#How to create a custom map in tableau how to#
#How to create a custom map in tableau software#

If we click on the icon, weвЂ™ll be able to see that this is a string and that its geographic role is of Country/Region, as it should be.ДЄt the same time, the tiny вЂњAbcвЂќ icon of the вЂњIndicator nameвЂќ field shows us that this is a text value. Tableau recognizes that this field is related to actual countries, and it is ready to help us out when we need to visualize such data. The first field under вЂњDimensionsвЂќ is вЂњCountry nameвЂќ and its icon is the globe. This is what allows us to understand how Tableau reads the data. Tableau adds an icon right next to each of the fields we have under вЂњDimensionsвЂќ and вЂњMeasuresвЂќ. The rest of the fields written without Italics are the ones we saw in the Excel file we loaded вЂ“ вЂњCountry nameвЂќ, вЂњIndicator nameвЂќ, and the years from 2002 to 2016, where we have countriesвЂ™ GDP figures. The same thing is true for вЂњLatitudeвЂќ, вЂњLongitudeвЂќ, вЂњNumber of recordsвЂќ, and вЂњMeasure valuesвЂќ we see in green under вЂњMeasuresвЂќ. When Tableau generates its own fields such as the вЂњMeasure namesвЂќ field, these are fields that are not contained in our original data source, but Tableau deems that these can be useful and creates them for us. The distinction between the two is that Tableau generates certain fields based on the data it finds. Some of the fields are in italics and others arenвЂ™t. вЂњDimensionsвЂќ are colored in blue, and вЂњmeasuresвЂќ are in green. Our attention should be focused on the вЂdimensions and measuresвЂ™ part of the screen.ДЇirst off, Tableau is very smart and has managed to organize our data вЂ“ categorical variables are right here under вЂњdimensionsвЂќ, while numerical data, such as the countriesвЂ™ actual GDP, is under вЂњmeasuresвЂќ.

The way data is organized here is rather interesting. Let's go back to Tableau and click on вЂњ Sheet 1вЂќ. And this is the Datasheet we are using right now.

We have a few blank rows, then we have a column with country names, a column indicating that this is GDP data, and several columns with GDP figures for each of these countries. LetвЂ™s open the GDP Data Excel file for a second to make sure you are familiar with its structure.

#How to create a custom map in tableau how to#

If you are new to Tableau, or you havenвЂ™t read our previous tutorial, you can learn how to load the file and get rid of the empty rows. LetвЂ™s connect Tableau to this Excel spreadsheet. Of course, we will choose one of the options depending on where the data is. We can either make a connection to a file or to a server.

To create a chart in Tableau, letвЂ™s load an Excel file in TableauДЇirst off, we need to learn how to connect Tableau with the data source we will be working with. Having said all that, I am sure you are eager to create some fascinating visualizations. Moreover, youвЂ™ll be able to create your first chart in Tableau very quickly вЂ“ just by dragging and dropping the relevant objects you see on the interface. In this tutorial, we will show you one of a variety of data visualization tools you can choose from.

#How to create a custom map in tableau software#

Viktoria Hristova Published on 7 min readДЄre you excited to create a chart in Tableau?ДЄs you already know, Tableau is an absolutely wonderful, highly intuitive software that is easy-to-understand even for beginners.