In Tableau text fields, such as text label or tooltips, there is no text wrap option. When a text label is long, we wish we can have it. Here we are going to show that we can make it happen.

In one project, we have limited space for text labels. That means, we have limits on both width and height. Given that the text label string can be very long, we need to wrap the text around. Since there is no such functionality in Tableau, we have to solve the problem by ourselves.

First, we need to define the width of the string, namely in number of characters. Second, define the number of rows. Assume each row can accommodate up to 80 characters and there are in total 3 rows. In total, the max number of characters is 240.

How to implement text wrap? Given a width limit, we will add line-breaks to a long string  at a word that is at the 80 character limit or below. It is important to note that a line-break should be inserted between two words. It is a line-break and not a word-break.

The key steps are as follows, assuming the width limit is N characters. N can be a parameter.

1.Take the first N characters of a string using LEFT(String,N) function. Name the above substring Row1.
2.Find the position of the last space in the Row1. Cut off the chars beyond the last space from Row1.
3.Repeat the above steps on the rest of the string (without Row1 part) and create Row2.
4.Create Row3, etc.
5.Create a label
Row1+'\n'+Row2+'\n'+Row3
6.Apply this new string to the Label field.

Voila.

Note this method applies when we have a limited space for displaying a long text label.

Recently, for the first time I had to connect to an Excel file on a SharePoint site. I was told that by opening Tableau's new data source interface and selecting Excel, I just need to add the URL to the file, such as http://server/site/library/filename.xlsx

It did work at first! We get all the data etc. Then strange thing happened. The data source won't update by refreshing data source, even when we made changes in the Excel table. By searching around and I found the following articles which are very helpful:

UNC Path Naming for files stored on SharePoint
Connecting to SharePoint-Based Excel File

Here is the solution:
Instead of using the URL link, we must use UNC link, which is very similar to the URL: just reverse the slash to be back slash (minus http:)
\\server\site\library\filename.xlsx

What is going on?
The culprit is that the http link tends to store the Excel file in a local cache. Then the file content won't get updated as quickly as we wish. UNC link is linked to the original file without any caching.

In the previous post, we showed how to create bar chart multiples in a single sheet with the same measure. Here we are going to show you how to do this for different measures. Using the Superstore data set, we are going to show bar chart multiples for Sales, Profit and Profit Ratio per Subcategory. It gives a simple summary of leaders and laggards on important measures. The key is to visualize them all in a single sheet à la Tableau Prep.

Here is the resulting dashboard:
The design steps are:
1.Union the Superstore data set (Orders table) 3 times. The resulting data set gets an extra field [Table Name].
2.Create the following calculated fields:
-Mixed Measure Names
-Mixed Measures

3.Create the worksheet
Voila, in a single glance, we can view three subcategory measures in sorted fashion. The workbook can be downloaded here.