How To Adjust The Background On A Dimension Line

If you're coming from Excel, manipulating colors in Tableau tin can feel unnecessarily complicated.

In Excel, changing the color of a column is as easy as highlighting and right-clicking the cells you want to change.

Nevertheless, colors in Tableau are commonly modified at the data level. The methodology depends on whether yous're coloring a dimension or measure.

In short, to change the color of but one column, you need to either (1) isolate a target measure in the view and drag a corresponding dimension or measure to the color mark, (two) utilise mark types "bar" and "square" plus the color mark on measures, (3) format a dimension to the desired color and eliminate row banding, or (iv) use IF statements to create new dimensions for coloring purposes.

This commodity shows the post-obit colorization examples:

measure out text based on a dimension (cross-tab),
measure cells based on a dimension (cross-tab),
measure text based on the mensurate (cross-tab),
measure cells based on the measure (cross-tab)
dimension text based on IF statement (cantankerous-tab),
dimension cells based on formatting (cross-tab),
columns in a column chart by dimension,
bars in a bar chart by dimension,
lines in a line graph by dimension, and
spaces in an surface area chart by dimension.

Once y'all've seen these examples, you'll be able to change colors on all visualizations.

I'll be using the Tableau Bookstore database, which yous can download hither. In addition, y'all can view and download all the Tableau worksheets used in the article at the AnalystAnswers.com page on Tableau Public.

Color a Column in a Cross-tab

At that place are two means to coloring a column. The first is coloring the text itself, and the second is coloring the cell background.

Nosotros'll wait at both of these colorizations for mensurate and dimensions.

Measures Based on a Dimension

Measures are easier than dimensions because Tableau is constructed to colour them first. We'll start here and motility to dimensions next.

Text

Imagine nosotros take a cross tab of book ISBNs, the first and last proper noun of the writer, the volume title, and information technology'due south cost. We and so place a count of club IDs (measure) to see how many times each book was purchased.

To color the text of order ID based on a dimension, such as Price, it's as easy equally dragging another instance of the Toll dimension to the color mark, as yous run across above.

Cells

To color the background of the cells and non the text, you lot need to change the mark type of the CNT(Order ID) from Text to Square and maximize the size of the marking. This will produce the following result.

Measures Based on a Measure

Text

A similar methodology applies for coloring measure text based on a measure. It consists of dragging the display measure to the text marking and dragging the coloring mensurate to the color field. It looks like this:

Here I'm using the same measure as the text and the color, only you could use whatsoever measure you want for applying colors.

Cells

A similar methodology applies for coloring cells based on measures equally on dimensions. You lot simply need to alter the colour mark type to a foursquare and maximize its size. Information technology will produce the following results:

Note that the colors based on measures are not discrete. The default is a spectrum. When you lot just desire ii colors, you'll click on the color marker, select Edit Colors…, choose Palette > Custom Diverging, choose two steps, and choose the colors you desire.

The default setting will cutting the range into two and color each "half" of the range with the respective colors your chose. Y'all tin, nonetheless, choose "Advanced >>" and set the starting and end points.

If y'all desire to set colors based on special atmospheric condition, this will require a calculated field with an IF statement. For example, if you want to colour all values greater than 10 red and all values less than 10 blue, this means y'all'll demand to create a dimension. Let'due south look at this now.

Dimensions Based on IF Argument

When yous want to colour a dimension based on special criteria, you lot will need to create an IF statement calculated field. For example, imagine we want to color the cells of authors whose final names showtime with the letter of the alphabet B.

Text

We start past creating the post-obit calculated field:

At present we need to copy the concluding name dimension and catechumen it to a measure. You lot practise this past right-clicking the Last Name pill > Duplicate. So, on the copy pill, click "Catechumen to Measure out."

Place the mensurate in the text box and catechumen the aggregation from "SUM" to "MIN," and then place the "Color Author Names B" calculated field on the color mark. This will produce the following result:

Cells

To alter the colorization from text to coloring the background of each cell, simply change the marker type from text to foursquare and maximize the size. It will expect like this:

Dimensions Based on Formatting

As you've probably noted, the above technique is not actually formatting our dimension. Instead, it creates a new measure and to format. This is the only way to conditionally format a dimension.

If you would merely like to format the entire column (text or color), it's a simple question of worksheet formatting. Here's how to practise it.

Text

Correct click on the dimension in the view that you would similar to format. Navigate to Format… > Default > Shading. Select the colour yous desire.

Cells

Right click on the dimension in the view that you would like to format. Navigate to Format… > Default > Font. Select the color you desire.

You volition probable see that every 2 cells is colored. That'due south because the setting for row banding is active.

To remove it, starting from the aforementioned format window, navigate to Shading (looks like the below image) > Pane > Row Banding. Select none for both colors, so minimize the banding size.

Colour a Column Chart

There is one major use example for coloring a single column: when you have multiple columns in a view, and yous only want to change the colour of i. Stacked column charts also fall into this category.

Dimensions

Imagine we want to show a column nautical chart of sales per month in the showtime quarter, i.e January, February, and March.

To color one month differently, it's equally easy as dragging the dimension you desire to the color marking. In this example I've used months. It looks like this:

You lot could too choose to employ a measure for coloring. However, simply dragging a measure to the colour mark will produce a spectrum of color (because a measure is continuous). Information technology would look similar this:

To get clean-cut colors based on conditions, such every bit IF Measure > 10 Then "Green" ELSE "Ruby-red" Cease, you'll demand to create a calculated field equally shown in the above section.

Color a Bar Chart

Bar charts are just similar column charts, except the bars are horizontal rather than vertical. The same methodology applies, so I won't go into details here.

Color a Line Graph

The typical use case for coloring a line graph is when a engagement dimension is placed on the rows axis and two or more than measures are placed on the column axis. In near cases I've encountered, the platonic is to cover each line differently.

In my example, I've placed the full income and count of sales on the Y centrality and months on the row centrality.

Dimensions

It's like shooting fish in a barrel to color lines. You merely identify the "Measure Names" dimension on the color mark and your lines will take different colors of the measures in the view.

Be careful to select "All" in the marks window and not one of the mensurate mark windows. You tin always make changes in them after, merely showtime with "All."

Measures

Information technology is possible to color lines with a measure, simply this will likely not give you what y'all're looking for. Measures in the color marker consequence in a spectrum of colors like this, as in the column example:

There are very few cases in which a mensurate on the color mark is useful for visualizations, so you should prefer dimensions and custome dimensions (IF statements) where possible.

Color an Expanse Chart

Area charts functions exactly like lines. The simply deviation is that the space under the line is "filled in." Apply the same methodology from above. It looks like this:

Decision

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