Basic Template Customization

Dashboard Customization

Both template dashboards have helper worksheets to walk you through the basic customization steps. These are really easy to do and make a huge difference so we recommend doing these basic customizations for every project. Once you have connected your new data to the dashboard on the last step, your next step will be to do these 4 basic customization steps. You will find these helper worksheets tabs at the top if on Tableau Online and at the Bottom if on Tableau Desktop.

Step 1: Update Color Palette

This step is the most important because it will update the colors of all the charts for your dashboard. 

  1. Click on the Change Color - Answer Column sheet at the bottom of the workbook to get started
  2. Click on the Color Mark box and Edit Colors
  3. From here you can select a Tableau Standard color palette that is closest to your brand colors.  If using Tableau Desktop you can import your own custom color palettes.
  4. You can assign the entire color palette using the button, click on each data item on the left and the color you want it to be on the right one by one, or double click a data item on the left to pick a custom color.


Step 2: Rename the Split Graph by... Labels

In the dashboard, you have the split graph by option. By default, this will show Filter 1, Filter 2 etc as the Labels. If you want to change the labels to reflect the column associated with it, here is how to do it. 

  1. Click on the Rename Split Graph by sheet on the bottom of the workbook to get started
  2. Go to the parameter shelf on the bottom left of the find, find Split Graph By..., right-click and edit.
  3. The list in the background will tell you what filters you have in this survey, the filter name for each, and the filter name for the label. Looking at this table you will change ONLY the display as filed to match the filter name in the table for each filter number. Do not change the Value field on the left only the display as or it will break everything.
  4. Delete all the unused filter numbers. There is 20 by default but if are not using all 20 then delete the ones you are not using to clean up your dashboard some.

Step 3: Update Split Graph by... Color and Sort Order

In most charts you have the option to crosstab it by whatever you selected as a filter in the Prep Step, this is called the Split Graph by... option. After you update the labels, you can now update the color palette and sort for each one.

  1. Update the color for the Total option. This should be your main company color cause this will be shown on default for most charts.
  2. Click on each of the split graph options one by one and do the following
    1. Update colors by clicking edit colors and assigning a color palette or picking one by one
    2. Update the sort order if you want a specific order to show on the dashboard. If the order doesn't matter then you do not have to worry about this part.

Step 4: Update Filter Sort Order

This is optional but if you want a specific sort order for your filter options when you click the dropdown in the dashboard then this is how you would do it. We put a crosstab chart in the background of all 20 filters so you can see what the default sort order is for each filter.

  1. In the Data pane, find the filter column you want to change the order for. Make sure to select the Filter column name with the = Sign in front of the Abc and also a space after Filter (Filter 1).  If you need to remember what Filter 1 is, go back to the Split Graph by Sheet in Step 2 and use that as a reference.
  2. Right-click that column and go to Default Properties then Sort. 
  3. From here you will select Manual and then click and drag the order how you want it.
  4. Do this for each filter column you want to update the order for.

Step 5: Optimize Calculations for Better Performance (Tableau Desktop ONLY)

This is an additional step to help with performance, this can only be done in Tableau Desktop.                                

  1. Go to the data pane on the top left and right-click Export Filter List. Go to Extract, Compute Calculations Now
  2. Do the same process for Export Viz Data

Next Article: Using the Tableau Analytics Template