How to create a Dot Matrix Plot in Tableau Software – Skill Pill Friday

dot matrix plot tableau software btprovider

It’s time for Skill Pill Friday, again! We have a lot of topics that we want to address this year through our blog section. Therefore, stay close to us and subscribe to our YouTube channel and newsletter to be notified every time we post. We all agree that Tableau Software is one of the most interactive data visualization tools. There are so many types of graphs and analyzes that we can build in Tableau, that sometimes it is difficult for us to choose a single subject. But for today’s post we chose to talk about Dot Matrix Plot and the situations in which it is used.

The objective of our posts is to show you how you can use Tableau and its features in different situations encountered in your daily activity. Of course, depending on the answers we are looking for or the information we need to identify, we may have different opinions about building the right analysis. But our intention is to present the most common situations in which a certain graphic or feature from Tableau Software can be used.

What is a Dot Matrix Plot and when can we use it?

Dot Matrix Plot is a chart that helps us observe and visualize the frequency of certain data. Specifically, a Dot Matrix Plot provides an overview of how data is distributed or divided according to a certain dimension. These types of graphs practically divide data into two or more categories, grouping them in a matrix.

On the other hand, a Dot Matrix Plot also provides an image of the proportion of data in a particular category or group. Thus, users will be able to quickly identify certain trends and patterns or simply understand how the data is distributed. Such a graph is often used in situations where we want to visualize the amount of data in certain categories and compare their distribution with other data sets.

The following video will show you the steps you need to take to build a Dot Matrix Plot, which are mentioned below.

Step 1: Connect to data

→ In Tableau Desktop, connect to to Tableau: Sample-Superstore.

Step 2: Create the visualization

→ Drag Order Date on Column at Day level

→ Drag Sub-Category to Details

→ In Rows create a field:
INDEX()

→ Right-click on Index, from Compute Using, select Sub-Category

→ Create a field: Profit
[Profit]>0

→ Drag Profit on Color

By Eduard Arhire