Tag / Video

by anthonysmoak

How to Conditionally Format Text Cell Color in Tableau

 

Even though Excel and Tableau are far from the same tool, sometimes you have to find a way to force Tableau to behave in an Excel-like manner. Conditionally changing the background color of text in Excel is very easy but requires a hack in Tableau 10.3. Use my video to learn how to conditionally format the cell background of a text or dimensional value in Tableau. Trust me, this is a time saver!

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

Easily Unpivot Your Data in Excel Using Power Query

Use the unpivot functionality in Power Query (a free Excel add-in) to easily turn your cross-tabbed data into a more normalized structure. The normalized data structure will grant you the flexibility to create additional analyses in a more efficient manner.

See also:

Download: Power Query Excel Add-In

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

Create a Map with Multiple Layers in Tableau

In this video you’ll learn how to create a map with multiple layers in Tableau using Tableau’s included superstore data set.

  1. We’ll start by building a filled map that represents the profit by state.
  2. We’ll layer on top of this map a pie chart that breaks down Sales by Category.
  3. As a bonus tip we’ll touch upon the FIXED Level of Detail (LOD) expression in order to calculate a percentage of sales by state and category for the pie chart.

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

Create a Gantt Chart in Tableau

 

Learn to create a Gantt Chart in Excel following the steps I laid out in the above video. In case your tool of choice is Excel, check out my other video on how to create a Gantt Chart in Excel. Your inner project manager will thank you!

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel. You will be smarter for it!

 

by anthonysmoak

Perform Fuzzy Lookups / Approximate String Matching in Excel

Most likely you have a love/hate attitude towards spreadsheets. This highly useful tip will make you fall back in love with Excel. Microsoft does a great job at providing a solid add-in that makes fuzzy lookups relatively easy to perform.

Are there more powerful approximate string matching tools out there? Of course. But if you’re using Excel, this tool should be used before applying more complicated methods.

Everyone loves visualizations but sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and clean up the data.

Enjoy!

See also: Get Out of the Spreadsheet Abyss

Download: Fuzzy Lookup Add-In for Excel

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

 

by anthonysmoak

How to Build a Waterfall Chart in Tableau

In this video I will show you how to go “Chasing Waterfalls” in Tableau (apologies to TLC). Waterfall charts are ideal for demonstrating the journey between an initial value and an ending value. It is a visualization that breaks down the cumulative effect of positive and negative contributions. You’ve probably seen them used in financial statements or at your quarterly town hall meeting. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

How to Highlight the Top 3 Bar Chart Values in Tableau

In this video I will show you how to highlight the top three highest sales values on a bar chart. I will also teach you how to add a nested dimension and properly sort the values while keeping the top three values highlighted. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

 

by anthonysmoak

Building a Donut Chart in Tableau Using NBA Data

In this video I will show you how to create a donut chart in Tableau. Since a donut chart is essentially a hoop, I put together this quick visualization using NBA data. Visualization aficionados will advise to use pie/donut charts sparingly but they can add value when showing values with respect to the whole. Enjoy!

 

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

Create a Well Designed Pareto Chart in Tableau

In this video I will show you how to visualize Vilfredo Pareto’s namesake chart in Tableau. The Pareto Principle defines the 80/20 rule in that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

I will use sample Tableau Superstore data to determine which states are responsible for 80% of sales. I’ll start with a basic Pareto chart and then move on to a visualization with a little more flair. This video should serve you well in your future data analyses.

 

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.

by anthonysmoak

B.I. Basics Part 4: Learn the QlikView ApplyMap Function

There will come a time in your QlikView load scripting endeavors where you will need to map a single key value to a lookup table and return the lookup value. If you’ve ever wanted a Qlikview function that is somewhat analogous to a CASE statement for simple lookups/transformations, then look no further than the ApplyMap function.

My video breaks down the hard to interpret user manual definition and provides a simple example that will have you performing QlikView lookups in no time.

 

If you’re interested in Business Intelligence & Tableau please subscribe and check out my videos either here on this site or on my Youtube channel.