Mark types (automatic, bar, line, circle) in Tableau - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Mark types (automatic, bar, line, circle)

Dashboard Goal

Understand how different mark types (automatic, bar, line, circle) display sales data trends and comparisons in Tableau.

Sample Data

Month	Product	Sales
Jan	Apples	100
Feb	Apples	150
Mar	Apples	130
Jan	Oranges	90
Feb	Oranges	120
Mar	Oranges	140

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales calculated as SUM([Sales]) = 730
• Bar Chart: Sales by Product for each Month using Marks Type = Bar. Shows side-by-side bars for Apples and Oranges per month.
• Line Chart: Sales trend over Months for each Product using Marks Type = Line. Lines connect sales points for Apples and Oranges.
• Circle Chart: Sales by Month using Marks Type = Circle. Circle size represents sales amount per month (combined products).
• Automatic Mark: Tableau chooses mark type based on fields. For example, when Month and Sales are used without specifying mark, Tableau picks the best mark automatically.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-----------------------+
|      KPI Card        |      Bar Chart        |
|  (Total Sales = 730) | (Sales by Product)    |
+----------------------+-----------------------+
|      Line Chart      |      Circle Chart      |
| (Sales Trend)        | (Sales by Month Size) |
+----------------------+-----------------------+

Interactivity

Applying a filter on Product updates all charts and KPI card to show data only for the selected product(s). For example, selecting 'Apples' filters the bar, line, and circle charts and updates total sales accordingly.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Month = Feb, which components update and what changes occur?

• All components update to show only February data.
• KPI Card shows total sales for Feb (Apples 150 + Oranges 120 = 270).
• Bar Chart shows bars for Apples and Oranges in Feb only.
• Line Chart shows points only for Feb, breaking the trend lines.
• Circle Chart shows circle sized for total Feb sales (270).

Key Result

Dashboard showing sales data with different Tableau mark types: automatic, bar, line, and circle to compare and trend products over months.