With a solid understanding of the fundamental principles, it is possible to push the limits with Tableau. In addition to exploring, discovering, analyzing, and communicating data, members of the Tableau community have used the software to create and do amazing things, such as simulate an enigma machine, play Tic-Tac-Toe or Battleship, generate fractals with only two records of data, and much more! You shouldn't feel pressure in a business setting to create anything so complex, but it is always good to know that Tableau really is a blank canvas. The only limits are your creativity and imagination.

In this chapter, we'll take a look at some advanced techniques in a practical context. You'll learn things such as creating advanced visualizations, dynamically swapping views on a dashboard, using custom images, and advanced geographic visualizations. The goal of this chapter is not to provide a comprehensive list of every possible technique. Instead, we'll look at a few varied examples that demonstrate some possibilities. Many of the examples are designed to stretch your knowledge and challenge you.

We'll take a look at the following advanced techniques in this chapter:

• Advanced visualizations
• Sheet swapping and dynamic dashboards
• Advanced mapping techniques
• Using background images
• Animation
• Transparency