Creating Fast Navigation Buttons in Tableau

Today, we will talk about how to create fast navigation buttons in Tableau.  In most cases, navigation is quite easy to do by simply using the tabs.  However, if you have a very large workbook or are using a mobile device, such as an iPad, the tabs can be difficult to work with.  Let's look at an alternative.  As usual, we will use the Superstore Sales sample data set in Tableau.

Step 1:

• Create some dashboards

Step 2:

• Create the following text file

Portal Text File

Step 3:

• Create a Tableau Extract using this text file.

Portal Connection

Step 4:

• Connect directly to the extract

Portal Extract Connection

Step 5:

• Create the following calculated field in the "Portal" Data Source

Dashboard 1 Portal

Step 6:

• Drag it onto the Label Shelf of a Blank Sheet
• Format it however you would like

Dashboard 1 Portal Sheet

Step 7:

• Drag it onto Dashboard 2
• Add the following filter action

Dashboard 1 Portal Action

Now you have a navigation button that takes you to another dashboard.  While this method takes up more processing time than using the tabs, it is a useful alternative when tabs are not a viable option.  The main processing issue with method is that the sheet must execute a query and compute the visualization.  However, executing a query against a one-element extract and computing a text table are the fastest possible processes.  We hope you found this informative.  Thanks for reading.

Brad Llewellyn

Associate Consultant

Mariner, LLC

llewellyn.wb@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradllewellyn