Comments
How to Create a Heat Map in Tableau
Edited 5 months ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team
TableauHeat MapData VisualizationBusiness IntelligenceAnalyticsGeographic DataMappingReportsWindowsMac
This content is available in 7 different language
Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool that helps individuals and businesses transform data into an understandable, visually appealing format. One such visualization type is the heat map, which uses color to communicate relationships between data values that would be very hard to understand if viewed as a simple table or chart. Heat maps essentially highlight the patterns and intensity of values, often making them incredibly useful for effectively presenting dense data sets.
What is a heat map?
A heat map is a graphical representation of data where the individual values contained in a matrix are represented as colors. In many cases, it is a great way to visualize the magnitude of data points and can show you where things are happening. Heat maps are valuable in spotting trends and identifying areas for further analysis, thus, they often find applications in various domains such as finance, customer relationship management (CRM), and business analytics.
Understanding Tableau for visualization
Tableau provides an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface that allows for easy creation of visualizations. It offers myriad visualization options, including bar charts, line graphs, maps, and more complex representations such as heatmaps. Tableau connects to a variety of data sources and allows users to explore and create visualizations with live data feeds.
Preparing to create a heat map in Tableau
Before you can create a heat map, you need to prepare a data set. Typically, your data will be in the form of a spreadsheet or stored in a database that Tableau can connect to. For example, consider a simple dataset containing sales figures for different products in different regions.
Sample data structure:
- Product: The type of product sold (e.g., electronics, clothing)
- Region: Geographic region (e.g., North America, Europe)
- Sales: Sales statistics (e.g., exact sales numbers)
Once your data is ready, you can follow the following steps to create a heat map in Tableau.
Steps to create a heat map in Tableau
Step 1: Connect to your data
Open Tableau and connect to your data. You can do this by clicking the “Connect” pane that appears when you start Tableau. If your data source is an Excel file, select “Microsoft Excel” from the list of options. Navigate to the location of your file and click “Open” to load the data.
Step 2: Drag and drop the required fields
After Tableau imports the data, it automatically enters the "Data Source" tab where you can view and prepare your data. Next, navigate to the "Worksheet" by clicking on the tab labeled "Sheet1" at the bottom. This is where you can begin creating your heat map.
Using Tableau’s drag-and-drop functionality, dragthe “Products” field to the rows shelf. Then, drag the “Regions” field to the columns shelf. What you should see at this point is a basic view that shows an arrangement of products and regions in a grid-like format.
Step 3: Adding the heat map component
Now, to add a heat map visualization, you need to surround your data with colors. Drag the “Sales” field to the “Color” shelf which is located under the “Marks” pane on the left side of the screen. As soon as you drop “Sales” on “Color”, Tableau will create a heat map visualization where different intensities and colors represent different sales numbers for each product-region pair.
Customizing the heat map
Once the basic heat map is ready, you can make a number of customizations to refine it to suit your needs.
Modifying colors
Click the "Color" legend to open options for customizing colors. You can modify the color scheme so that high sales figures are represented with more intense colors and low figures with lighter colors. Choose a color palette that appropriately reflects the narrative of your data and visually appeals to the viewer.
Adjusting the size
If your heat map cells appear too small or too large, you can adjust their size. The "Marks" pane has a "Size" shelf. Dragging the icon left or right will make the cells in the heat map appear more compressed or more spread out, respectively.
Adding labels
To improve clarity, you may want to add numerical labels to each cell. This will indicate the exact figures in addition to the relative color already given. Drag the “Sales” field once more, but this time drop it on the “Labels” shelf. Immediately, Tableau will fill each cell with its corresponding sales figure.
Tooltips and descriptions
Tableau provides options to improve the tooltip information and add additional details, such as additional metrics or explanations. You can include more fields in the “Tooltip” and “Description” sections within the “Marks” card, giving your visualization a deeper context.
Analyze your heat map
Once the heat map is ready, start analyzing data assumptions. See how different colors represent different levels of sales, identify patterns, and note any anomalies. At a glance, it’s clear where sales are strong and where further analysis or intervention may be needed.
Sharing your visualization
After you've completed your heat map and possibly collected information, you'll likely want to share it with others.
Tableau offers several ways to share dashboards, such as publishing them to Tableau Server or Tableau Online where users can access it. Alternatively, you can export visualizations to formats such as PDF, images, or integrate them into storytelling dashboards for presentations.
Considerations for effective use
Although heat maps are incredibly informative, there are practical considerations to keep in mind to maximize their effectiveness:
- Simplicity: Use simple color schemes that are easy to understand.
- Reference: Label the axes clearly and provide reference for the color gradient.
- Scalability: Make sure your heat map design remains effective even when data volumes change.
- Interaction: Taking advantage of Tableau's interactive features, such as filtering and highlight actions, can give users the freedom to explore visualizations in greater depth.
Conclusion
Creating a heat map in Tableau is a straightforward process that requires a clear understanding of the data and your visualization goals. With Tableau's sophisticated but user-friendly interface, you can produce heat maps that tell compelling stories through data. As you become more comfortable with Tableau, you'll find many creative ways to present and interpret data for yourself and others.
Heat maps, with their vibrant use of colors to illustrate data legacies and anomalies, remain a favorite choice in effectively communicating complex data relationships. Whether used separately or as part of a larger analytical dashboard, heat maps can provide valuable insights and aid decision making across various fields of endeavor.
If you find anything wrong with the article content, you can