How to Union Data in Tableau

Union Data in Tableau

It looks difficult to union data in tableau if you want to Union data from different tables. And you'll be amazed once you know how easy to this in Tableau.

You can achieve this by Manual way or automatic way.

Specific unions

Let use multiple sheets with the same number of columns and same type of data in them.

I have three files A, B and C

The data source window in Tableau – I have connected to my source but not brought in any sheets yet.

I can union these three together simply by dragging them into the Data Pane one at a time. After adding the first one, the subsequent ones can be dragged beneath the first until the little orange box which reads “Drag table to union” appears.

Drag a new sheet on top of the existing one until this appears…

…then the data will be added as a union.

Tableau will automatically append the rows onto the original, identifying matching fields by their shared name.

Before union…

…after union.

Caveat: Using the manual union restricts your data input to only within a single data connection. Attempting to bring in data from another connection will force it to become a join instead. You can use a wildcard union, detailed below, to side-step this limitation.

Wildcards unions

The second option for unions is by using a wildcard. Once the first sheet has been added to the Data Pane, click the drop down and convert it into a union. A new window will then appear, offering the choice of setting up either a specific union (as above) or a wildcard union.

The union setting window looks like this. Here I’ve selected the wildcard option.

This setting tells Tableau to look at specific sheets within a workbook, or at workbooks within a given directory and union together all the data that it finds. It can also be used to exclude specific sheets or workbook from the union as required.

All three sheets from my workbook have been automatically added to my data union.

But wait, my fields have different names!

In the example above, my air sheet has fields with the same data as land and sea, but with differing names. These field names are mismatched.

If fields have mismatched names, Tableau will create a new field, simply adding nulls to entries where no data exists for that field name.

This can be rectified by highlighting the mismatch fields and tell Tableau to merge them together. It will automatically name the new merged field as a combination of the two. The field can then be renamed to whatever is desired.

Selecting this option will pull together both fields. Beware! If the opposite field isn’t null, Tableau will pick one of the values at random to include.

And there you have it, you now have all your data nicely brought together, ready to be visualised in Tableau!

The data from each sheet has been successfully added to the union, ready for visualisation.

Comments

Add Space between bars in Tableau chart

Add Space between bars in Tableau chart Scenario: Tableau defaults to no spacing between the panes in a view. How do I get some spacing between groups of bars in my charts? It can be achieved through the steps below: Add subtotals (Analysis->Totals->Add All Subtotals) Right click on the measure pill on the Rows shelf and change the default SUM() aggregations to MIN() To edit the color legend – double click on the Total color, this takes you to a color dialog, select the WHITE color, click OK Right click on the word Total in the X axis and select Format In the Format window, click the Header tab and blank out the Total label field The added space looks like below:

Initial Capital for text in Tableau

Init Cap in Tableau Tableau doesn't have an inbuilt function like TitleCase or InitCap or Proper. In order to overcome the issue to display the first letter in capitals below function comes in so handy UPPER(LEFT([[String]],1)) + LOWER(MID([String], 2))

Adding “Apply” Button to A Filter Menu In Tableau

Adding An “Apply” Changes Button To A Filter Menu In Tableau Sometimes when a user is changing the options they want on a filter in Tableau, the chart updates as they change each option. This might not be the best user experience if they are changing many options and don’t want the dashboard to redraw the view until they have completed their selection. It is very simple to fix this – Tableau includes an “apply” changes option, which when enabled, means the dashboard won’t redraw to reflect the new filter choices until the user presses the “apply” button. Simply click the drop down arrow on the filter menu > go to “customize”, then click “show apply button”.

Error "Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function"

Error "Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function" When Creating a Calculated Field When creating a calculation, the following error might occur: "Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function." The issue can be resolved through one of the below options: Modify the calculation so that all fields are either aggregate or non-aggregate. Each option can result in different values (please reference the additional information section for specific examples). Option 1 (Aggregate Then Divide) Wrap all fields in an aggregation. Sample: [Profit] / SUM ([Sales]) -> SUM ([Profit]) / SUM ([Sales]) Option 2 ( Divide Then Aggregate) Remove aggregations from all of the fields. Sample: [Profit] / SUM ([Sales]) ->[Profit] / [Sales] Option 3 ( Condition Then Aggregate) Move the aggregation so all fields are aggregated. For example, the calculation: IF [Row ID] = 1 THEN SUM( [Sales] ) END could...

