Hey #DataFam,

It’s time for another quick Tableau tip to streamline your workflow! Want to add colour to your visualizations quickly? Here’s a handy trick that might just save you a few clicks.

The Drag-and-Drop Method:

1. Locate Your Pill: Find the dimension or measure to colour your marks. This could be on your Columns, Rows shelf, or the Data pane.
2. Grab and Drag: Hover over the pill until your cursor changes to a four-way arrow (the universal drag-and-drop icon).
3. Drop onto the Marks Card: Drag the pill directly onto the Marks card in the middle of your Tableau workspace.

Tableau will automatically add the pill to the Color shelf, instantly applying colour to your visualization based on the values of that field.

Why This is Handy:

• Speed: It’s faster than manually dragging the pill to the Color shelf.
• Discoverability: Even if you’re new to Tableau, this method is intuitive and easy to remember.

Bonus Tip:

This trick also quickly adds fields to other areas of the Marks card, like Size, Label, Detail, or Tooltip. Just drag and drop, and Tableau will do the rest!

Important Note:

• Cross-Arrows Cursor: Make sure your cursor changes to the cross-arrows before you start dragging. Otherwise, you might end up moving the pill to a different shelf.
• Data Type: This technique works best with categorical dimensions, which create distinct colours for each value. With continuous measures, you might end up with a gradient colour scheme.

I hope this TinyTableauTip helps you add a splash of colour to your Tableau creations in no time!

Happy data vizzing!