Practice for the Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification
Updated as per latest exam format.
Also Read: Guide to Tableau Certified Data Analyst Certification Exam
Tips to Prepare
The Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification is one of the most coveted certifications in the Data Analytics world. The validity of this certification does not expire. I would like to share my experience to others which can help you pass the exam. The most important guide is the Official Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide. I cannot emphasize enough how relevant this is, as it categorically lists down all the topics and gives you a complete idea of the exam. The Official Tableau Training Videos are an excellent source of learning which provides decent learning experience for all the topics and is recommended. The best resource is Tableau Practice Test. For practicing I also loved the free and premium exams at Tableau Desktop Specialist Practice Test and the extensive detailed guide with tutorials at Tableau Desktop Specialist Practice Exam. A community driven exercise like Makeover Monday is also advisable to step up your game to apply and play around with the tips and tricks of Tableau. Tableau has moved this exam to a more knowledge-driven format, however exhaustive hands-on for several weeks is required to be able to answer these questions.
In this article, we are visiting the important and interesting features of Tableau which are relevant for the Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification. The bundle of unique features that make Tableau a well-liked and widely accepted Business Intelligence tool and powerful visualization tool. Tableau is considered as collectively of the most effective Business Intelligence and data visualization tools and has managed to top the charts quite few times since its launch.
Overview
The foremost important quality of this tool is that it makes organizing, managing, visualizing, and understanding data straightforward for its users. Data is additionally as complex and mysterious as we’ll imagine and requires proper tools to extract meaning from it. Such tools enable us to dig deep into the knowledge so as that we can discover patterns and acquire meaningful insights.
Tableau provides us with a bunch of tools that equip us to undertake, and do data discovery, data visualization and insight sharing at a close level. This knowledge is appreciated during the Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification. One interesting aspect of Tableau is simple drag-and-drop functionality other than other BI tools. You’re doing not must come from a technical background or know many coding to be able to work on Tableau.
Given below is the most effective features of Tableau
1. Tableau Dashboard
2. Collaboration and Sharing
3. Live and In-memory Data
4. Data Sources in Tableau
5. Advanced Visualizations (Chart Types)
6. Maps
7. Robust Security
8. Mobile View
9. Ask Data
10. Trend Lines and Predictive Analysis
1. Tableau Dashboard
Tableau Dashboards provides an overall view of your data regarding visualizations, visual objects, text, etc. Dashboards are very informative as they’re visiting present data within the sort of stories, enable the addition of multiple views and objects, provide an expansion of layouts and formats, enable the users to deploy suitable filters. You even have the selection to repeat a dashboard or its specific elements from one workbook to a special easily.
2. Collaboration and Sharing
Tableau provides convenient options to collaborate with other users, and instantly share data within the range of visualizations, sheets, dashboards, etc. in real-time. It allows you to securely share data from various data sources like on-premise, on-cloud, hybrid, etc. Instant and simple collaboration and data sharing help in getting quick reviews or feedback on the knowledge leading to how better overall analysis of it.
3. Live and In-memory Data
Tableau supports the connectivity to both live data sources and data extraction from external data sources as in-memory data. This provides the user the pliability to use data from over one quite data source with no restrictions. You’ll use data directly from the knowledge source by establishing live data connections or keep that data in-memory by extracting data from an information source as per their requirement. Tableau provides some more additional features to support data connectivity like automatic extract refreshes, notifying the user upon a live connection fail, etc.
4. Data Sources in Tableau
Tableau offers a myriad of information source options you will be ready to attach with and fetch data from. There are various Data source connections ranging from on-premise files, spreadsheets, relational databases, non-relational databases, data warehouses, big data, to on-cloud data are all available on Tableau. One can easily establish a secure connection to any of the knowledge sources from Tableau and use that data along with data from other sources to form a combinatorial view of knowledge within the range of visualizations. Tableau also supports differing types of knowledge connectors like Presto, MySQL, Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Cloud era, Hadoop, Amazon Athena, Salesforce, SQL Server, Dropbox and much of more.
5. Advanced Visualizations (Chart Types)
One in all the key features of Tableau then the one that got its popularity is its wide selection of visualizations.
In Tableau, you will be able to make visualizations as basic as a:
• bar graph
• chart
and as advanced as a:
• Histogram
• Gantt chart
• Bullet chart
• Motion chart
• Tree map
• Box plot and plenty of more.
You can select and make any reasonably visualization easily by selecting the visualization type from the Show Me tab.
6. Maps
Yet another important feature of Tableau is the map. Tableau incorporates many preinstalled information on maps like cities, postal codes, administrative boundaries, etc. This feature of Tableau makes the maps very detailed and informative. You will be ready to add different layers of geology on the map as per your requirements and build informative maps in Tableau together with your data.
7. Robust Security
Tableau takes special care of information and user security. It is a fool-proof security system supported authentication, and permission systems for data connections and user access. Tableau also gives you the freedom to integrate with other security protocols like Active Directory, Kerberos, etc. an enormous point to note here is that Tableau practices row-level filtering which helps to stay the information secure.
