Combo charts (bar + line) in Tableau - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

Monthly sales and profit data for a small business.

Cell	Value
A1	Month
B1	Sales
C1	Profit
A2	Jan
B2	1000
C2	200
A3	Feb
B3	1500
C3	300
A4	Mar
B4	1200
C4	250
A5	Apr
B5	1700
C5	400

Formula Trace

Create combo chart with Sales as bars and Profit as line over Month

Step 1: Select 'Month' as X-axis

Step 2: Plot 'Sales' as bar chart on Y-axis

Step 3: Plot 'Profit' as line chart on secondary Y-axis

Step 4: Combine bar and line charts on same X-axis

Cell Reference Map

    A       B       C
1 | Month | Sales | Profit
2 |  Jan  | 1000  |  200 
3 |  Feb  | 1500  |  300 
4 |  Mar  | 1200  |  250 
5 |  Apr  | 1700  |  400 

Arrows:
Month -> X-axis
Sales -> Bar chart Y-axis
Profit -> Line chart Y-axis

Month column is used for X-axis. Sales and Profit columns feed the bar and line parts of the combo chart.

Result

Month | Sales (Bar) | Profit (Line)
-----------------------------------
 Jan  | ██████      |  *
 Feb  | ██████████  |    *
 Mar  | ████████    |   *
 Apr  | ███████████ |      *

Legend:
█ = Sales volume
* = Profit trend point

The combo chart shows sales as bars of different heights for each month. The profit is shown as a line connecting points above the bars, showing how profit changes over time.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Which data column is used for the X-axis in the combo chart?

A Sales

B Month

C Profit

D None

Key Result

Combo charts combine bar and line charts sharing the same X-axis to compare two measures.