In a business context, data visualizations are most useful when they are presented in a dashboard-style format to stakeholders. Dashboards put all the pertinent information in the same place, making it easier to understand the important takeaways. Many dashboards are also constantly updating to reflect new data, and some are even interactive. No matter what style of dashboard you choose, they can help you deliver the work you’ve done when creating visualizations.
Now it's time to begin the activity. After you download the Dashboards Starter Template, find the file in your storage and open it in Tableau Public Desktop.
Upon opening the Tableau project template, your screen should look like this:
there are multiple multi-colored lines each representing different data
The Dashboards Starter Template workbook allows you to explore and manipulate the visualizations found in two sheets: Sheet 1 and Sheet 2. However, the Tableau workbook does not contain the actual dataset. Next, you will load the dataset.
To load the actual dataset:
Click the Data Source tab in the bottom left-hand corner of the window. This will open the Datasources folder Tableau Public has created on your computer by default.
Navigate ****to the location on your computer where you downloaded the World Bank CO2 dataset and open it.
Locate the My Tableau Repository folder on your computer. This is usually placed in the Documents folder of your local files. If you cannot find the folder, use the search bar in your computer’s file explorer.
Double-click the folder My Tableau Repository, then double-click the folder Datasources.
Drag your datasets for Tableau from where you downloaded them into the Datasources folder. This will help you keep track of your datasets for various projects and stay organized.
Note: As a best practice, you should always move your datasets for Tableau into the Datasources folder.
The example project contains the World Bank CO2 dataset, with two separate visualizations. Click Sheet 1. This visualization shows the average CO2 per capita of each country. Now, click Sheet 2. This visualization is a line chart of the CO2 production of each global region over time.
You will use these visualizations to create a dashboard. Click the Add Dashboard button, which is the middle button on the bottom row with a symbol that appears like a spreadsheet with a plus sign.