Data & Finance for Work & Life
Data analytics for professional development.
You may have heard that “data is the new oil” — the most valuable commodity of the 21st century. But just like oil is useless until refined, data is useless until simplified and communicated. Data displays are a tool to help analysts do just that. Because they’re so important to data, data displays can be …
What is a data display? Definition, Types, & Examples Read More »
Data functions are the nuts and bolts of the digital world. In development, they allow programmers to exchange directly with a database and modify object in-line. In Excel, they query, create, and modify arrays. In math, they allow statisticians to address datasets using Sigma (Σ) and Pi (∏) notation. But what exactly is a data …
What is a data function? Examples in Math, Excel, Computer, & Programming Languages Read More »
If you’re coming from Excel, manipulating colors in Tableau can feel unnecessarily complicated, especially while you’re learning. In Excel, changing the color of a column is as easy as highlighting and right-clicking the cells you want to change. However, colors in Tableau are usually modified at the data level. The methodology depends on whether you’re …
Change Color of 1 Column in Tableau (Conditional Formatting) Read More »
Have you ever tried to put a floating object over a tiled object in Tableau dashboard, only to see a blur of layered content? In Tableau, the default background setting for floating objects is transparent, which is the source of this challenge. In early versions of Tableau, transparency wasn’t available. This meant the format of …
How to Make a Floating Box Non-Transparent in Tableau Dashboard Read More »
Tableau’s sorting function can be tricky. Have you tried sorting a grand total column that aggregates values from calculated fields, or maybe tried using a window (across/down) calculation instead of the grand total? In other words, have you tried sorting a dimension by a table calculation of calculated fields? Unfortunately, directly sorting on aggregates of …
Sort by Grand Total or Window Calculation in Tableau Read More »
Data fields are fundamental building blocks of data. They are so essential that analysts in various disciplines have appropriated them to meet the needs of their use cases. Though these applications are a testament to the value of a data field, they create confusion as to the precise meaning behind them. The purpose of this …
What is a data field? Definition, Types, & Examples Read More »
Excel users often find themselves dragging colored box references when moving a formula in an asymmetric worksheet. The all-too-frustrating reality, however, is that when a formula references the same cell multiple times, you have to drag each reference in the formula. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to select all instances of a cell reference within …
Grab & Drag All Instances of Cell Reference in Excel Formula Read More »
If you’re coming from Excel, Tableau may feel like a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it automates and simplifies in a few clicks what could take hours in Excel. On the other, it uses a different calculation logic and requires you to think about data as aggregates rather than individual cells. When …
Tableau SUMIF, IF SUM & Aggregates On Multiple Conditions Read More »
If you’ve tried to understand data attributes while learning to program or exploring a big data tool, chances are you ended up with a lot of questions. Data attributes are simple, but their meaning can get lost in the noise. The purpose of this article is to clearly define data attributes, explain the different types, …
What is a data attribute? Definition, Types & Examples Read More »
When we’re learning about data, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the terminology — there’s cleaning, transforming, querying, normalizing, visualizing, and more. Don’t let the jargon confuse you. If you’ve ever played with a small dataset in Excel, then you have probably completed most of these tasks, even if you didn’t realize it. That’s because …
