Although many graphs are self explanatory, annotations on visualizations help the reader understand the graphic better and note any important trends or characteristics of the data. Tableau provides three main types of annotations: Point, Area, and Mark. The Point annotation creates annotations for a data point in the visualization. The Mark annotation creates annotations for a specific, selected mark whereas the Area pane covers an area consisting of many other points of interest.
Let's use the sample file Sample – Superstore Sales (Excel). Open a new worksheet and select Sample – Superstore Sales (Excel) as the data source.
Once the data is loaded on the worksheet, perform the following steps to add annotations to a visualization:
- Click on the Show Me button to bring the Show Me toolbar on the screen.
- While holding the Ctrl key, click on Customer Segment, Order Date, and Region from Dimensions and Profit from Measures.
- Click on lines (continuous) on the Show Me toolbar to create a visualization as shown in the following screenshot:
- Right-click on the Central region's Profit value for the year 2010, expand the menu for Annotate, and select Point... as shown in the following screenshot:
- In the Edit Annotation box, enter
Profits were quite low for the central region for our corporate customers before 2010, but they have gone up and have stayed up so farand select OK. - You can see the annotation for the year 2010 in the Central region pane as shown in the following screenshot:
- Right-click on the Home Office Customer Segment point for the year 2012 in the West region, expand the menu for Annotate, and select Area.
- In the Edit Annotation box, enter
Profits in all the segments in the West region have taken a hit since 2011. We must make it our priority to increase our profits in this region.and hit OK. - Click on the Annotation box and drag the top-left corner to cover points from the year 2011 as shown in the following screenshot:
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