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:
Profits were quite low for the central region for our corporate customers before 2010, but they have gone up and have stayed up so far
and select OK.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.