Create Parameters with Animations in Tableau Software – Skill Pill Video

When we talk about data analytics, we need to consider the information we have in our data set. All this information, and the data we have regarding our organization’s actions are often relevant in several situations or analyzes. Also, their correlation always gives us a better understanding of the situations we face and the future actions that should be taken. In the following we will discuss about animations in Tableau Software and how it helps users to identify the information they need more easily.

Our data can sometimes seem overwhelming if they need to be considered in more than one situation. To extract valuable information and new perspectives from data, correlating and exploring them is an important step. In today’s post we will see how we can use animations in Tableau to quickly observe the changes that take place in our data, the outliers and how the data changes its values according to certain parameters.

Parameters with Animations in Tableau

Animations in Tableau are a relatively new feature, developed in Tableau 2020.1 version. They provide interactivity to the final visualization and answers to questions about how the value of the measures depends on certain parameters or even dimensions. Also, using animations in an analysis turns its design into an easy-to-follow one, offering the possibility to quickly identify the information that interests us.

Another advantage of using animations in a graph is the visual transition they create when users change parameters, set actions, or filters. For example, using animations in a chart we can identify what is the sales value and the profit depending on region, state, categories, or subcategories. The animation created when we change the filters helps users to easily identify differences in data and make well-informed decisions based on them.

Next, we will build a graph in which we will use animations and we will show you the steps you need to go through in order to have an interactive analysis, easy to follow and simple to understand.

Step 1: Connect to data

→ In Tableau Desktop, connect to Superstore sample data provided by  Tableau.

Step 2: Create the visualization

→ Create a parameter named Select Level. From the Data Type select String, from the Allowable Values select list and for the List of values type in the values: Category, Region, Segment, Ship Mode, State, Sub-Category.

→ Create a calculated field named Profit Ratio with the formula:
SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales])

→ Create a calculated field named Level of Detail with the formula:
CASE [Select Level]
WHEN ‘Category’ then [Category]
WHEN ‘Sub-Category’ then [Sub-Category]
WHEN ‘Segment’ then [Segment]
WHEN ‘Region’ then [Region]
WHEN ‘State’ then [State]
WHEN ‘Ship Mode’ then [Ship Mode]
END

→ Drag the Sales, Profit, Profit Ratio and Discount fields on Columns and the Level of Detail on Rows.

→ Change the visualization type to Entire View.

→ Drag the fields Sales, Profit, Profit Ratio and Discount on Colour.

→ Create a parameter named Sort by. From the Data Type select String, from the Allowable values select List and for the List of values type in the values Sales, Profit, Profit Ratio and Discount.

→ Create a calculated field named Sort Field with the formula:
CASE [Sort by]
WHEN ‘Sales’ then SUM([Sales])
WHEN ‘Profit’ then SUM([Profit])
WHEN ‘Profit Ratio’ then [Profit Ratio]
WHEN ‘Discount’ then AVG([Discount])
END

→ From Rows, right click on Level of Detail and select Sort, Sort By -> Field, Sort Order -> Descending, Field Name -> Sort Field, Aggregation -> Custom.

→ Create a dashboard named Animations with Parameters. Drag here the worksheet.

By Adelina Popescu

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