Placing labels for each of the multiples is not much a problem. But, it's pretty hard to align them across all the multiples. For example, in this #WorkoutWednesday 35 project by Rajeev Pandey, the State labels are not aligned.

Actually I had the same aligning problem before and I blogged my solutions here:
http://vizdiff.blogspot.com/2017/08/tweakthursday-35-placing-labels-on.html
http://vizdiff.blogspot.com/2017/08/tweakthursday-34-placing-labels-in.html

The above two solutions are based on a common point in all the small multiples. In the #WorkoutWednesday 35 project, there is no such a common point. We have to find another way to align the labels.

Luckily I found a fairly consistent way to place and align the labels. It won't depend on the values of the measures on columns or rows. So it can be applicable to all small-multiples.

I created a similar version which is a tile-based US map and is still a small-multiples chart. Here is what I got. The key idea is maximizing the size of the data mark for labels. Then place the labels at any of the four corners. The labels will be automatically aligned at the corners.

Data sources:
1.The main data source contains a State dimension.
2.A secondary data source contains the coordinates of a US tiled map.
Both are blended on State.

The main steps are:
1.Create Avg(0) as a measure directly on the Row (right click and select New Calculation)
2.Select Square as data mark type
3.Set the Label alignment to be top-left (or top right, bottom-left, bottom-right)
It is easy to notice that the labels are not aligned horizontally.
4.Maximize the mark Size so that all labels are pushed to the corner, thus become aligned!
5.Make the mark Color transparent (opacity = 0%)
The resulting labels are like this:
The last step is to dual-axis with the regular chart measure on the Row shelf. The caveats are:
- Do not synchronize the dual axis. This way, we can adjust the size of small-multiples independently.
- Use the axis editing to adjust the size of the multiples.

The resulting chart is as follows:
The workbook is here for you to download.

The limitation of the approach is that it only applies to the 4 corners. It is not possible to align them at the center or top-middle or bottom-middle etc.
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Jake and I collaborated on a dashboard. He told me that he learnt a way to create an in-place help page in Tableau. He first saw it at a conference somewhere and couldn't recall who the speaker was. So I am blogging here about it but the credit goes to somebody else. If anyone knows who the original creator is, leave a comment below.

The key idea is to float a semi transparent worksheet on top of the dashboard, where a help text box is strategically placed on top of each chart. This way, we can explain how to view each chart and what data points are important, etc. This worksheet is collapsible by a show/hide button. 

Below I would like to show how this worksheet can be constructed.

1. Sheet with a single data mark.

  • Double click the empty space in Marks panel and add two single quotes. Make the null pill a text label. This creates a single null mark.
  • Set the view as "Entire View"

2. Create an show/hide button

  • Go to the target dashboard
  • Drag a floating vertical container to the dashboard, making it cover all the area of interest.
  • Drag the Single Null Mark sheet and drop it into the above container. Hide the sheet title.
  • Create an open/close button for the container and place the button at the top-right corner.

3. Add annotations

  • Format the sheet background opacity as 70% in the layout manager             
  • Select area annotations and place them anywhere of interest. 
  • Write help text and format it to highlight important messages.  
  • The text can serve as functional guide and/or insight guide.

Here is an example. Feel free to download the workbook and explore. Click the "i" button at the top-right corner to view the in-place help. 

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