8/21/2015
Saving Your Customized Coloration Palette in Tableau
The brand new colour instruments in Tableau 9 are nice. I actually like the brand new colour picker instrument, it is available in very helpful. This week I used to be working with some colours and I used to be annoyed. I’ve seen posts and feedback from individuals about utilizing the customized colour palettes and the truth that when the workbook is closed that the customized colours are misplaced. A couple of weeks in the past I listened to the Assume Knowledge Thursday session here, with Tableau Zen Masters Shawn Wallwork, Steve Wexler and Peter Gilks. In that video, at round 5 minutes and 30 seconds, Shawn demonstrated the customized colours and he particularly mentions the truth that including customized colours will not save with the workbook. There’s even an thought on the Tableau discussion board for this here, with 59 votes. So this challenge appears fairly extensively recognized. So why was I so annoyed? Properly, I used to be really having the other drawback. I had stuffed up all 16 of my colours. Each time I opened a workbook I had the identical 16 customized colours stuffed in. I had been saving customized colours time and again and finally ran out of area.
So the issue fixing started. First, I wished to verify I wasn’t loopy. I used to be emailing backwards and forwards with Tableau Zen Grasp Jonathan Drummey, so I requested him about his colours when he closed and opened. He confirmed that they didn’t save. I checked just a few machines across the workplace and people did not save both. I emailed Zen Grasp Wexler and he confirmed that his did not save. At this level I knew one thing odd was taking place and I could not get mine to save lots of over high of the colours that have been loading as default. I additionally observed that I had totally different colours loading at house vs. the workplace, however one factor was sure, colours have been undoubtedly saving.
I began to look at the issues that have been altering and never altering within the log information (ex. there may be an RGB colour within the log file for the customized colour chosen). Then I figured it out. I had been deciding on the customized colours in two other ways. So I rapidly examined and positive sufficient, one technique does not save them and the opposite technique does. So here is the 2 strategies, how to not save them and easy methods to save them.
First, the tactic I am guessing most individuals use. Choose any colour, utilizing the colour picker or enter a colour code. Then click on « Add to Customized Colours ». The colour then goes into one of many customized colour bins. If you need it to enter a sure colour field, for instance, the final field on the underside row, then choose that field with the mouse first earlier than choosing or getting into your colour. Then if you click on the « Add to Customized Colours » button it would place within the final field. That is the tactic that when choosing your customized colour, the colours will solely keep obtainable throughout your present session of Tableau. Should you shut Tableau fully, whether or not you save the workbook or not, if you open the colour dialog field once more, these colours will probably be gone. The colours utilized in any chart or as a part of the visualization will stay, however the customized colour values will probably be empty.
Now for the second technique. Observe the identical directions to choose the colour or enter the colour. Nonetheless, this time, do NOT click on the « Add to Customized Coloration » button. As a substitute, place the mouse cursor over the colour swatch that’s subsequent to the two rows of customized colour and drag the colour over to one of many customized colour bins. You are able to do this as many instances as you want, till you replenish all 16 customized colour bins. Click on OK after which shut Tableau. You do not even have to save lots of your workbook with a view to save the customized colours. Now reopen any Tableau workbook and if you go to the colour dialog field you’ll now see the entire customized colours that you simply set within the earlier session. Actually, if you happen to then use the « Add to Customized Coloration » button so as to add colours on high of those, they may solely be short-term. Once you open your subsequent Tableau session it would default be again to the customized colours that you simply « fastened » within the customized colour field by dragging them over.
This is an instance of easy methods to choose the colours and drag them over (click on picture for an animated gif).
Need to clear them out once more? No worries. Simply drag the white colour from above all the way down to the entire bins and you’ll have 16 white bins. Notice – the settings for these customized colours follows the set up of Tableau, not the workbook from machine to machine. This is the reason my house and workplace had two totally different colour palettes saved. Regardless, it is a useful trick to maintain the customized colours saved between totally different periods of Tableau or setting a main default for the customized colour palette on a particular laptop.
I hope you discover this tip helpful. As all the time, be at liberty to electronic mail me at Jeff@DataPlusScience.com
Jeffrey A. Shaffer
Observe on Twitter @HighVizAbility
