Structure of Tableau

• Tableau provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface designed for data visualization and analysis. Below is a breakdown of its key components.
• Tableau’s intuitive UI makes it easy to analyze data using Sheets, Dashboards, and Stories. The Menu, Toolbar, and Data Window help manage data and create impactful visualizations. Understanding data types and file formats ensures smooth data handling.

Components of the Tableau Screen

The Tableau screen consists of various components such as workspace, toolbar, menu, sheets, dashboards, and data window. Each component plays an important role in creating, editing, and managing data visualizations effectively. The Tableau screen is divided into different components that help users create and manage data visualizations easily. The main components are as follows:

1. Tableau User Interface

• The Tableau User Interface is the overall screen layout where users interact with the software.
• It includes menus, toolbars, panes, shelves, and workspace areas.
• The interface is designed to support drag-and-drop functionality for easy visualization creation.
• When we open Tableau, we are greeted with the Start Page, which includes:-
  • Connect – This option is used to connect to different data sources.
  • Open – This option is used to access recently used workbooks.
  • Discover – This option is used for learning resources, updates, and tutorials.

After selecting a data source, we enter the main workspace where visualizations are created.

2. Tableau Workspace

• The workspace is the main area where we work with data and visualizations.
• The Workspace is the main working area where charts, graphs, and visualizations are created.
• Users drag fields into rows and columns in this area to generate visual representations of data.
• It consists of:-

• • Data Pane (Left Sidebar) – It contains connected data sources, dimensions, and measures.
  • Columns & Rows Shelves – It is used to define the layout of charts.
  • Marks Card – It controls the appearance of charts (Color, Size, Labels, etc.).
  • Filters & Pages Shelf – It is used for filtering and animation.
  • Visualization Area (Canvas) – It is the main space where charts and graphs appear.

3. Workspace Control

• Workspace Control is used to switch between different views in Tableau.
• It allows users to move between the Data Source view, the Worksheet view, the Dashboard view, and the Story view.
• It helps in managing and organizing different parts of the project.

4. Toolbar

• The Toolbar contains shortcut icons for common actions such as save, undo, redo, sort, filter, and formatting.
• It helps users perform tasks quickly without going through the menu options.
• The toolbar provides quick access to essential actions, including:-
  • Undo/Redo – This option is used to reverse or repeat actions.
  • Save – This option is used to save the workbook.
  • Sort – This option is used to arrange data.
  • Filters – This option is used to apply quick filters.
  • Format – This option is used to adjust fonts, colors, and alignment.
  • Show Me Panel – This option is used to suggest the best visualizations for selected data.

5. Menu Bar

• The Menu bar is located at the top of the screen.
• It includes options such as File, Data, Worksheet, Dashboard, Story, Analysis, Map, Format, Server, and Help.
• These options allow users to perform different operations.
• The menu bar contains various options to manage data, formatting, and visualizations:
  • File – This option is used to create, open, save, or export workbooks.
  • Data – This option is used to manage data sources and refresh connections.
  • Worksheet – This option is used to modify sheet properties.
  • Dashboard – This option is used to create and customize dashboards.
  • Story – This option is used to build storyboards using multiple visualizations.
  • Analysis – This option is used to add calculations, reference lines, and forecasts.
  • Map – This option is used to customize geographic maps.
  • Format – This option is used to change text, borders, and background colors.
  • Server – This option is used to publish dashboards to Tableau Server or Tableau Online.

6. Sheets, Dashboards, and Stories

a) Sheets (Worksheets)

• • A sheet is where individual visualizations (charts, graphs, tables) are created.
  • Each sheet represents a single view.
  • Sheets are individual worksheets where a single visualization is created.
  • Multiple sheets can be created in a workbook, and each sheet can contain a different chart or graph.

b) Dashboards

• • We can drag and drop different visualizations, apply filters, and add interactive elements.
  • Dashboards combine multiple worksheets into a single view.
  • They allow users to display different visualizations together for better analysis and presentation.

c) Stories

• • Stories allow us to create a sequence of visualizations to tell a data-driven story.
  • We can include multiple dashboards and highlight key insights.

