Resources

How-to videos

A buffet of materials to help get you started or take you to the next level.
Tableau user forums

Select a video below or click/tap here to start from the beginning. Either way, explosions of knowledge will follow.

7. Data preparation – The data interpreter (4:29)

See Tableau Public’s ideal data structure, and learn how to use the data interpreter to clean data

Covers:

  • How your data should (ideally) be structured
  • How to clean your data using the data interpreter

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

6. Connecting to PDFs

Learn how to connect to data in PDFs directly in Tableau

Covers:

  • Connecting to PDF data tables
  • Union
  • Cleaning up imperfect tables
  • Dealing with null values
  • Fixing headers and pivoting
  • Re-aliasing members of a field
  • Recreating groups and hierarchies
  • Tips on working with PDFs

Files: Amazon stock prices (.pdf)
New Zealand: Water physical stock account 1995–2010 (.pdf)

8. Data preparation – Pivoting your data (4:54)

Learn how to pivot your data structure in Tableau

Covers:

  • Why you might need to pivot your data structure
  • How to use Tableau Public’s pivot function

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

21. Adding a custom viz in tooltip (2:49)

Learn how to show a different level of detail with the Viz in tooltip feature

Covers:

  • How to create a viz in tooltip
  • Resizing your viz in tooltip

Data: World indicators sample data (.tde)
Viz: Viz in tooltip

9. Data preparation – Splitting your data (2:26)

Learn how to split a field into multiple fields in Tableau

Covers:

  • Why you might need to split a field in Tableau Public
  • How to use Tableau Public’s split function

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

22. Edit vizzes on the web (2:45)

Once you have saved a viz to your profile, see how you can edit it from your browser.

Covers:

  • Create a new sheet from a browser
  • Create a calculated field from a browser
  • Edit a dashboard from your browser

Viz: Global CO2 emissions

1. Tableau Public overview (7:10)

Learn the basics of creating visualisations with Tableau Public

Covers:

  • Connecting to data
  • Creating sheets and dashboards
  • Publishing to the web

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)
Viz: CO2 emissions

10. Data preparation – Joins and unions (6:28)

Learn how to join multiple data sets together in Tableau

Covers:

  • What are joins and unions?
  • How to join two data sets together
  • How to union multiple data sets

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

2. Connecting to Excel and text files (4:32)

Learn how to connect to data in Microsoft Excel and CSV files

Covers:

  • Connecting to data in Excel
  • Connecting to data in CSVs

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

11. Creating your first chart (2:34)

Find out how to create your first chart in Tableau Public

Covers:

  • How to create a chart by double-clicking on fields
  • How to add extra levels of information to your viz

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

3. Connecting to Google Sheets (3:15)

See how to connect to data in Google Sheets, and how to enable auto-update on your viz

Covers:

  • Connecting to data in Google Sheets
  • Enabling Google Sheets viz auto-update

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

12. Using the Show Me toolbar (4:15)

Find out how to create multiple visualisation types using the Show Me toolbar

  • The Show Me tool
  • Overview of chart types

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

4. Connecting to web data connectors (2:16)

Learn how to connect to web data connectors

Covers:

  • What a web data connector is
  • How to connect to web data connectors

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

13. Understanding the logic of charts (5:05)

Learn about the logic of how Tableau Public creates charts

Covers:

  • Overview of dimensions and measures
  • Overview of columns and Rows shelf
  • Overview of the Marks card

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

5. Connecting to spatial files (6:03)

See how to build maps with spatial files

Covers:

  • How to connect to spatial data
  • Create a map with a spatial file
  • How to join other data sets to a spatial file

Files: River basin spatial file
London boroughs spatial file
Carbon emissions (.xlsx)

14. Combining sheets on a dashboard (5:27)

See how to combine your visualisations together on a dashboard

Covers:

  • How to combine sheets on a dashboard
  • How to re-arrange and add items to a dashboard

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)
Viz: Combine sheets on a dashboard

17. Creating stories (5:55)

Learn how to turn your data into a cohesive narrative using Story Points

Covers:

  • See examples of data stories
  • Learn how to create Story Points

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

15. Adding interactivity to dashboards (4:30)

Learn how to add interactivity to your dashboards

Covers:

  • See how to add filter actions
  • See how to add highlight actions

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)
Viz: Adding interactivity to dashboards

18. Formatting Story Points (6:54)

Make your stories come to life with these formatting tips

Covers:

  • Learn how to fit your dashboards to the story points
  • See how to format the story points
  • See how to add annotations to your story

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

16. Dashboard formatting (4:05)

Make your dashboards functional and look fantastic with these formatting tips

Covers:

  • See how to quickly globally format your dashboards
  • Tips to add titles and instructions to your dashboard