8. Mobile View
Tableau takes the advantage of importance in mobile phones then it provides a mobile version of the Tableau app. One can create their dashboards and reports in such a fashion that it is also compatible with mobile. Tableau has the selection of constructing customized mobile layouts for your dashboard specific to your mobile device. The customization option gives the selection for adding new phone layouts, interactive offline previews, etc. Hence, the mobile view gives Tableau users a good deal of flexibility and convenience in handling their data on the go.
9. Ask Data
The Ask data feature of Tableau takes reporting to a next level and liked by users globally. This feature makes wiggling with data just a matter of straightforward searches as we do on Google. You merely must people query about your data in tongue and Tableau will present you with the foremost relevant answers. The answers don’t seem to be only within the variability of text , but also as visuals. As an example, if what you searched for is already present during a chart, the Ask data option will search and open the chart for you instantly. Such features make data more accessible to users.
10. Trend Lines and Predictive Analysis
Another extremely useful feature of Tableau is that employment of ages series and forecasting. The Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification often tests you on questions related to this. Easy creation of trend lines and forecasting is possible thanks to Tableau’s powerful backend and dynamic face. You’ll easily get data predictions style of a forecast or a line by simply selecting some options and drag-and-drop operations using your concerned fields.
Miscellaneous Features of Tableau
Miscellaneous Features of Tableau together with the list of key features that we just covered. Tableau is loaded with plenty of other important additionally as useful features listed below:
· Cross database join
· Nested sorting
· Drag-and-drop integration
· Data connectors
· Prep conductor
· Text editor
· Revision history
· Licensing views
· ETL refresh
· Web Data connector
· External service integration
· Split function
Features of Latest Tableau Version: Tableau 2020.3
Tableau 2020.3 has recently been released with several exciting new features. Two other features, that wanted to specialize, in are useful to anyone who builds Tableau dashboards daily. They may not be the foremost powerful features within the new release, but they’re ones which will make dash boarding a smoother, more user-friendly experience.
Filter and Search
A feature that has always are available handy on Tableau worksheets is the search bar within the Data pane, above your dimensions and measures. This permits you to go looking for the relevant fields you’re looking to edit or bring into the view. However, if your anything like me, you’ll often end ups forgetting what the names of your fields are, which might be very true for calculated fields you’ve got created yourself or in datasets where an oversized number of dimensions and measures are being employed.
Without knowing the name of the sphere and if you haven’t grouped your calculated fields together you might need to scroll all the way down to explore for the =# sign signifying the name of the field. With the new filter search feature, you’ll separate out measures, dimensions, calculated fields and comments. Then isolate even further to only include those fields with the word sales: Although this feature might only be saving you some seconds at a time, this will really add up if building out views in Tableau is a few things you’re doing regularly.
Also, if you’re inheriting a workbook from some other person which is some things that often happens, having the ability isolate fields more easily can facilitate your get to grips with what work has already been done, in order that handover is often a more user-friendly experience.
Clear Parameter Values
Parameter actions came in Tableau 2019.2 and offers users the choice to drive the parameter value from clicking on a mark within the view. The worth remains the identical until you decide on a replacement mark. You’ll set the default value for a parameter for when the workbook opens, but sometimes you wish to reset it to a value while you’re within the workbook. Employing a parameter action, we will change the position of that reference line by clicking on the chart. There are ways to try to this in previous versions, but they involved creating a custom reset button:
However, now after you are fitting your parameter action, you have got a piece on the side that helps you to specify what is going to happen when clearing the choice. Keeping this value means the action will add the identical way because it always had, but setting the worth to a particular amount implies that are going to be the default value after you do the chart.
I personally think this feature could be a very powerful addition. It allows you to reset to a default view without reloading the full workbook on every occasion. This is often especially helpful once you are working in an exceedingly dashboard with multiple filters, parameters or sets applied on a dashboard in an exceedingly Server or Online environment, as you’ll be able to reset your selected parameter without refreshing the dashboard and clearing those other actions.
Tableau Features: Quick view
Quick view Given below may be a quick overview of Tableau features:
· API
· Access Control
· Active Directory Integration
· Activity Dashboard
· Ad hoc Analysis
· Ad hoc Query
· Ad hoc Reporting
· Categorization
· Collaboration Tools
· Content Library
· Custom Fields
· Customizable Reporting
· Dashboard Creation
· Data filtering, import/export, mapping, storage management, visualization.
· Database Integration
· Drag & Drop Interface
· Email Integration
· Email Notifications
· Filtered Views
· Gantt Charts
· Geographic Maps
· Geolocation
· Interactive Content
· Metadata Management
· Multiple Projects
· Offline Access
· Permission Management, Role-Based Permissions
· Real-Time Analytics, Real-Time Data
· Self Service Portal
· Task Management
· Third-Party Integration
· Trend Analysis
· Usage Tracking
Summary
During this article bought enough information on Tableau and its wide range of features. Tableau can be an awfully useful gizmo loaded with user-friendly features and functionalities which helps us extract valuable information from data. Hope this helps in your Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification exam.