7. Data Window (Data Pane)

• This user interface is found on the left sidebar of the workspace or screen.
• It displays fields from the connected data source.
• It contains Dimensions and Measures that users can drag into the workspace to create visualizations.
• It displays connected data sources and fields divided into:
  • Dimensions (Blue) – Categorical data (e.g., Customer Name, Country).
  • Measures (Green) – Numerical data (e.g., Sales, Profit).
• It supports drag-and-drop functionality to build charts.

Tableau File Types

Architecture of Tableau

• Tableau software is designed to connect many data tiers. It can connect clients from Mobile, Web, and Desktop.
• Tableau provides such a powerful feature that requires a unique architecture. Tableau has several components – 
  • Application server:
    • The application server is used to provide the authorizations and authentications.
    • It handles the permission and administration for mobile and web interfaces.
    • It gives a guarantee of security by recording each session ID on the Tableau Server.
    • The administrator is configuring the default timeout of the session on the server.
  • VizQL server:
    • VizQL server is used to convert the queries from the data source into visualizations.
    • Once the client request is forwarded to the VizQL process, it sends the query directly to the data source and retrieves information in the form of images. This visualization or image is presented to the users.
    • Tableau Server creates a cache of visualizations to reduce the load time. The cache can be shared between many users who have permission to view the visualization.
  • Data server:
    • A data server is used to store and manage the data from external data sources.
    • It is a central data management system.
    • It provides data security, metadata management, data connection, driver requirements, and data storage.
    • It stores the related details of data sets like calculated fields, metadata, groups, sets, and parameters.
    • The data source can extract the data as well as make live connections with external data sources.
    • The primary component of Tableau Architecture is the Data sources that can connect to it. Tableau can connect with multiple data sources. It can blend the data from various data sources.
    • Tableau can connect to an Excel file, a Database file, and a web application at the same time.
    • It can also make the relationship between different types of data sources.
  • Data connector:-
    • The Data Connectors provide an interface to connect external data sources with the Tableau Data Server.
    • Tableau has an in-built SQL/ODBC connector. This ODBC Connector can be connected to any database without using its native connector.
    • Tableau Desktop has an option to select both extract and live data. On the use basis, one can easily switch between live and extracted data.
  • Real-time data or live connection: 

    • Tableau can be connected with real data by linking to the external database directly. It uses the existing infrastructure database by sending dynamic multidimensional expressions (MDX) and SQL statements. This feature can be used as a link between the live data and Tableau rather than importing the data. It makes an optimized and fast database system.
    • Mostly in other enterprises, the size of the database is large, and it is updated periodically. In these cases, Tableau works as a front-end visualization tool by connecting with the live data.

• • Extracted or in-memory data: 

    • Tableau is an option to extract the data from external data sources. We make a local copy in the form of a Tableau extract file. It can remove millions of records in the Tableau data engine with a single click.
    • Tableau’s data engine uses storage such as ROM, RAM, and cache memory to process and store data.
    • Using filters, Tableau can extract a few records from a large dataset. This improves performance, especially when we are working on massive datasets. Extracted data allows the users to visualize the data offline, without connecting to the data source.
  • Gateway:

    • The gateway directed the requests from users to Tableau components.
    • When the client sends a request, it is forwarded to the external load balancer for processing.
    • The gateway works as a distributor of processes to different components.
    • In case of the absence of an external load balancer, the gateway also works as a load balancer.
    • For a single server configuration, one gateway or primary server manages all the processes.
    • For multiple server configurations, one physical system works as a primary server, and others are used as worker servers.
    • Only one machine is used as a primary server in the Tableau Server environment.
  • Clients:
    • The visualizations and dashboards in the Tableau server can be edited and viewed using different clients.
    • Clients are web browsers, mobile applications, and Tableau Desktop.
      1. Web Browser: 

         1. Web browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox support the Tableau server.
         2. The visualization and contents in the dashboard can be edited by using these web browsers.
      2. Mobile Application: 

         1. The dashboard from the server can be interactively visualized using a mobile application and a browser.
         2. It is used to edit and view the contents of the workbook.
      3. Tableau Desktop: 
         1. Tableau Desktop is a business analytics tool.
         2. It is used to view, create, and publish the dashboard on the Tableau server.
         3. Users can access various data sources and build a visualization on the Tableau desktop.