Interface overview (data pane, shelves, canvas) in Tableau - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Interface overview (data pane, shelves, canvas)

Goal

Understand the main parts of Tableau's interface: the Data Pane, Shelves, and Canvas, and how they work together to build visualizations.

Sample Data

Region	Category	Sales	Profit
East	Furniture	1000	200
West	Technology	1500	300
East	Office Supplies	700	100
South	Furniture	1200	250
North	Technology	900	150

Dashboard Components

• Data Pane: Shows the fields from the data source. For example, Region, Category, Sales, and Profit. You drag fields from here to build views.
• Shelves: Areas like Columns and Rows shelves where you place fields to create the structure of your chart. For example, dragging Region to Columns and Sales to Rows creates a bar chart by region.
• Canvas: The main area where your visualization appears after placing fields on shelves. It updates instantly to show the chart or table you build.
• Example Formula: To calculate total sales, Tableau automatically sums the Sales field when placed on the Rows shelf.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|      Data Pane       |       Shelves        |
|  (Fields list)       |  (Columns, Rows)     |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Canvas (Visualization)  |
|                                              |
|                                              |
+----------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Dragging fields from the Data Pane to Shelves updates the Canvas visualization instantly. Changing fields on Shelves changes the chart type and data shown. Filters can be added from the Data Pane to filter data on the Canvas.

Self Check

If you drag Category to the Columns shelf and Profit to the Rows shelf, what does the Canvas show?

Answer: A chart showing total profit for each product category.

Key Result

Shows how Tableau's Data Pane, Shelves, and Canvas work together to build visualizations using sample sales data.