How to format in Tableau
Here, we’ll look at some of the key ways to improve the formatting of charts in Tableau.
Adding text
In your views, make sure you show titles, captions, and mark labels. You can edit titles and captions to provide more context and give details that help users understand each view.
When adding text to a dashboard:
- be precise and consistent when naming every object in the view
- provide text that explains the relationships between the components of a visualisation
- simplify text to remove redundancies
- rename measures and dimensions to ensure fields have meaningful names.
| Element | How to edit text |
|---|---|
| Titles and captions for the worksheet | Select Worksheet > Show Title, and then Worksheet > Show Caption to enable titles and captions.
Use the drop-down menu for either element and select Edit . . . |
| Mark labels | To show mark labels, click Label in the marks card, and then click Show Mark Labels. |
| Field names | In the data pane, right-click the dimension or measure, and then click Rename. |
| Filter or legend titles | Click the drop-down menu for the filter, and then click Edit Title. |
Updating colour palettes
Tableau has several built-in colour palettes. For dimensions, it’s worth considering using the Colour Blind palette to ensure visualisations are accessible. For measures, Tableau generally advises using either the Blue or Orange-Blue Diverging palette if accessibility is a concern. You can adjust the number of steps for these palettes.
To select a palette:
- Click Colour in the marks card, and then click Edit Colours.
- For Select Colour Palette, click the drop-down arrow and select the palette.
- Click Assign Palette, and then click OK.
Financial Analysis for Business Decisions: How to Use Tableau and Financial Modelling
Financial Analysis for Business Decisions: How to Use Tableau and Financial Modelling
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