11 Replies Latest reply on Nov 7, 2016 8:07 AM by Gavin Attard

Selected time period on trend line

Gavin Attard Nov 4, 2016 4:41 AM

Hi Folks

fairly new to tableu, having a ball, it's a great tool and providing real value.

I have a challenge which i am not sure is possible but though i would throw the question out there.

So i have a dashboard that contains a trend graph with a fixed time period. Jan 2015 To-Date. It is a dual axis graph.

I also have a YoY side bar graph that shows % diff based on a time period selected through a filter (i.e. say YoY growth for May to Sep). The filter only affect the YoY Sheet.

I would like for this filter produce some form of shading on the trend graph to visually indicate the period selected, so for example a light grey colour that shades May to Sep for 2015 and 2016.

Has anyone done this or knows of a way to do this?

Thanks in advance

Gavin

1. Re: Selected time period on trend line

khalid norat Nov 4, 2016 4:58 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)

Hi Gavin,

There maybe a couple of ways of achieving this.

Is it possible for you to share your workbook and i can have a go at what you require.
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2. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Norbert Maijoor Nov 4, 2016 5:09 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)
Hi Gavin

Find my approach as reference below and stored in attached workbook version 9.3

Shading.twbx 1.2 MB
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3. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Simon Runc Nov 4, 2016 5:25 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)
hi Gavin,

Not sure if I've understood the requirements exactly!...however attached is my interpretation

I couldn't achieve the "Shading", but have created drop-lines (on selection) so it's clear what period of time is being compared.

Let me know if this is what you wanted, and if not why...if this does do the trick, post back here and I'll describe what I did.

Drop Lines for Selected Months.twbx 479.8 KB
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4. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Gavin Attard Nov 4, 2016 5:47 AM (in response to Norbert Maijoor)

Hi

I really like this solution and would work great if i didn't alreayd have 2 factors working on line colour (country and measure names...). So Close, but this would work for single line trend graphs. THANKS!
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5. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Gavin Attard Nov 4, 2016 5:48 AM (in response to Simon Runc)

Hi Simon

I ccouldnt find the time period filter used for the YoY calc. Am i missing something?

kr
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6. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Simon Runc Nov 4, 2016 5:54 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)

Ahh...so I did misunderstand!! - in my version, the time selector is done via an action. So if you drag-to-select some months on the TimeSeries chart it will create drop-lines for the selection, and show you the YoY for the selected Months in the variance bar chart.

...looks like Norbert's solution has done the trick though
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7. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Norbert Maijoor Nov 4, 2016 6:06 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)
Gavin

A little closer.....;)

Shading 2.twbx 1.2 MB
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8. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Michael Hesser Nov 4, 2016 6:54 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)
I'm going to follow Khalid's response!

Normally I would handle this by creating a two parameters which cover your [Start MY] and [End MY].
Once you have those, you'll be able to do a variety of tricks:

You can create a reference band that highlights the period in question.
Depending on you graph, you could change the color and or shape represented by data within the range.

Unfortunately, things could get a little problematic with the [End MY]. Parameters can be loaded initially, but they don't refresh. That means unless you load all your values into the parameters first, it won't show the latest. Bleah.

Another way around this (although admittedly sloppily), is this process:
I created a little dimension called [Linker]. It's just a static value or number.
I duplicated the data source, joining on [Linker] exclusively
I added the date range to the filter and displayed it as a range
I also added the MIN and MAX of this [Date Range] to details
Once I did that, I had a lot of options! I decided to add a reference band, but you could just as easily create a formula and drop it into COLOR or SHAPE

Reference Band Range.twbx 1.2 MB

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9. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Michael Hesser Nov 4, 2016 6:55 AM (in response to Gavin Attard)

I love all these great responses!
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10. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Gavin Attard Nov 7, 2016 4:18 AM (in response to Michael Hesser)

Thanks for all the great responses guys. A few ways to try and get this done, appreciate your time, and expertise.

Michael, your answer is as close to what i had in mind. Will come back to you once i try and implement.

Thanks all!
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11. Re: Selected time period on trend line

Gavin Attard Nov 7, 2016 8:07 AM (in response to Michael Hesser)

So got the concept of this, and tried it out. the challenge i am finding is getting the field to follow a filter set from a different worksheet (within the same dashboard).
So i thought, ok, create a parameter as a common link between the two fields. However i am struggling to create a paramter that allows mulitple selection (i basically want to replicate a quick filter generated from MONTH(Date Field).

kr
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