Why combining chart types tells richer stories in Tableau - Formula Trace Breakdown

Sample Data

Monthly sales and profit data for a small business.

Cell	Value
A1	Month
B1	Sales
C1	Profit
A2	Jan
B2	10000
C2	3000
A3	Feb
B3	12000
C3	3500
A4	Mar
B4	9000
C4	2500
A5	Apr
B5	15000
C5	5000

Formula Trace

Combine Bar Chart (Sales) + Line Chart (Profit) on Month axis

Step 1: Plot Bar Chart with Sales values for each Month

Step 2: Plot Line Chart with Profit values for each Month on same axis

Step 3: Overlay Line Chart on Bar Chart sharing Month axis

Cell Reference Map

    A       B       C
1 Month   Sales   Profit
2 Jan     10000    3000
3 Feb     12000    3500
4 Mar      9000    2500
5 Apr     15000    5000

References:
- Sales values from B2:B5
- Profit values from C2:C5
- Month labels from A2:A5

Data cells used for plotting sales bars and profit line by month.

Result

Month | Sales (Bar)       | Profit (Line)
-----------------------------------------
Jan   | ██████████ (10k)  | • (3k)
Feb   | ████████████ (12k)| • (3.5k)
Mar   | █████████ (9k)    | • (2.5k)
Apr   | ███████████████ (15k)| • (5k)

Bars show sales volume, dots connected by line show profit trend.

The combined chart uses bars to show sales amounts and a line to show profit trends over months, making it easier to understand how profit relates to sales.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Why do we use bars for sales in the combined chart?

A Because bars show trends better than lines.

B Because bars clearly show the size of sales amounts.

C Because bars are colorful.

D Because bars hide details.

Key Result

Combine bar chart for one measure with line chart for another on shared axis to show relationships.