HIGHLIGHTING VALUES WITH REFERENCE LINES AND BANDS
SESSION 5
Section 1 of 4
Use reference lines and bands
You can add reference lines, reference bands, distribution bands, and box plots to identify
specific values or ranges on a continuous axis in Tableau. For example, if you’re analyzing
the sales for several products, you can add a reference line that represents average sales for
all of the products, so you can see how each product performed against the average.
Try it! Compare sales data to specific values
Scenario
You have a view of sales by region, and you want to show how each region is doing
compared to a $500,000 quota. You also want to create another view that compares sales in
each customer segment to the average. In both views, you’ll use reference lines to compare
against the data in the view.
1. Open the “add_reference_lines_starter” file in Tableau
2. Add a reference line to the Reference Line view, which displays across the entire
view. Set the value to 500,000, and use text and a variable to add the label “Quota is
$500,000” without the quotes.
1. Click the Reference Line sheet.
2. From the Analytics pane, drag Reference Line to the view, and drop it
on Table in the Add a Reference Line dialog box.
3. In the Edit dialog box, under Line, click the aggregation arrow, and
select Constant.
4. In the Value text box, type “500000”, without the quotes.
5. Click the Label arrow and select Custom.
6. In the Label text box type “Quota is ”, without the quotes, click the arrow, and
select Value.
7. Click OK
3. Add a distribution band to the Reference Line view, which does the following:
Displays across the entire view
Highlights 50 through 90 percent of average Profit, with labels
Has Tooltips of “50% of Average Profit = $106,076” and “90% of
Average Profit = $190,937", using variables and text
Does not recalculate the band for selected data
1. In the Reference Line sheet, from the Analytics pane, drag Distribution
Band to the view, and drop it on Table in the Add a Distribution
Band dialog box.
2. In the Edit dialog box:
i. Click the Value arrow, and, under Percentages, type “50, 90”
without the quotes.
ii. Under Percent of, select (SUM)Profit.
iii. Click the Edit dialog box.
3. Click the Label arrow and select Custom.
4. In the Label text box, click the arrow and select Computation, type a space,
and select Field Name.
5. Click the Tooltip arrow and select Custom.
6. In the Tooltip text box, select Computation, type a space, and then
select Field Name. Type an equal sign (=), type a space, and then
select Value.
7. Uncheck the Show recalculated band for highlighted or selected data
points checkbox.
8. Click OK
4. Add a reference line to the Reference Band view, to mark the average sales for each
customer segment.
1. Click the Reference Band sheet.
2. From the Analytics pane, drag Reference Line to the view, and drop it
on Pane in the Add a Reference Line dialog box.
3. Click OK
5. Add a reference band to the Reference Band view, to highlight
the Minimum and Maximum Sales for each customer segment. Use variables to
customize the tooltips to show dollar amounts for minimum and maximum sales.
1. In the Reference Band sheet, from the Analytics pane, drag Reference
Band to the view, and drop it on Pane in the Add a Reference Line dialog
box.
2. In the Edit dialog box:
i. In the From area, set the aggregation to Minimum.
ii. Click the Tooltip arrow and select Custom. Then, in the Tooltip text
box, select Computation, type a space, and then select Field Name.
Type an equal sign (=) and then select Value.
iii. In the To area, set the aggregation to Maximum.
iv. Click the Tooltip arrow and select Custom. Then, in the Tooltip text
box, select Computation, type a space, and then select Field Name.
Type an equal sign (=) and then select Value.
3. Click OK
Knowledge Check 5.1
1. Based on the reference band you just created, what was the maximum sales in
the Consumer customer segment?
a. $276,894
b. $115,298
c. $127,283
d. $148,921
