Best of Tableau Web: October 2022

What were you doing in November 2012?

Me? I thought it would be fun to write a blog curating content created by the Tableau community. I thought I’d call it Best of Tableau Web. Here’s a look at the very first Best of Tableau Web from a decade ago.  

Now, 120 posts later, let’s take a moment to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of those monthly roundups. Thank you to everyone who has blogged about Tableau, whether it’s been featured in Best of Tableau Web or not. You’ve inspired thousands with your advice. 

Even back when I started the series, the Tableau Community was an incredible group. Nobody else in the business intelligence world had, or has, a platform that generated so much excitement and collaboration. I wanted to share what I was seeing with the world as a way of expressing gratitude to the contributors. I also saw it as an opportunity to show Tableau to those who didn’t know it yet, and say, “Hey! When you’re choosing your data analytics platform, wouldn’t it make sense to choose one that people actually enjoy using?” 

Here are five things I’ve learned since that first post a decade ago:

• The community’s imagination is boundless. From crazy data storytelling hacks to visual extravagance, you continue to amaze us at Tableau.
• “Trivial” tips are anything but trivial. I love the posts about the little things in Tableau, like formatting an axis or editing a tooltip. Success in data visualization comes from paying attention to the small details as well as the big. 
• Content is evolving. Ten years ago, everything was a blog post. Today, we’ve got podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, and more. Who knows what we’ll see ten years from now?
• As Tableau develops new features, you find new opportunities. I remember in 2010 when I created the “Chart in a Tooltip” hack. Eventually, we added a native viz in Tooltip. That meant my hack was no longer useful, but it was fine, because there’s always something else to chip away at. I’ve seen that happen countless times over the years. 
• Finally, Andy Kriebel’s energy is boundless. Many people featured in my first post are still active in the field, but Andy is still prolifically publishing tips and tricks. Where does he get his energy? 

You might have seen that I’m on sabbatical, and will return in February. I’m taking time to recharge and work on a few new projects.

In the meantime, keep amazing us with all you create. I look forward to seeing your content while I’m away. As for the Best of Tableau Web, I’m excited that we’ve extended our author lineup, and I leave you in their capable hands. Here’s to ten more years of the best Tableau content anywhere on the web. Let’s get to it. 

Calculations

• Fiscal Year to Date vs. Prior Fiscal Year to Date in Tableau
  

  Eric Parker, OneNumber

• How to Create Efficient Calculations in Tableau
  

  Spencer Hamilton, Tessellation

• Using “Set Rankings” Instead of Table Calculations
  

  Kasia Gasiewska-Holc, guest blog on The Flerlage Twins

• One-Sheet Marginal Histograms
  

  Klaus Schulte, VIZJOCKEY

• How to Zoom Into Scatter Plot Quadrants in Tableau
  

  Felicia Styer, Playfair Data

• How to Swap Sheets in Tableau
  

  Anthony Smoak, Smoak Signals

Data Culture, Blueprint

• Tableau CEO : what does the E stand for ?
  

  Annabelle Rincon, Rativiz

Formatting, Design, Storytelling

• Which chart type should you use?
  

  Andy Kriebel, VizWiz

• How to Tableau: Number Formatting
  

  Eric Parker, OneNumber

• Dynamic Zones in Tableau (or Hide and Show via Parameter)
  

  Sebastian Deptalla, InterWorks

• What is Sheet Swapping?
  

  Dawn Harrington, Tech Tips Girl

• #TweakThursday: Horizontal vs Vertical Bars
  

  Alexander Mou, Vizible Difference

• Dynamic Zone Visibility
  

  Marc Reid, datavis.blog

Inspiration

• What’s Good? How To Improve Your Story Telling with Kimly Scott (October)
  

  CJ Mayes and Kimly Scott

• Pizza Plot Player Comparisons
  

  CJ Mayes

• Recreating Datasaurus Dozen in Tableau
  

  Alexander Mou, Vizible Difference

• World Population Cartograms
  

  Klaus Schulte, VIZJOCKEY

• A spooky Game : How to do a Halloween Game in Tableau
  

  Annabelle Rincon, Rativiz

• Metrics Monday 04: Don’t get the wrong impression(s)
  

  Nicole Lillian Mark, SELECT * FROM data

Iron Viz

• Reasons to Enter Iron Viz 2023
  

  Sarah Bartlett, Sarah Loves Data

Server

• Underutilized Tableau Features Part 1: Descriptions
  

  Brandi Beals

Set and Parameter Actions

• Tableau Set Control Part 1: The Basics
  

  Ken Flerlage, The Flerlage Twins

Tips and Tricks

• Can you do YoY comparisons?
  

  Donna Coles, Donna + DataViz

• Applying accessibility principals to data visualisation
  

  Donna Coles, Donna + DataViz

• Fan / Chord Chart Tutorial
  

  CJ Mayes

• How to Create a 3 Level Drill Down in Tableau
  

  Andy Kriebel, VizWiz

• Filter Reset Button
  

  Dawn Harrington, Tech Tips Girl

• How to Tableau: Measure Names & Measure Values
  

  Eric Parker, OneNumber

• Can you Build a Map with values represented by “Pyramids”?
  

  Rosario Gauna, RosarioViz

Visualizations

View last month’s Viz of the Day on Tableau Public gallery.