What are shelves in Tableau?

Picture yourself making a meal. You have a lot of various components, such as spices, vegetables, oil, and grains, but you don't know which one to use first or where to put them. Tableau Training in Noida is the same way.

Shelves in Tableau are like the trays on your desk where you put your data fields so you can tell a story with pictures. 

If you don't know how to use shelves, you'll be combining items without a recipe. And that will make things even more confusing!

So, let's learn what shelves are, how they function, and why they are the most important part of Tableau's drag-and-drop magic.

"Tables" are the areas in the Tableau spreadsheet interface where you can drop dimensions, measures, or fields to make visualizations. 

Each shelf has a particular job: it controls how the data looks, how it is categorized, and how it is filtered.

For example:

• The Rows Shelf chooses what goes on the Y-axis.
• The Columns Shelf decides what goes on the X-axis.
• The Filters Shelf allows you to sort through the data.
• Pages Shelf lets you turn visualizations into animated pages.
• Marks Shelf allows you to manage colours, labels, sizes, forms, and more.

These shelves are like the brains behind the pictures. You choose where things go, and then Tableau shows you what they look like.

You can control how your data acts without writing code with shelves.

Here are some reasons why shelves are useful:

• They decide how your charts will look.
• They help you change the colour, size, and shape of your markings.
• The platform simplifies the creation of tables, maps, graphs, and dashboards.
• They help make dashboards that people can use.

To master data visualization, learn to use shelves first, whether you're studying Tableau alone or in a Noida class.

Types of Shelves in Tableau

Let's look at each shelf one at a time with easy examples.

1. Shelf of Rows

• This function determines which data is displayed on the Y-axis.
• If you drag "Region" to the Rows shelf, you'll receive a row for each region.

2. Shelf for Columns

• This shelf determines which data points are displayed on the X-axis.
• For example, if you drag "Sales" to Columns, you'll see bars for sales.
• Rows and Columns work together to make up the basic framework of a chart.

3. Shelf of Filters

• This feature allows you to filter data according to the values of specific fields.
• For example, if you only want to see sales for 2023, drag "Year" to Filters.
• Filters are essential for tailoring reports to your needs or adjusting them over time.

4. Shelf of Pages

• This feature breaks your data into interactive pages that can be navigated. can be navigated.
• Want to see how sales have changed throughout the years, like a slideshow? Put it on the Pages shelf.
• It's great for telling stories using data that changes over time.

5. Marks Shelf

This shelf can be used in a lot of different ways. It runs:

• Label 
• Colour 
• Size 
• Detail 
• Tooltip
• Form

You may utilize Mark's shelf to make your visualization seem better and provide you additional information.

Let's say we want to see how many sales there are for each region.

1. Put the Region on the Rows Shelf.

2. Put Sales on the Columns Shelf.

3. Move the Category to the Colour area of the Marks Shelf.

You suddenly have a stacked bar chart that shows the number of sales in each region, categorized by product. The Filters Shelf lets you filter by year or product currently.

This demonstrates how easy and useful shelves can be.

For analysts of businesses:

• Look at how sales are doing in each state or region.
• Find the categories that do the best.

For Teams That Market:

• See groups of customers.
• Sort dashboards by the year of the campaign.

For Finance Teams: 

• Create dashboards for KPIs.
• Make charts that show profit and loss trends.

For students who live in Noida or Delhi:

• Make projects for school.
• Make dashboards for telling stories.

These are real questions that students and professionals often ask during Tableau Training in Noida and other places.

Q1: What's the difference between the Columns Shelf and the Rows Shelf in Tableau?

Answer: The Rows Shelf controls what is shown on the Y-axis (the vertical axis), while the Columns Shelf controls what is shown on the X-axis (the horizontal axis). 

For example, if you drag "Region" to Rows and "Sales" to Columns, you get a bar chart with regions on the Y-axis and sales numbers on the X-axis.

Q2: Would it be possible to use more than one field in the same shelf?

Answer: Yes! You can move more than one field to the same shelf. For instance, if you drag "Region" and "Category" into the Rows Shelf, you will receive nested rows (Region > Category). In the same way, you can put more than one measure in the Columns Shelf.

Q3: What is the Marks Shelf for?

Answer: Marks Shelf lets you change how your data is shown. You can: 

• Change the colour of the bars.
• Please assign names to the data points.
• Change the size of the marks.
• Use shapes to show the different groups.
• Add tooltips to make things more interactive.

Q4: What sets the Filters Shelf apart from the Pages Shelf?

Answer: The Filters Shelf allows users to filter data, such as displaying only the data from 2023.

Pages Shelf is used to present or break down data over time, such as a slideshow that shows data year by year.

Q5: Do I need to know how to use shelves before I can use dashboards in Tableau?

Answer: Yes, the answer is yes. Shelves are the most important part of every Tableau visualization. 

You can't make good dashboards if you don't know how to use shelves. That's why all excellent training programs, like Tableau Training in Noida, start with shelving.

1. Try dragging different fields into each shelf to see what happens.

2. In Tableau, use the "Show Me" panel to see how shelves are filled.

3. Change the colour and labels on the Marks Shelf to see how they affect the way things look.

4. Use the Filters Shelf to get rid of stuff you don't need.

Shelves in Tableau may not seem like a big deal, but they are what make every visualization work. 

They let you decide what data shows up, how it looks, and how it may be filtered or stylized.

If you're new to data visualization, taking a professional course like Tableau Training in Noida can help you comprehend these ideas by doing hands-on work. 

Tableau Training in Delhi is also beneficial for professionals and students who want to get some real-world experience in the capital. It includes real-world projects, case studies, and interactive workshops.

It's not enough to just drag and drop to understand shelves; you also need to be able to think critically and make a story with data.

When you next open Tableau, remember that your fields are your ingredients, your shelves are your tools, and your visualization is the cuisine you serve.