How is a data story created on Tableau?

Stories in Tableau are a sequence of visualisations that work together to convey information. A story is a sheet, so methods you use to create a name and manage worksheets and dashboards also apply to stories.

A story can also be a collection of sheets, arranged in a particular sequence. Once you share a story on Tableau, users can interact with the story to reveal new findings or ask new questions on the data.

To see an example how to build a story in Tableau read the following article: Example – A Story That Examines a Trend [1]

You may also wish to log in to the Tableau website and complete the Story Points tutorial.

How to create a story on Tableau

Step 1 Click the ‘New Story’ tab:

Step 2 In the lower-left corner of the screen, choose a size for your story. Choose from one of the predefined sizes, or set a custom size (in pixels):

Step 3 By default, your story takes its title from the sheet name. To edit it, right-click the sheet tab, and choose ‘Rename Sheet’.

Step 4 To start building your story, double-click on a sheet on the left to create a new story point (i.e. an individual sheet):

Step 5 To summarise the story point, you can click ‘Add’ to add a caption. In Tableau Desktop, you can highlight a key takeaway for your viewers by dragging a text object to the story worksheet and typing a comment.

Step 6 To further highlight the main idea of this story point, you can change a filter or sort on a field in the view. Then, save your changes by clicking ‘Update’ on the story toolbar above the navigator box:

Step 7 Add another story point by doing any of the following:

• Click ‘Blank’ to use a fresh sheet for the next story point. Start customising a story point and click ‘Save as New’ on the toolbar above the navigator box:

• You can also click ‘Duplicate’ to use the current story point as the basis for a new one:

References

1. Example – A Story That Examines a Trend [Internet]. Tableau; 2020. Available from https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/story_example.htm
2. Story Points. Tableau; [date unknown]. Available from: https://www.tableau.com/learn/tutorials/on-demand/story-points?playlist=438454