Region to the right side of the line chart. While you drag, a grey shaded area shows where the sheet will land. Finally, click the KPI box and drag its bottom edge up, so the KPI gets shorter and the charts get more room.

   Tip: Keep Tiled (number 4) selected so every sheet snaps into place without overlapping. Hold Shift while dragging if you want one item to be Floating. From Objects (number 3), drag in Text for a title or Blank for spacing.

4. 4

   Step 4: Add a filter for readers: click the Revenue by Region bar chart on the canvas until it has a border, click the More Options arrow (▼) at its top-right edge → Filters → Region. A Region filter card appears on the dashboard, usually on the right.

   Watch out: A filter card added this way starts out filtering only the sheet it came from. To make the KPI and the line chart change too, hover over the filter card, click the ▼ arrow at its top-right corner → Apply to Worksheets → All Using This Data Source.