While creating dashboards in Tableau, I often need to add visuals like logos, icons, or background maps to make the reports easy to understand. By adding relevant images, we can make the dashboard more informative with clear visuals.
In this Tableau tutorial, I’ll explain four different ways to add images in Tableau Desktop. In these methods, we will add images, from inserting a static image in the dashboard to using dynamic web images that change based on data.
Insert Image in Tableau
In Tableau, there are the following ways to add images for the different use cases.
- Add image using image object to a Dashboard
- Use custom shapes to add images
- Use the web page object to add images
- Upload images dynamically via URL
Add an Image Object to a Dashboard
In this method, we will add an image to the Tableau Dashboard, using the Image object in the Dashboard. This method is useful when we need to add a logo or an informational image in the dashboard.
- Create a dashboard, and optionally add worksheets to the canvas of the dashboard. After this, go to the Objects section and drag the Image object to the dashboard.
- In this window, there are two options: either upload an image or use a web image URL. To upload an image, select Insert Image File -> Browse and select the image -> Select fit/Centre image.
- If you want to make it a clickable image, then in the field URL Opened when image is clicked, enter the URL that will open on image click.
- At last, enter the Alt text and click OK.
Now the image will be visible in the dashboard. In the settings, we have selected the option to open a URL when an image is clicked. So, as we click, it will open the selected URL.
This way, we can add an image or a clickable image in a Tableau dashboard using the Image object.
Use Web Page Object to Add Images in Tableau
Another method to add an image to the Tableau dashboard is to use the Web page object. Now, follow the steps below to add web images in Tableau using a web page object.
For this, create a dashboard and navigate to the Objects section in the right-hand navigation bar.
From the Objects, drag the Web Page to the Dashboard. After this, enter the Image URL in the URL input field and click OK.
Now, we can see the image for the entered URL on the dashboard.