In our company, the sales team regularly reviews quarterly performance reports using Tableau. The sales team wanted to compare Sales and Profit together in one chart. When they used a bar chart, it clearly showed the total sales, but did not explain how profit was changing. When using a line chart for profit, it showed the profit trends but not the sales.
For this requirement, we used the Combination chart in Tableau. With this chart, we displayed sales on bars and profit on lines on the same chart.
In this Tableau tutorial, I will explain the Tableau Combination chart and how we can create one to visualize two measures in a single chart.
Tableau Combination Chart
In Tableau, the combination chart is used to show two or more measures together, using different chart types such as bars and lines. It is mainly used to compare related metrics side by side, even when they are on different scales.
For example, we can display sales as bars and Profit as a line in the same chart using a combination chart. Tableau allows us to create combination charts either by using a dual-axis chart with different mark types or by using Measure Names and Measure Values when you want to display three or more measures in one chart.
Create a Tableau Combination Chart
In this example, we will use the Tableau Superstore dataset to create a combination chart. This combo chart will show sales and profit values in a single chart.
Now, connect the Tableau with the Superstore dataset and follow the steps below to create a combo chart.
- Add a dimension, such as Category or Sub-category, to the Columns.
- Now, add the two measures Profit and Sales to the Rows. With this, we will get two charts on the sheet.
- Now, click on the Profit axis in the Rows and select Dual Axis.
- Select the Mark type for the Sales axis as bar, and for the Profit axis select the Line chart option. With this, sales will be displayed with bars, and profit will be displayed with lines.
- Now, we need to align both the axes, meaning 10k of sales and 10k of profit should be displayed on the same axis. For this, right-click on the Sales axis and select Synchronize axis.
- To show the values of sales and profit, go to the All Marks section and select Label -> Show mark Labels.
- Here, we can also change the color of lines and bars for better visibility. To do this, go to the measure names on the right side and double-click on either Sales or Profit color.
In the Edit Color window, select the color from the palette and click OK.
We can further modify this combo chart, such as displaying the profit as a percentage instead of numbers.
- To display the profit percentage, add the Profit measure to the Label of the profit axis. After this, click on the Profit label and select Format.
- In the format select Pane -> Default -> Numbers -> Percentage. To remove decimals, set decimal places to 0.
- Now, click on the Profit label in the Marks card and select Quick Table Calculation -> Percent of Total.
With this, we will see that the Profit is displayed in percentages on the lines in the Tableau combo chart.
This way, we can create a Combination chart in Tableau using the dual-axis chart.
Create a Tableau Combination Chart With Multiple Measures
In Tableau, we can not display charts for more than two axes directly. For this, we can use Measure Names and Measure Values to show the data from the third measure.
There are two methods to show the third measure in the Tableau combo chart.
- Tableau combination chart with multiple measures using lines
- Tableau combination chart with multiple measures using colors
Tableau Combination Chart with Multiple Measures Using Lines
To show more than two measures in a single combination chart, we can use a bar chart and a line chart. In this, we can display one measure in bars and another measure using lines. Here, each line will show the data of a specific measure.
Now, follow the steps below to create a Tableau combination chart with multiple measures using lines.
- Add the dimension Subcategory or Category to Columns for which you have to compare measures.
- Now add the measure Sales to the Rows, and after this add the Measure Values to Rows. In the Measure Values, only keep the values that you want to show on the chart.
In this chart, I have used the measure values Profit, Discount, and Quantity.
With this, we will get the charts for the Sales and Measure Values axis.
- Click on the Measure Values and select Dual axis to make both charts on the same axis.
- Set the Marks type for the Sales axis as Bar and for the Measure Values as lines.
Now, the data of the selected measure values will be displayed in different lines.
- Changes the color of the lines to make them clearly visible on the chart. For this, click on the Color card in the Marks section of Measure values and select another color.
- To show the measure values on the lines and the bars, go to the Label card and select Show mark labels.
With this, we can see the Sales measures on the bars and other measures like Profit, Discount, and Quantity on the lines.
This way, we can create a Combination chart in Tableau with multiple measures using lines for measure values.
Tableau Combination Chart With Multiple Measures Using Colors
Another way we can display more than two measures in the Tableau combination chart is by using the colors for measure values. In this, we can display two measures in Lines and bars, and a third measure using colors.
Now, follow the steps below to create a Tableau combination chart with multiple measures using the colors.
- Add the dimension Subcategory to the Columns, and compare the multiple measures.
- Add the measures Sales and Discount to the Rows. This will give two charts for sales and the discount axis.
- Click on the Discount measure in the Rows and select Dual-axis.
- Select the Mark type as Bar for the Sales axis and Lines for the Discount axis.
- To show the third measure Profit, add the Profit to the Color card in the Sales axis Marks section. Here, we can also change the color shades from the palette.
With this, the profit will be displayed on the Sales bar. Then lighter shades display less profit, and the darker ones show high profit. The Lines on the bars will display the discount values.
At last, click on the Text logo in the navigation bar to show the values for all the measures in the combo chart.
This way, we can display more than two measures in the Tableau Combination chart by adding the measure values to colors.
Conclusion
In this Tableau tutorial, we have learned how to create a Combination Chart in Tableau to compare multiple measures in one view. In the above methods, we have discussed how to use a dual-axis chart for showing Sales and Profit together.
To display multiple measures in a combo chart, we extended the dual-axis chart by using Measure Names and Measure Values to include additional metrics, such as Discount and Quantity.
With bars, lines, and colors, in the combination chart, we can analyze and compare related measures side by side in a single Tableau chart.
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