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Dual axis, combination charts and sorting
Diagnose dual axis and combo charts (which pill is primary, what Synchronize Axis aligns, which Marks card an encoding lands on) and pick the sort that produces the order a stakeholder asks for: nested or non-nested, toolbar, Manual, Field or case-insensitive.
Create charts: Create basic charts from scratch (bar, line, pie, highlight table, scatter plot, histogram, tree map, bubbles, data tables, Gantt, box plots, area, dual axis, combo); Sort data (including custom sort).
~7 min read · 8 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Build a dual axis chart, decide which measure is the primary axis, and synchronize or reorder the axes on request.
- Turn a dual axis into a combo chart by changing the mark type and encodings on one measure's Marks card without touching the other.
- Predict what each sort entry point (axis, header, field label, toolbar) sorts, and switch between nested and non-nested sorts.
- Produce a custom order with Manual sort, header drag, a Field sort or a case-insensitive calculated field, and control sorting for viewers.
Recipes are in the Desktop Foundations units Combined axis and dual axis charts and Sorting, reference lines and totals; other chart types are in Building chart types on the Marks card.
Key terms:
- Primary axis: the axis of the first measure pill on the shelf; the secondary axis is the second.
- Synchronize Axis: aligns the secondary axis's scale to the primary axis's scale.
- Combo chart: a view whose measures use customized marks, such as bars for one and a line for the other.
- Nested sort: sorts each pane independently; a non-nested sort keeps one order across panes.
Key facts
Layered axes
- Detail
- Up to four: two on Columns, two on Rows
Synchronize Axis
- Detail
- On the secondary axis; aligns it to the primary scale
Swap primary
- Detail
- Drag secondary pill in front until an orange triangle appears
Per-measure Marks card
- Detail
- Encodings apply only to the selected measure; All changes every measure
Sort icon clicks
- Detail
- One descending, two ascending, three clear
Default nesting
- Detail
- Axis sort nested; field label sort non-nested
Toolbar sort
- Detail
- Uses the leftmost measure on the shelf
Alphabetic
- Detail
- Case sensitive; [A-Z] before [a-z]
Show Sort Controls
- Detail
- Deselect on the Worksheet menu to hide icons from viewers
- Why does an Alphabetic sort put 19 before 2?
- Can you open the Sort menu on a continuous measure?
- Where do sort icons never appear, even with Show Sort Controls on?
- Why might Synchronize Axis be grayed out on a dual axis chart?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Tableau Data Analyst pack
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- All 30 lessons of the Tableau Data Analyst guide, with reading progress
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