Build a Treemap

Applies to: Tableau Desktop

Use treemaps to display data in nested rectangles. You use dimensions to define the structure of the treemap, and measures to define the size or colour of the individual rectangles. Treemaps are a relatively simple data visualisation that can provide insight in a visually attractive format.

The basic building blocks for a treemap are as follows:

Mark type:

Automatic or Square

Colour:

Dimension or Measure

Size

Measure

Label or Detail:

Dimension(s)

To create a treemap that shows aggregated sales totals across a range of product categories, follow the steps below.

  1. Connect to the Sample - Superstore data source.

  2. Drag the Sub-Category dimension to Columns.

    A horizontal axis appears, which shows product categories.

  3. Drag the Sales measure to Rows.

    Tableau aggregates the measure as a sum and creates a vertical axis.

    Tableau displays a bar chart – the default chart type when there is a dimension on the Columns shelf and a measure on the Rows shelf.

  4. Click Show Me on the toolbar, then select the treemap chart type.

    Tableau displays the following treemap:

    In this treemap, both the size of the rectangles and their colour are determined by the value of Sales – the greater the sum of sales for each category, the darker and larger its box.

  5. Drag the Ship Mode dimension to Colour on the Marks card. In the resulting view, Ship Mode determines the colour of the rectangles – and sorts them into four separate areas accordingly. Sales determines the size of the rectangles:

  6. Try another option to modify the treemap: click the Undo button to remove Ship Mode from view.

  7. Drag the Profit measure to Colour on the Marks card. Now Profit determines the colour of the rectangles, and Sales determines their size:

With treemaps, Size and Colour are the crucial elements. You can place measures on Size and Colour, but placing a measure anywhere else has no effect. Treemaps can accommodate any number of dimensions, including one or even two on Colour. But beyond that, adding dimensions only breaks the map into an ever greater number of smaller rectangles. For information on how to place two dimensions on Colour in a treemap, see Example – Multiple Fields on Colour.

Check your work! Watch steps 1-7 below:

 

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