Layout containers (horizontal, vertical) in Tableau - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

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

📋 Request: Your manager wants a clean dashboard that shows sales performance and customer satisfaction side by side for easy comparison.

📊 Data: You have monthly sales data and customer satisfaction scores by region.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a Tableau dashboard using horizontal and vertical layout containers to organize charts clearly and responsively.

Sample Data

Month	Region	Sales	Customer Satisfaction
Jan	North	12000	85
Jan	South	15000	80
Jan	East	13000	88
Feb	North	14000	87
Feb	South	16000	82
Feb	East	13500	90
Mar	North	15000	86
Mar	South	17000	83
Mar	East	14000	89

1

Step 1: Create two separate worksheets: one for monthly sales by region and one for customer satisfaction by region.

Worksheet 1: Rows = Region, Columns = Month, Values = SUM(Sales). Worksheet 2: Rows = Region, Columns = Month, Values = AVG([Customer Satisfaction]).

Expected Result

Worksheet 1 shows a table of total sales by region and month. Worksheet 2 shows average customer satisfaction by region and month.

2

Step 2: Open a new dashboard in Tableau and add a horizontal layout container to the canvas.

From the Objects pane, drag a Horizontal container onto the dashboard area.

Expected Result

A horizontal container appears on the dashboard, ready to hold multiple items side by side.

3

Step 3: Drag the sales worksheet into the horizontal container on the left side.

Drag Worksheet 1 into the horizontal container.

Expected Result

The sales chart appears on the left side inside the horizontal container.

4

Step 4: Inside the same horizontal container, add a vertical layout container to the right side.

Drag a Vertical container into the horizontal container next to the sales worksheet.

Expected Result

A vertical container appears on the right side inside the horizontal container, next to the sales chart.

5

Step 5: Drag the customer satisfaction worksheet into the vertical container.

Drag Worksheet 2 into the vertical container.

Expected Result

The customer satisfaction chart appears inside the vertical container on the right side.

6

Step 6: Add a title above the horizontal container using a text object.

Drag a Text object above the horizontal container and enter 'Sales and Customer Satisfaction Dashboard'.

Expected Result

A clear title appears above the charts on the dashboard.

7

Step 7: Adjust the size and spacing of containers to ensure charts are balanced and readable on different screen sizes.

Use the dashboard layout pane to set fixed or automatic sizing and add padding as needed.

Expected Result

The dashboard looks neat, with charts aligned horizontally and vertically, and adjusts well on resizing.

Final Result

---------------------------------------------------
| Sales and Customer Satisfaction Dashboard        |
---------------------------------------------------
|  [Sales by Region and Month]  |  [Customer Satisfaction]  |
|                              |                           |
|  (Horizontal container)       |  (Vertical container)     |
---------------------------------------------------

✓Sales vary by region and month, with South region showing highest sales.

✓Customer satisfaction scores are generally high, with East region scoring the highest.

✓Using horizontal and vertical containers helps compare sales and satisfaction side by side clearly.

Bonus Challenge

Add a filter container that allows users to select a specific month and see updated charts dynamically.

Show Hint

Use a vertical layout container to hold the filter above the charts and connect the filter to both worksheets.