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)
Viz: Dashboard formatting

19. Designing for mobile with the Device Designer (12:29)

Learn how to make your viz look great on any device with the Device Designer feature

Covers:

  • Preview how your viz will look on multiple devices
  • How to add a device-specific view
  • Tips on fitting your viz to device sizes

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)
Viz: Device Designer dashboard

20. Publishing and embedding vizzes (4:01)

Once you have made your viz, see how you can share it

Covers:

  • How to save a viz to the web
  • Edit your viz details
  • How to use the viz URL and embed codes

Data: World Bank CO2 (.xlsx)

Sports

FIFA World Cup Match Results
Matchups and results of FIFA World Cup matches from 1930 - 2014. Source: data.world
Dataset (xlsx)

2018 FIFA World Cup Rosters
Goals, caps, club, and date of birth for players on 2018 FIFA World Cup rosters. Source: data.world
Dataset (xlsx)

FIFA 18 Player Ratings
17k+ players, 70+ attributes extracted from FIFA 18. Source: https://sofifa.com
Dataset (csv)

ATP Top-Ranked Singles Tennis Players
Association of Tennis Professionals' (ATP) Men's and Women's top-ranked players from 1973-2018. Source: Wikipedia
Dataset (csv)

Wimbledon Champions
Men's and Women's championship matchups from 1877-2016. Source: Wikipedia
Dataset (csv)

Tour de France Statistics
Winner, distance, speed, location, and more about Tour de France since 1903. Sources: Knoema, Wikipedia
Dataset (xlsx)
Public data

Airbnb Listings in New York City
30,478 Airbnb listings in New York City. This data was compiled from Inside Airbnb.
Dataset (xlsx)

FAA Wildlife Strikes, 2015
This is a cleaned table of wildlife strikes from 2000-2015 in the United States. Visit the FAA Wildlife Strike Database which contains records of wildlife strikes reported by airlines, airports, pilots, and other sources.
Dataset (xlsx)
Education

University Advancement, Donations, and Giving
This is a table of donations made to Universities in the United States. The donation amounts and locations in this data set are not real as they are intended for training purposes only.
Dataset (xls)
Government

Worldwide Undersea Communications Cables, June 2016
This is a consolidated list of undersea communications cables, last updated in June 2016. Data is from http://www.cablemap.info/, and a complete change log and listing of cables is on that site as well.
Dataset (zip)

New Zealand: Water Physical Stock Account 1995–2010
Water is a valuable resource. The New Zealand Government provides information on national and regional water balance (inflows, outflows, and changes in storage size) from 1995-2000.
Dataset (pdf)

U.S. Construction Spending, by value and category, 2002-16
The Value of Construction Put in Place Survey provides monthly estimates of the total dollar value of construction work done in the U.S. The survey covers construction work done each month on new structures or improvements to existing structures for private and public sectors. Data provided by Enigma.io from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dataset (csv)

Consolidated Screening List for Export Controls - U.S.
The consolidated screening list is a list of parties for which the United States Government maintains restrictions on certain exports, reexports or transfers of items. Includes entity names, addresses, associated vessels, and dates. Data provided by Enigma.io from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dataset (csv)

U.S. Home Sales, 1963-2016
National and regional data on the number of new single-family houses sold and for sale. Also provides national data on median and average prices, the number of houses sold and for sale by stage of construction, and other statistics. From the U.S. Census, Economic Time Series Indicators. Data provided by Enigma.io from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dataset (csv)
Lifestyle

Star Wars Character Details
Details of Star Wars characteristics including weights, hair colour and birth planets via Github.
 Dataset (json)

Data sources

Explore other data sets which are publicly available. Don't forget to check that the data is well structured!


Find more data sources→


Web data connectors

Directly connect to your own data sources that you already use and love! Right-click, copy and paste the link below into Tableau's web data connector to start.


Learn more about using web data connectors→

Don’t go it alone. Participate in fun challenges with the Tableau community, connect with others to learn new tricks and get helpful feedback to improve your Tableau and data viz skills, or just tune into the conversation! The following is an evolving list of some of the most popular initiatives and resources.


Virtual Challenges

Iron Viz

Iron Viz is Tableau’s own data visualization contest which consists of a series of topic-themed virtual qualifier competitions that determine the finalists who advance to a live on-stage championship at either Tableau Conference Europe or Tableau Conference. Find out about the schedule and more here:

Get started →

Makeover Monday

Get started with Makeover Monday and join a community dedicated to helping you learn and improve your analysis and visualization skills! Every Sunday, a data set is posted for anyone around the world to try their hand at visualizing it. Each following Wednesday, Tableau Zen Master Eva Murray and long-term Makeover Monday members Sarah Bartlett and Charlie Hutcheson host a webinar to discuss participant submissions and what could be done better. See what people are creating on Tableau Public by exploring the hashtag #MakeoverMonday, or start participating by following instructions here:

