#Get started with tableau prep how to#
#Get started with tableau prep plus#

Select the ‘Create Calculated Field’ option along the top of the Results pane at the bottom of the screen. To accomplish our sorting, we need to add another clean step.

#Get started with tableau prep how to#

Before diving into the specifics of how to get there, our goal from this point is to sort our data from highest sales to lowest. We now just need to organize these in descending order to figure out which one has the highest sales, which we can use calculated fields for. Once we have our region isolated we can see our three categories and the sum of sales from our previous aggregation steps. From there, in the bottom pane, select Filter Values along the top bar, which should bring up a text box for us to type a condition into:įor this exercise I picked the “Central” region to isolate first, but I encourage you to go back and try out other ones as part of the learning process. Start by adding a clean step to the flow by clicking the ‘+’ button. To do this, we’ll take advantage of the calculated fields option as well as filtering (Tip: Calculated Fields are similar to Calculated Fields used in Tableau Desktop as well). Once we’ve aggregated our regions down, we can now work on isolating the top-selling category.įiltering, Cleaning, and Applying Calculations In this specific instance, I want to group by region and category to calculate the sum of the sales. Tip: Different data types will produce different options when grouping, so if you don’t see the option you are looking for, make sure to double-check what data type your column is set as). To access these different grouping options, click where it says ‘Sum’. This can be taking a count of the items in that column, the sum, or even a minimum or maximum. The aggregation window is where you’ll drag and drop the fields that you want to aggregate in some way, shape, or form. it’s where you drag and drop the fields that you want grouped together. The Grouped Fields pane is as the name suggests, i.e. When we add an aggregation step, you’ll see a Grouped Fields and an Aggregated Fields window.

#Get started with tableau prep plus#

We’ll start by dragging our “Orders” table onto the canvas and then adding an aggregation step by clicking the plus button on the data input: Now, let’s carry an exercise like this out to see what it looks like in Tableau Prep. From there, I’d want to take a sum of sales in each respective region, and with that, I could deduce which category has the highest sales in each region. For example, if I want to know which category in my dataset is the most profitable in each region, I would need to start by splitting the data by each region. The first thing I like to do is create a plan of what the overall goal I want to accomplish is and break that down into bite-size chunks. Now that we’ve covered how to connect to data in Tableau Prep, we are ready to dive right into some of the different tools you can use to build out a workflow. Tactics for Using Tableau Prep for the First Time Once you’ve connected to the dataset, you should see this empty canvas where we can start loading in our data for processing. Note: If you don’t have a copy of the Sample Superstore dataset, you can use any data source you want most of the tips covered from here on out can apply to any dataset you’re working with. For this exercise, we’ll be working with the Sample Superstore dataset provided by Tableau. This menu is packed with many different data connectors, which allows you to connect to basically any form of data storage you may be working with, from standard Excel documents all the way to data warehouses. Once you’ve clicked on that, you should see a menu that looks like the image below: Tip: An important note here is that whether you click on “Connections +” or “Connect to Data”, both will lead you to the exact same window, so go with whichever feels more organic to you.

If you click on that you will see a button called “Connections +”.

Let’s work our way from left to right starting in the top-left corner, you should see an arrowhead pointing to the right. The above image is the first landing page that you will be greeted with every time Tableau Prep is launched. To help make this experience less stressful, I am going to highlight key areas throughout Tableau Prep that should be your main areas of focus as a beginner. Like with any new software, navigating your way around for the first time can be a daunting task. Finally, we’ll explore the output options so you can take your newly refined dataset and use it for anything you want. We’ll cover everything from launching Tableau Prep, to aggregations and grouping, filtering, cleaning, and applying calculations to your data. If you are a data engineer, data enthusiast, or just all-around curious, then this is the place for you. In this tutorial, we’ll be covering the Tableau Prep tool and how we can use it to build out data workflows.