Tool: How about…Tableau
Responsive web design is on the rise. One of the tools in order to create responsive charts and maps is Tableau. The program offers some paid products, such as Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server, but in the following we tested Tableau Public, which you can download for free.
Getting started

Features and values chosen for the map
First of all, as usual, you need to upload the data you want to visualize. The tool recognizes various file types such as csv, xls and txt. In order to exemplify the functions of Tableau, I created an Excel sheet that contains data of the population density in Germany. Since Germany is divided in several federal states, I organized the table by distinguishing among them. According features were: the average population density in square kilometer of single federal states and of single (big) cities within the federal states.
Mapping population density in Germany
Tableau usually analyzes the data automatically and classifies it as number, decimal, date (time), string or geographical feature, such as state, ZIP-Code, etc. However, it is possible to change that classification manually in case it is flawed. You can also change the name of the items but you cannot alter the single items within the table. Once your data is clean, you can proceed with the visualization of your data. There are different types of formats you can choose from, for example a bar chart, scatter plot, a pie chart and a few others. Overview about the Tableau dashboard. No coding but dragging, dropping and button-pushing is expected. Population density by federal state and single cities
In order to show the dispersion of the population density, I drag the unit population density to the button size; Tableau adjusts the dots in the map accordingly. All information a user adds to details will be displayed when he or she browses over the dot. The user can delete the type of information shown at any time by clicking remove. Within the map you can not only zoom in and out to the different places, but also search for a specific place. However, when I try to change the display mode from automatic into filled map, the first real deficit of the tool becomes evident: The filled map is not available – at least not for me.
Unfortunately, Tableau does not allow that to its free users. However, it is possible to either show the population density of the federal state or the population density of the cities in two different maps, but not in the same one. The two results can be found here and here.
Everyone deserves a 2nd chance
Generally speaking, Tableau offers some very appealing visualizations. For maps, two options are provided: the filled map and the symbol map. For charts and diagrams there are even a lot more. Creating a diagram works very similar to a map. In order to do so, it is also necessary to upload and adjust the necessary data. Different types of households in Berlin
Whenever you finish a diagram or a map, at least in the public version, it will appear on your profile of the Tableau website and you can share the result or embed it with the code built by Tableau.
What we think about it
If you do not have that much experience with data visualization, Tableau is quite challenging. It is definitely not self-explanatory and you need to have patience. Though there are some tutorials online, they mostly concentrate on US-data visualization, so if you’d like to visualize data from e.g. Europe or Asia, it is not always that helpful. However, in case you need help, there is an online support forum, where you can receive support.
What we like… | …and dislike |
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