Removing "Abc" Placeholder Text in Tableau Measures column

Removing "Abc" Placeholder Text in Tableau Measures column Quick and easy fix for this issue could be: Use Polygon mark type On the Marks card in the dropdown menu, select Polygon Resize the last column to make it smaller Navigate to Format > Borders In the left-hand Format Border Pane, for Column Divider, For Pane, select None from the dropdown menu Navigate to Format > Shading In the left-hand Format Border Shading, for Row Banding, move the slider to the desired level of row banding

Tableau Bar Chart Rounded corners

Tableau Bar Chart Rounded corners Follow the steps in the video below to create rounded corners for the bar chart:

Using Special Characters in Tableau URL Parameters

Using Special Characters in Tableau URL Parameters When we try to use special characters in URL parameters, the URL parameter might not do anything, or an error might occur. The issue can be resolve by: Use one of the following workarounds: Replace the special character with the URL encoding sequence for backslash (\) (%5c) followed by the URL encoding sequence for the special character. The backslash is needed to escape the special character. For example, the URL encoding sequence for backslash and comma (\,) is %5c%2c. In the data source, separate comma-delimited field values into separate columns that can be filtered independently. In Tableau Desktop, use a calculated field to replace the special characters, such as commas or spaces, with hyphens (-). Cause The browser cannot parse the special characters used in the URL. Additional Information The error varies depending on the browser and special character being used. Networ...

Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function

Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function Issue When creating a calculation, one of the following errors might occur: "Cannot mix aggregate and non-aggregate arguments with this function." (Option 1,2,3 or 4 can be used). " All fields must be aggregate or constant when using table calculation functions or fields from multiple data sources." (Option 1 or 3 can be used). "Argument to sum (an aggregate function) is already an aggregation, and cannot be further aggregated ." (Option 2, 3 or 4 can be used). Environment Tableau Desktop Resolution Each option can result in different values (please reference the attached workbook in the right-hand pane and additional information section for specific examples). Option 1 (Aggregate All Fields) Wrap all fields in an aggregation. Sample: [Profit] / SUM ([Sales]) -> SUM ([Profit]) / SUM ([Sales]) Option 2 ( De-aggregate All Fields) Remove aggregations from all of ...

Set a Date Filter Default to Max Date in Tableau

Set a Date Filter Default to Max Date in Tableau Some of us might have not noticed the setting a filter to default to the Max date. There is a quick and simple option to achieve this in Tableau filters. Follow the steps below: 1. Create a date filter with the date dimension. 3. Drag the date dimension to filters pane. 4. Edit the date filter to Select from the list and select the max date available. 2. Now, y ou have the option 'Filter to latest date value when workbook is opened', check this box and click on OK.

Tableau Extract Update Error "Timeout Error: IPC_NamedPipe::Select(WaitForMultipleObjects)

Tableau Extract Update Error "Timeout Error: IPC_NamedPipe::Select(WaitForMultipleObjects) When trying to update the Data Source or w hen attempting to connect to a data source, or create and/or refresh extracts with Tableau Desktop, the following error message occurs: IPC_NamedPipe::Select(WaitForMultipleObjects): Timeout. Cause Anti-virus software is blocking Tableau processes from running, or the Logs folder contained corrupted information. Resolution Option 1: If it is easy w ork with IT helpdesk/support to add below Tableau folders and processes to exclusions : Tableau.exe hyperd.exe hyperdstarter.exe *.hyper extension (if AntiVirus has an option for extension exclusions) C:\Users\<username>\Documents\My Tableau Repository C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\TableauTemp C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Tableau C:\Program Files\Tableau Make sure that child folders are included in the exclusions. AntiVirus prog...

Tableau Analytics

Search This Blog