Get started →

Workout Wednesday

Every Wednesday, leaders of Workout Wednesday share a viz, challenging anyone around the world to attempt replication and to test and grow their knowledge of useful Tableau techniques. Currently run by Tableau Zen Masters Ann Jackson and Luke Stanke as well as Tableau Ambassadors Lorna Eden and Curtis Harris, see what people are creating on Tableau Public by exploring the hashtags #WorkoutWednesday2019 and #WorkoutWednesday, or start participating by following instructions here:

Get started →

Throwback Data Thursday

Once a month, Throwback Data Thursday provides a historical data set for you to explore, along with details on the provenance of the data source. This initiative is run by David Velleca. Vizzes are typically tagged #ThrowbackDataThursday on Tableau Public. See this Data.World profile for the data:

Get started →

Sports Viz Sunday

Is sports data your thing? The community has you covered. Once a month Simon Beaumont, Spencer Baucke and James Smith host a data visualization challenge based on a topical sports theme, regularly sharing updates from the sports visualization world and providing rich datasets across a wide range of sports. Be sure to explore the hashtag #SportsVizSunday on Tableau Public. To find out more and to download the latest sports data, visit the Sports Viz Sunday website:

Get started →

Project Health Viz

The right challenge for those who are interested in health data. As part of this initiative, Lindsay Betzendahl regularly shares fascinating health-related datasets on Data.World. Vizzes can be found by searching for #ProjectHealthViz on Tableau Public. See the project’s website for more information and Lindsay’s Data.World profile for the data. 

Get started →

Viz for Social Good

Would you like to practice your data viz skills while working on a real-world project and making a real impact? Join one of the Viz for Social goods projects that are run together with different NGOs and mission-driven organizations from around the world. Founded by Chloe Tseng, the initiative is run by a global team of enthusiastic board members, dedicated volunteers, and local chapter leads. Vizzes can found on Tableau Public via the hashtag #VizForSocialGood

To find out more, visit the Viz for Social good website:

Get started →

Iron Quest

Iron Quest is a monthly data visualization challenge that follows a similar format to the Tableau Iron Viz feeder competitions and that aims at getting people more confident with sourcing their own data and building vizzes that focus on the Iron Viz judging criteria (design, storytelling and analysis). Participants have a calendar month to find a suitable data set and then design, build and submit a data visualization. You can opt-in to receive feedback from organizer Sarah Bartlett and other guest hosts. You can keep track of submissions via this dashboard or by searching for the hashtag #IronQuest on Tableau Public. Instructions on how to participate can be found on Sarah’s blog:

Get started →

Preppin' Data

Before you can look for a story in the data and then publish a visualization to Tableau Public, you will often have to clean, transform, or aggregate your data first. Carl Allchin and Jonathan Allenby set a new challenge every week that helps you learn more about self-service data preparation using Tableau Prep Builder. Find out more about Preppin’ Data on their blog:

Get started →

#SWDchallenge

The #SWDchallenge is a monthly challenge where you can practice and apply data visualization and storytelling skills. Participants have a week to find data, create and share their visual and related commentary. #SWDchallenge is organized by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and the team at storytelling with data. On Tableau Public you can find related vizzes with the hashtag #SWDchallenge. Go to the storytelling with data website to get started:

Get started →

Podcasts

Tableau Wannabe Podcast

Hosted by Tableau Ambassadors Matt Francis and Emily Kund, the Tableau WannaBe podcast features interviews and discussion with members of the Tableau community. Aired typically on a monthly basis, you can tune in here.

Datasaurus-Rex

In this podcast, David Murphy interviews guests from the data viz community to get to know them and their top data visualizations a little better. You’ll pick up their tips & tricks, learn what motivates them, how they’ve improved and have some fun. Tune in here.

#Analytics

Hosted by Tableau Zen Masters Ann Jackson and Luke Stanke, this bespoke video podcast focuses on all facets of analytics and data as a profession. During each episode, Ann and Luke narrow in on a specific topic, be it Tableau Public's Iron Viz contest, a special guest, or challenges faced in their day jobs. Find the podcast here.

Social Media & More

Tableau Zen Masters & Ambassadors on Twitter

Much of the data conversation happens on social media! If you’re on Twitter, you can follow this list of Tableau Zen Masters and this list of Tableau Ambassadors.

Tableau Follow Friday

The #TableauFF hashtag is used by the Tableau community on Twitter to help highlight and recognize new Tableau Public authors and their work, encouraging others in the community to follow.

Best of the Tableau Web

Many Tableau users share their insights, learning and personal development along their Tableau journey on their own personal blogs. There are too many to list here, but a good starting point is this selection by Tableau’s Technical Evangelist, Andy Cotgreave.