Bar charts (horizontal and vertical) in Tableau - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants to see a clear comparison of total sales by product category and by region using bar charts.

📊 Data: You have monthly sales data including Product Category, Region, and Sales Amount.

🎯 Deliverable: Create two bar charts in Tableau: one vertical bar chart showing total sales by Product Category, and one horizontal bar chart showing total sales by Region.

Sample Data

Month	Product Category	Region	Sales Amount
Jan	Electronics	North	12000
Jan	Furniture	South	8000
Feb	Electronics	East	15000
Feb	Clothing	West	7000
Mar	Furniture	North	9000
Mar	Clothing	South	6000
Apr	Electronics	West	13000
Apr	Furniture	East	8500
May	Clothing	North	7500
May	Electronics	South	14000
Jun	Furniture	West	9500
Jun	Clothing	East	7200

1

Step 1: Connect your sales data to Tableau and open a new worksheet.

No formula needed.

Expected Result

Data is loaded and ready for visualization.

2

Step 2: Create a vertical bar chart showing total sales by Product Category.

Drag 'Product Category' to Columns. Drag 'Sales Amount' to Rows. Ensure aggregation is SUM.

Expected Result

Vertical bars appear, each representing total sales for a product category.

3

Step 3: Format the vertical bar chart for clarity.

Add axis titles: X-axis as 'Product Category', Y-axis as 'Total Sales'. Use distinct colors for bars.

Expected Result

Chart is easy to read with clear labels and colors.

4

Step 4: Create a horizontal bar chart showing total sales by Region.

Drag 'Region' to Rows. Drag 'Sales Amount' to Columns. Ensure aggregation is SUM.

Expected Result

Horizontal bars appear, each representing total sales for a region.

5

Step 5: Format the horizontal bar chart for clarity.

Add axis titles: Y-axis as 'Region', X-axis as 'Total Sales'. Use consistent colors and ensure bars are sorted descending by sales.

Expected Result

Chart is easy to read with clear labels and bars sorted from highest to lowest sales.

6

Step 6: Combine both charts into a dashboard for side-by-side comparison.

Create a new dashboard. Drag both worksheets onto the dashboard. Arrange vertically or horizontally with titles.

Expected Result

Dashboard shows vertical bar chart for Product Category sales and horizontal bar chart for Region sales side by side.

Final Result

Dashboard: Total Sales Comparison

+---------------------------+  +---------------------------+
| Vertical Bar Chart        |  | Horizontal Bar Chart       |
| Total Sales by Category   |  | Total Sales by Region      |
|                           |  |                           |
| Electronics  ████████████ |  | East        ████████████   |
| Furniture    ████████     |  | West        ███████████    |
| Clothing     █████        |  | North       ██████████     |
|                           |  | South       █████████      |
+---------------------------+  +---------------------------+

✓Electronics is the top-selling product category.

✓East region has the highest total sales.

✓Furniture and Clothing have lower sales compared to Electronics.

✓West and North regions have high sales, South has the lowest.

Bonus Challenge

Add a filter to the dashboard to select sales data by month and see how sales by category and region change.

Show Hint

Use Tableau's filter feature by dragging the 'Month' field to the Filters shelf and then adding the filter control to the dashboard.

Practice

1. Which of the following best describes a vertical bar chart in Tableau?

easy

A. Dimension on Columns and Measure on Rows

B. Dimension on Rows and Measure on Columns

C. Both Dimension and Measure on Rows

D. Both Dimension and Measure on Columns

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand vertical bar chart layout

   Vertical bars are created by placing the dimension on Columns and the measure on Rows in Tableau.

2. Step 2: Match the layout to options

   Dimension on Columns and Measure on Rows matches this layout exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   Dimension on Columns and Measure on Rows -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Vertical bars = Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows [OK]

Hint: Vertical bars: dimension columns, measure rows [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing horizontal and vertical bar chart layouts
• Placing both dimension and measure on the same shelf
• Swapping rows and columns incorrectly

2. Which Tableau shelf placement creates a horizontal bar chart?

easy

A. Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns

B. Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows

C. Measure on Rows only

D. Dimension on Rows only

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall horizontal bar chart setup

   Horizontal bars are made by placing the dimension on Rows and the measure on Columns.

2. Step 2: Identify correct option

   Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns matches this setup exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Horizontal bars = Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns [OK]

Hint: Horizontal bars: dimension rows, measure columns [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing up rows and columns shelves
• Placing only measures without dimensions
• Choosing options with missing shelves

3. Given a dataset with 'Category' as dimension and 'Sales' as measure, what will be the result of placing 'Category' on Rows and 'Sales' on Columns in Tableau?

medium

A. A scatter plot comparing categories and sales

B. A horizontal bar chart showing sales per category

C. A line chart showing sales trend

D. A vertical bar chart showing sales per category

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze shelf placement

   Category on Rows and Sales on Columns creates vertical bars representing sales per category.

2. Step 2: Identify chart type

   This layout produces a vertical bar chart, not horizontal or other chart types.

3. Final Answer:

   A vertical bar chart showing sales per category -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Category rows + Sales columns = vertical bars [OK]

Hint: Category rows + Sales columns = vertical bar chart [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming horizontal bars instead of vertical
• Confusing bar chart with line or scatter plot
• Ignoring shelf placement rules

4. You created a bar chart but the bars are vertical when you wanted horizontal bars. What is the most likely fix?

medium

A. Remove the dimension from the view

B. Change the mark type to Line

C. Swap the dimension and measure between Rows and Columns shelves

D. Add a filter to the data

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify cause of vertical bars

   Vertical bars appear when dimension is on Rows and measure on Columns.

2. Step 2: Fix by swapping shelves

   To get horizontal bars, swap dimension to Columns and measure to Rows.

3. Final Answer:

   Swap the dimension and measure between Rows and Columns shelves -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Swap shelves to switch bar orientation [OK]

Hint: Swap dimension and measure shelves to change bar direction [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Changing mark type instead of shelf placement
• Removing dimension causing no bars
• Adding filters unrelated to orientation

5. You want to create a dashboard showing sales by region with horizontal bars, but also want to add a vertical bar chart showing profit by region side by side. How should you set up the shelves for each chart in Tableau?

hard

A. For sales: Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows; For profit: Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns

B. For sales: Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns; For profit: Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows

C. For sales: Dimension on Columns, Measure on Columns; For profit: Dimension on Rows, Measure on Rows

D. For sales: Measure on Rows, Dimension on Rows; For profit: Measure on Columns, Dimension on Columns

Solution

1. Step 1: Set up horizontal bar chart for sales

   Horizontal bars require dimension on Rows and measure on Columns.

2. Step 2: Set up vertical bar chart for profit

   Vertical bars require dimension on Columns and measure on Rows.

3. Step 3: Match options to setup

   For sales: Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns; For profit: Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows correctly assigns shelves for both charts.

4. Final Answer:

   For sales: Dimension on Rows, Measure on Columns; For profit: Dimension on Columns, Measure on Rows -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Horizontal bars = dim rows, measure columns; Vertical bars = dim columns, measure rows [OK]

Hint: Horizontal bars: dim rows; Vertical bars: dim columns [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using same shelf setup for both charts
• Placing measures on wrong shelves
• Confusing dimension and measure roles