Have you ever tried to build a complex visualization like a Sankey chart or Radar chart on Tableau? It can be time-consuming and not at all trivial. Fortunately, since version 2018.2 Tableau has introduced Dashboard Extensions that will help you solve challenges like these.
What are Tableau Extensions?
Dashboard Extensions are small web applications (like a simple website) that you can drag and drop into your dashboard. It might not sound exceptional, you might think you are simply using a link, but the reality is different! Extensions interact bidirectionally with external data and worksheets, directly from Tableau.
Example
You need a Google Maps page in your dashboard and you need to use a link.
You could use a Web Page Container and an action URL in the dashboard to update the map with a dimension of your data. However, when you click on a point of interest or a city, directly on the Google map, nothing happens in your dashboard. This is because the links only have one direction of communication.
This explains, in practice, the most important difference between extensions and links.
More specifically, extensions are able to communicate in both directions. You can, for example, interact with a sheet to update the extension, but you can also relate to an extension to update sheets in the dashboard.
The extension behaves as if it were part of the dashboard, just like a Tableau sheet.
Use cases
With this new feature, you can think of different use cases:
- new visuals such as the Radar chart, the Sankey diagram or the Network graph
- evidence of low stock and possibility to order new products directly from your dashboard
- changing a budget or target
- in-depth integration with ArcGIS, Google Maps, or other advanced map applications
- Direct connection to your financial or HR API software such as SalesForce, Exact Online or others
Not only that, it could also be something simpler, to make dashboards more user-friendly, like:
- reset all filter buttons
- activate an overview of filters
- export a subset of data directly to Excel or CSV
Tableau Extensions by AppsforTableau
Tableau Extensions are Internet applications that require to be hosted somewhere, just like a site. Extensions come in the form of .trex. files in which information such as name and location are kept.
AppsforTableau, a division of Infotopics (Tableau Gold Partner) and Visualitics partner for the Italian market, can help you with your analysis and create the right Extensions for you. AppsforTableau offers a series of interesting Extensions, such as Show me More, which allows you to see your data in a Sankey chart or Radar chart in just a few clicks. Or SuperTables which helps you take your tables to the next level.
Don’t wait! Contact us to learn more and continue to follow upcoming news on our website and LinkedIn channel.
