Types of Content in a Tableau Workbook

Intro

In this post, we will discuss the types of content that make up a Tableau workbook. This is part of a series, if you’ve not read the introduction you can check it out here!

Types of Content in Tableau

Tableau workbooks are constructed of 4 types of content:

Your data

This may take many forms from a flat .csv file to an Excel file to complex data models made in SQL and Python! When you import your data you may connect to it live or as an extract

• A live data source is a connection to a database or other data source that allows you to access data in real-time. When you create a live connection to a data source, Tableau queries the data source each time you interact with the data or refresh the data in your visualizations.
• An extract is a snapshot of data that you can create from a live data source or a file. Extracts allow you to work with data in Tableau without the need for a live connection to the data source. This can be useful if you want to reduce the load on the data source, or if you want to work with data offline.

Pro Tip: Tableau files based on an extract can often provide a much better experience for your report consumers, by reducing the initial load time and response time when filtering

When you have imported your data you will see it on the left hand side in the Object Explorer panel.

Worksheets

In Tableau, worksheets are your canvas. A worksheet is a standalone sheet that contains a visualisation or a set of visualisations. Typically every separate visual element (such as a single bar chart, or a single table of numbers) is a separate worksheet.

Pro Tip: When building Tableau reports you can end up with lots of sheets really quickly! Make sure you start with a good naming convention and consider using the tab colour functionality to track your elements

Dashboard

A dashboard is a collection of worksheets and other elements that you can use to display and interact with data. Dashboards may include a variety of elements such as worksheets, text boxes and images.

Story

A story is a series of worksheets or dashboards that tell the story of your data. You can use stories to powerfully communicate your insights to your audience.