When you open Tableau Desktop, you’ll see the following components in its interface:
- Menu Bar: The Menu Bar is located at the top of the application window. It contains various menus like File, Edit, Data, Worksheet, and Help, which provide access to different commands and functions in Tableau.
- Toolbar: The Toolbar is positioned directly below the Menu Bar. It consists of icons representing frequently used actions, such as opening a workbook, saving, refreshing data, and undo/redo options. The Toolbar provides quick access to common tasks.
- Data Pane: The Data Pane is located on the left side of the interface. It displays the data source(s) connected to your workbook. You can view the tables, fields, and data types within your data source. The Data Pane allows you to drag and drop fields onto the canvas to build visualizations.
- Sheets/Tabs: Tabs are positioned at the bottom of the interface. Each tab represents a sheet or a view in your workbook. By default, a new workbook includes one sheet, but you can add multiple sheets to create different visualizations or dashboards.
- Worksheet Area: The Worksheet Area occupies the central part of the interface. It is where you build and design your visualizations. The Worksheet Area provides a canvas where you can drag and drop fields, create charts, apply filters, and customize the layout of your visualization.
- Shelves: Shelves are located on the left, right, and top sides of the Worksheet Area. They are used to define the dimensions, measures, and properties of your visualization. The main shelves include:
- Columns Shelf: Used to place dimensions or measures that will be displayed along the columns of your visualization.
- Rows Shelf: Used to place dimensions or measures that will be displayed along the rows of your visualization.
- Marks Shelf: Controls the appearance and level of detail of your marks (data points) in the visualization.
- Filters Shelf: This allows you to add filters to your visualization to focus on specific subsets of data.
- Show Me Panel: The Show Me Panel is located in the top-right corner of the interface. It provides a gallery of visualization types that you can choose from. By selecting a specific visualization type, Tableau automatically generates the appropriate chart based on the data fields you have chosen.
- Status Bar: The Status Bar is located at the bottom of the interface. It provides information about the data source, the status of data updates, and the number of records displayed. It also includes buttons to switch between different views, such as the Data Source view and the Worksheet view.
Conclusion:
These are the main components of the Tableau interface. Familiarizing yourself with these components will help you navigate the application and build effective visualizations. Remember that the interface may have slight variations based on the version and edition of Tableau you are using, but the core components remain consistent.