Advanced Tableau Desktop / Tableau Desktop II

Tableau Desktop II: Intermediate Tableau Desktop Introduction

Advanced Tableau Desktop / Tableau Desktop II is a hands-on course designed for users who already know the basics of Tableau and are ready to build deeper, job-ready skills for working with complex data. Tableau is a powerful platform, and learning its advanced features helps you solve real business problems faster, analyze information more accurately, and share interactive insights that teams can trust. If you have experience creating visualizations and dashboards and are ready to do more with your data, this course will help you level up your skills in a meaningful, practical way.

You will spend most of your time in the tool, guided by an expert instructor through real-world projects and advanced techniques. You will work with relationships, joins, unions, and blends to manage multiple data sources, and learn strategies for cleaning messy data, using data extracts, and handling missing values. You will build calculations of all types—from basic to row-level, aggregate, and Level of Detail (LOD)—and apply table calculations and parameters to create more dynamic and flexible dashboards. You will also explore advanced filters, interactivity, and sophisticated visualizations like box-and-whisker plots, bar-in-bar charts, and forecasts.

Throughout the course, you will build visual solutions that mirror actual business use cases, giving you hands-on experience that translates directly to your daily work. You will leave the class knowing how to structure, analyze, and present data in ways that go far beyond the basics. Whether you are supporting operations, finance, sales, or analytics, this course gives you the skills to answer more complex questions, build smarter dashboards, and be seen as a go-to resource on your team.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Combine data from multiple sources using relationships, joins, blends, and unions to build reliable data models.
• Clean and prepare data using tools like custom splits, filters, the Data Interpreter, and options for handling missing or inconsistent values.
• Write and apply advanced calculations, including row-level, aggregate, and Level of Detail (LOD) expressions, to power your dashboards.
• Use parameters and table calculations to make your visualizations more interactive and responsive to user input.
• Design and apply advanced filters, reference lines, trend lines, forecasts, and visual analytics tools to highlight key insights.
• Build advanced charts, dashboards, and maps that include drill-downs, custom geocoding, and user-driven actions for real-time exploration.

Prerequisites

This course is designed for professionals who already use Tableau and are ready to expand their skills. It is ideal for analysts, report developers, data leads, and others who are responsible for deeper reporting, analysis, or dashboard creation.

To get the most out of this course, you should:

• Be comfortable using Tableau to create basic charts and dashboards
• Understand how to connect to data and use filters, measures, and dimensions
• Have experience answering business questions with data visualizations

Audience

This is an Intermediate and beyond-level Tableau course, ideal for professionals who already use Tableau and want to level up their skills. Think business analysts, data specialists, team leads, and anyone who builds reports or dashboards regularly. If you are comfortable creating basic charts and using filters in Tableau, you’re ready for this next step. A little experience working with data (like spreadsheets, databases, or simple analytics tools) will help you get the most out of the hands-on labs.

Tableau Desktop II: Intermediate Tableau Desktop Outline

Data Models and Relationships

• Data Models
• Understanding Relationships
• Data Model Layers
• Creating a Data Model
• Benefits of Relationships

Joins, Blends, and Unions

• Understanding Joins
• Types of Joins
• Creating Joins
• Writing Join Calculations
• Troubleshooting Joins
• Blending Multiple Data Sources
• Blending Data in a View
• Blending and Calculations
• Benefits of Blending
• Using Unions to Combine Data
• Appending Row Data with Unions

Data Cleaning

• Handing NULL and Other Special Values
• Handling Missing Data, Outliers, and Incorrect Data Types
• Splitting Data Fields
• Custom Splits
• The Data Interpreter
• Data Source Filters
• What is Ask Data?
• Building a View Using Ask Data
• Accessing Data in PDFs

Extracting Data

• Extracting Data
• Pros and Cons of Extracts
• Creating an Extract
• Refreshing and Adding Data to Extracts

Sets

• Creating Sets
• Using Sets to Highlight Data
• Combining Sets

Advanced Calculations

• Understanding Calculations
• Creating Calculated Fields
• The Calculation Editor
• Function Categories
• Operators, Keywords, and Syntax Conventions
• Data Types
• Types of Calculations

Row-Level and Aggregate Calculations

• Row-Level Calculations
• String Functions
• Date Functions
• Logical Functions
• Ad Hoc Calculations
• Aggregate Calculations
• Measure Names and Measure Values
• Common Calculation Error

Level of Detail Calculations

• What is Level of Detail?
• Data Level of Detail
• View Level of Detail
• Calculated Level of Detail
• Using Level of Detail Calculations
• LOD Expression Syntax
• FIXED Level of Detail Expression
• INCLUDE Level of Detail Expression
• EXCLUDE Level of Detail Expression
• Creating LOD Calculations

Table Calculations

• What is a Table Calculation?
• Understanding the Virtual Table
• Table Calculation Considerations
• Creating Table Calculations
• Quick Table Calculations
• Controlling Scope and Direction
• Scope and Direction Options
• Index()

Parameters

• Understanding Parameters
• Creating a Parameter
• Using a Parameter

Advanced Filters

• Filter Context
• Understanding Advanced Filters
• Using Context Filters
• Using LOD Expressions with Filters

Advanced Charting

• Symbol Map, Area Map, Box-and-Whisker
• Building Box and Whisker Plots
• Building Histograms
• Creating Bar-in-Bar Charts
• Creating Bullet Graphs
• Using the Analytics Pane
• Adding Trend Lines
• Using Drop Lines
• Adding Reference Lines, Bands, Distributions, and Boxes
• Creating a Forecast

Adding Interactivity

• Understanding Actions
• Filter Actions
• Highlight Actions
• Highlight Action Methods
• URL Actions
• Parameter Actions
• Set Actions
• Creating Interactive Dashboards Using Actions

Advanced Mapping

• Creating Advanced Maps
• Editing Location Data
• Customizing Geocodes for Addresses
• Plotting Data on a Custom Background
• Creating Territories on a Map
• Measuring Distances