A Highlight table is actually a Text table with conditional formatting where the color of the cell will denote the value of Measure. When we create a Highlight table, we make use of colors to show values from the highest to the lowest. This is great for comparing a field's value within a row or column or even within an entire table.
To get started with the recipe for creating a Highlight table, we will continue working in our existing Tableau workbook. Since this is an extension of the Text table, we will first recreate the Text table in a separate sheet and continue working on it. As shown in the previous recipe, our Highlight table will show the sales for different product categories across different regions. Let's check out the steps.
- Since we are going to take up the same example as discussed in our previous recipe, let's duplicate the Text table sheet and rename it as Highlight table. We can either right-click on the Text table tab and select the Duplicate Sheet option, or click on the Duplicate Sheet option from the toolbar. Refer to the following image:
- Once we are done with this, the next step is to drag Sales again from the Measures pane and drop it into the Color shelf in the Marks card:
- When we do this, we will get the view as shown in the following image:
- As the last step, change the mark type from Automatic to Square via the Marks drop-down in the Marks shelf. Refer to the following image:
- Once we do this, we will get the view as shown in the following image. This is the Highlight table:
When we look at a chart with just numbers, it may sometimes be difficult to quickly compare them.
However, when we use a Highlight table, we use color to depict the values. The darker the color of the cell, the higher the value; the lighter the color of the cell, the lower the value.
Thus, in the preceding chart, the Technology category in East Region has the Highest Sales.
Since we only have positive sales values, Tableau has automatically taken the diverging blue color, which can be changed by clicking on the dropdown of Color Legend drop-down and selecting the Edit Colors… option. Refer to the following image:
Further, in the Highlight table that we have created, notice that the Totals are not taken into consideration while assigning the colors. This is the default functionality of Tableau. However, when we click on the Edit Colors… option, we will get an option to include the totals as well. Refer to the following image:
