Creating parameters in Tableau Public

Let's start today's blog with some questions. Are you greatly indulge in creating data visualization? Do you want to come up with scenarios that aren't available in the data? If yes then this is the blog you really want to read. Parameters allow you to create features or scenarios which help the user to control the data in a much better way.

You must be wondering how the users get a better control so mainly parameters allow the user to test different what-if scenarios that aren't available in the dataset. It is like some value that helps you to tailor your visualization according to the dataset. Options where you can use parameters in tableau- use it with calculated field or you can use it by combining with sets. We will look at both aspects in this blog. We can make the parameters more interactive and intuitive in nature by using parameter actions that allow users to change the value just by a click

As mentioned, we are considering two basic aspects for creating parameters. We are taking global sample superstore data into account for this blog. The idea is to get the top 10 product subcategories in terms of sales. It is quite basic to drag subcategories and sales into columns and rows respectively. Along with this apply a filter to subcategories where you can select the top 10 products with respect to sales.

This is the most common method but suppose you need to change the top n number such as top 5 products. For that, you will start from scratch and do the same thing if I say you can do this with help of one-click or toggle. It is possible with help of creating parameters. The same process continues taking the sub-category in the filter and then select the value in the top n tab to create a new parameter. It will take you to the next pop-up where you can enter the values such as the name of the parameter, minimum and maximum values.

After putting all the values click ok and add the parameters in your visualization. It will provide a slicer that you can adjust. Also, you will get the option to enter the number manually. Let's do the same thing in a much more intuitive way with the help of sets. Click on the subcategory and select create sets.

Start by naming your set. Select by field and in values, you can see your parameter is appearing to select the parameter "Top" which is created previously. After clicking ok drag the created set into colors and you will see a much more dynamic visualization. 

This is what parameter can bring to your visualization. In the end, a warning note does not confuse parameters with the filter. If you are using the same dataset for your visualization then you should select parameters instead of filters while if you are taking multiple datasets into account for your visualization then go for filter because you can not use the same filter in different worksheet but you can use the same parameter for the whole workbook. Parameters can be created in other data visualization tools too and I will do that in Power BI incoming blog.

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