Description
Tableau Public is a streamlined visualization software that allows one to transform data into a wide range of customizable graphics. Its three step work flow-following the three steps, Open, Create and Share-allows users to import data and layer multiple levels of detail and information into the resulting visualizations. Ideal for web based publication, it ultimately allows users to merge multiple visualizations onto a single page and export their work as embeddable graphics.Unlike web-based visualization tools such as Google Fusion Tables or IBM's Many Eyes, Tableau is a desktop software with a unique interface and vernacular, factors that contribute to a slightly steeper learning curve; however, if you are looking for increased control over the visual features of your graphics, automated geographic coordinates and metrics or simply to familiarize yourself with a professional software on the rise, learning the ins and outs of Tableau is well worth the effort.Before Getting StartedAs with any data visualization, we must begin with the unspoken "Step 0" of finding raw data and massaging it into a usable form. While data exists in limitless forms and will vary depending upon your topic of study, the data will generally have to be formatted as some form of 'table' or spreadsheet. Whether you are inputting data into a new spreadsheet or re-formatting an existing one, for use on Tableau Public, it should conform to the list below: - Tableau will read the first row of your spreadsheet to determine the different data fields present in your dataset; Dedicate the first row of your spreadsheet to column headers.- Start your data in cell A1. Some spreadsheets include titles or alternate column headers in their first few rows. Edit out any extraneous information to make your data legible for Tableau's software.- Every subsequent row should describe one piece of data.
