Topics Map > Tableau
Creating a new Workbook - Step by Step
Table of Contents
- Start building the workbook
- Create a new specification
- Add link to Tableau workbook's “i” icon
- Publish into Staging
- Fix the URL field on cookbook specification
- Add definitions
- Review process
- After approval
Please click on the plus sign besides each panel to expand it:
Start building the workbook
Download a template from the server
Download a workbook template:
- Navigate to the templates folder on Tableau Server: https://tableau.wisconsin.edu/#/projects/13
- Download the template: Click the three dots next to the template and select "Download".
- Rename and open the downloaded template to start your project.
If you have existing worksheets:
- Right-click a worksheet tab in your existing workbook and select "Copy".
- In the downloaded template workbook, right-click and select "Paste".
- Repeat for all sheets.
Add data sources
Click the “Data Sources” tab (it should be at the bottom left):
And start adding your data sources. Please choose the following convention if you see these databases (unless technically limited):
| Database Names |
| InfoAccess |
| EPM |
| Stacy |
| RSP |
Choose the “Extract” radio button:
Change the footer
- Use the following footer text: “This visualization was created by [Department]. Questions, feedback, or accessibility requests should be directed to [Full Name], [email@wisc.edu].”
- Choose the appropriate icon, updating its link and alternative text.
- If starting from a template, ensure all other visual specifications are met.
- Review the specs for more details.
Format the home page
- Make sure all navigation items are about 40px height.
- Maximum width of navigation panel is 700px.
Accessibility check
- Add alternative text to all images.
- Use UW color palettes unless there's a valid reason not to.
- Ensure color contrast ratio compliance (3:1) for buttons with colored text and background.
- If contrast compliance isn't possible, add borders to chart parts for distinction.
- Ensure tooltips information is accessible through other means.
- Provide summary data when possible for alternative access.
Parameters and filters
- Group cascading filters in a box with a gray background.
- Group all other filters and parameters in a box with no background.
- Start filter and parameter titles with an action word (e.g., "Select ...").
- Review the specs for more details.
Formats in a glance
The exact dimensions are shown in a workbook created for this purpose. Below, you can see the screenshot ad the link to the related dashboard on the server.
Home page format:
Make sure the formats comply with the image below for home pages:
This is a link to a dashboard with notes on home page formats
Dashboard format
Make sure the dashboards formats comply with the image below:
This is a link to a dashboard with notes on dashboard formats
Create a new specification
Login to: https://uwmadison.datacookbook.com/
From top menu bar, hover over “Specifications” > then from the opened menu, choose “Create a Specification”
Then fill these out as described in the image below:
Make sure to click the “Save” button.
You can find more information on the purpose of these fields in the standards document.
Add link to Tableau workbook's “i” icon
The "i" icon takes the user to a dynamically created technical notes page where they can find useful information about the workbook such as the time data refreshes, the definitions, the owner, description, etc.
The link to this page has to be built and added to the icon in Tableau.
The syntax of the hyperlink is the following:
https://search.data.wisc.edu/specifications/{id}
Where {id} needs to be replaced by the specification id. You can find the specification id from cookbook's specification. Look at the address bar of the browser and take the first number in the address you see. Take a look below:
For example:
Publish into Staging
Make sure to do the followings:
- Make sure to run a full extract refresh and save before publishing into the server.
- Make sure to hide sheets and hide unused fields (for optimized load).
- If not logged in already, from top menu, click Server > Sign In > enter the following for the server: https://tableau.wisconsin.edu/
- Click Server > Publish Workbook from top menu
Publish window
Make sure to have the followings:
- Choose “Staging” as the project
- Fill out the name
- Sheets > “Edit” > make sure to only include dashboards you want to be seen
- Permissions: unless you would need the client/user to verify the workbook, you shouldn’t need to change this
- Datasources: to make sure extracts work click “Edit” > “Embed all passwords”
- Check the “Show sheets as tabs” checkbox
- Show selections -> only choose if you really want the selection to show up in the workbook on the server
- “Include external files” -> keep this one checked
- Click “Publish” and click OK on notification windows
Fix the URL field on cookbook specification
Go back to specification and click “Edit” from near the top of the page. This will allow you to edit the fields. Copy the workbook's URL from Staging into this URL field. Since this is the first version of the workbook, the URL in staging is the same as the one on production (only for new workbooks).
Add definitions
From the top tabs menu, click on “Definitions” tab:
To add a definition, scroll to the bottom. You can search for existing definitions or add new ones:
And click the "Add to specification" button to add it.
You can also remove a definition from a specification.
If the definition does not exist, you need to create a new one. See this link on how to create new definitions.
Review process
After everything looks good, enter the following information in a comment in the cookbook's specification:
- Enter a comment in the cookbook's specification indicating it's a new publication request.
- Explain any deviations from standard permissions, user capabilities, or report guidelines.
- Add a link to the Staging version of the workbook for proper review.
Click “Send to Data Governance”.
Reviewers will contact you with any questions or concerns, or return the specification for resolution.
After approval
Since this is a new publication:
- Move the workbook from Staging to UW Madison Institutional Data (only for new workbooks).
- Ensure the URL is correct in the specification.
- Move the specification to the “Approved” stage.
RADAR will pick up the new specification overnight.