Tableau is the easy-to-use Business Intelligence tool used in data visualization. Its unique feature is, to allow data real-time collaboration and data blending, etc. Through Tableau, users can connect databases, files, and other big data sources and can create a shareable dashboard through them. Tableau is mainly used by researchers, professionals, and government organizations for data analysis and visualization.
In the Tableau, we can see various buttons on the top menu. They are known as navigational buttons. In the article, we are going to discuss these navigational features/buttons present in the Tableau interface. The main navigational features are –
- File menu
- Data menu
- Worksheet menu
- Dashboard menu
- Story menu
- Analysis menu
- Map menu
- Format menu
File Menu
File Menu is used to create a new Tableau workbook. It is also used to open existing workbooks from both the local system and Tableau server. The main features of the File menu are –
- New: It is used to generate a new file.
- Open: It is used to open a previously saved file.
- Save: As the name suggests, it will save the file.
- Workbook Locale: It is used to set the language which will be used in the report.
- Paste Sheets: It is used to copy sheets from one workbook and paste it into another workbook.
- Export Packaged Workbook: It is used to produce a packaged workbook and share it with other users.
- Page setup: It is used for setting up a page.
- Print and print PDF: It will help to print the workbook.
Data Menu
The Data Menu helps in creating a new data source that fetches the data for analysis and visualization. The user can replace and upgrade the existing data source with the help of the Data menu. The main features of the Data menu are –
- New Data Source: It is used to view all types of available connections and choose from them.
- Refresh All Extracts: As the name suggests, it is used to refresh the data from the source.
- Edit Relationships: It is used to define the fields in more than one data source for linking.
- Replace data source: It is used to characterize the fields which have more than one information hotspot for connection.
Worksheet Menu
The Worksheet Menu helps in creating a new worksheet in addition to various display features like showing the title and captions, etc. The main features of the Worksheet menu are –
- New worksheet: It is used to generate a new worksheet.
- Show Summary: As the name suggests, it allows the user to view the summary of the data used in the worksheet
- Tooltip: It is used to show the tooltip when hovering over various data fields.
- Run Update: It helps in updating the worksheet data or any filters used.
Dashboard Menu
The Dashboard Menu helps in creating a new dashboard in addition to various display features, like showing the title and exporting the image, etc. The main features of the Dashboard menu are –
- Format: It is used in setting the layout in terms of colors and sections of the dashboard.
- Actions: It helps in linking the dashboard sheets to external URLs or other sheets.
- Export Image: It is used to export the images of the Dashboard.
Story Menu
The Story Menu helps in creating a new story that has sheets and dashboards with related data. The main features of the Story menu are –
- Format: It helps to set the layout in terms of colors and sections of the story.
- Run Update: As the name suggests, it updates the story with the latest data from the data source.
- Export Image: It helps to export the images of the story.
- Show backward/show forward: It helps to look at the older worksheets.
Analysis Menu
The Analysis Menu helps in analyzing the data present in the Tableau sheet. Tableau has many unique features, like calculating the percentage and performing a forecast, etc. The main features of the Analysis menu are –
- Forecast: It is used to show the forecast based on available data.
- Trend Lines: It is used to show the trend line for a series of data.
- Create Calculated Field: It is used to produce new fields based on certain calculations on the existing fields.
- Percentage: It is used to calculate the percentage of any given data.
- Special value: It helps to take input of a special kind of value.
Map Menu
As the name shows, Map Menu is used to build map views in Tableau. The user can assign geographic roles to fields in the given data source. The main features of the Map menu are –
- Map Layers: It is used to hides and show map layers, like street names, country borders, etc.
- Geocoding: It helps in creating new geographic roles and assign them to the geographic fields in the given data source.
- Background image: It is used to set the image in the background.
Format Menu
The Format Menu is used to apply various formatting options to enhance the look of the dashboard. It has many features like borders, colors, alignment of text, etc. The main features of the Format menu are –
- Borders: It is used to form borders to the fields displayed in the report.
- Title & Caption: It is used to add the title and caption to the reports.
- Cell Size: It is used to customize the size of the cells.
- Workbook Theme: It provides a theme to the entire workbook.
- Font: It sets the font in the workbook.