When we work with data visualization, we know that it is important to find the most appropriate way to represent the information. We’ve all probably come across spectacular visualizations and maybe tried to reproduce them on Tableau. However, many charts take a lot of time and several steps, sometimes very complex, to build.
If we want to quickly and easily create data visualizations that require in-depth knowledge of the tool, we can leverage the power of Tableau Extensions, introduced in version 2018.2. These are applications that allow you to add functionality to Tableau dashboards or integrate them with external applications.
Today we present the Show Me More extension, developed by AppsforTableau (division of Infotopics), a Visualitics partner. This extension allows you to use in Tableau dashboards numerous visualizations, which you don’t find in the Show Me section of a Tableau worksheet.
Let’s take an example. Using Superstore data, let’s construct a bar graph showing the distribution of sales by product category and sub-category.
Now let’s create a new dashboard and add the sheet we just created to it. In the Dashboard Pane, search “Extension” among the objects and drag it into the workspace.
Once done, we can configure the Show Me More extension, previously downloaded from the Gallery for Tableau extensions. With a few clicks, we can configure the extension and display the data in a completely different way.
Allof the visualizations that can be used in Show Me More are customizable in color formatting, size, text and more. We can even add actions that interact between the dashboard sheets and the chart created with the extension. To show you the power of this extension, here is a short tutorial on how to build a Sankey chart in Tableau. In the AppsforTableau YouTube channel, you will have more videos available showing how to build other interesting visualizations with the Show Me More extension
To get more information about the Show Me More extension don’t hesitate to write us at info@visualitics.it. Continue to stay in touch with us by following us on our blog and on our social channels Facebook and LinkedIn.
