Using Unicode characters in Tableau
For those who are not aware, Unicode is an international character encoding standard where codes are associated with a set of characters or symbols. A simple google search will list all Unicode characters available.
As a lot has already been written on Unicode characters in Tableau before, this blog post will not delve into repetitions. Au contraire, links are provided at the end of the blog where one can read more about usage of Unicode characters in Tableau.
In this post, I will narrate my experiences and usage of the Unicode characters in different situations, followed by a concern as well.
As we are all aware, Unicode characters are used more with KPIs, but can be used in other contexts as well such as:
1. In Navigation buttons
Suppose the requirement is to show top 5 customers along with a link leading to a more detailed report. The most obvious solution is a navigation object on the Dashboard. You could use an image to make it aesthetically pleasing, or, if designing a button is out of scope, you could simply type ‘Detailed Report 🔗’ to make the navigation link more appealing. 🔗is a Unicode character (U+1F517).
2. In Add Show/Hide Button
You can use ‘࿄’ [Unicode — U+0FC4] for notifications if you want to avoid images, or if the Unicode character goes well with the theme of the dashboard.
3. In calculated fields
Whenever we have to show an increase or decrease in a KPI, we normally use ▼ [Unicode — U+23F7] or ▲ [Unicode — U+23F56]and color code it based on a condition. We can use other Unicode characters like ⟳ [Unicode — U+27F3] to indicate the records or rows whose data has very recently been refreshed.
4. Name of calculated fields
We can use Unicode to name a few calculation fields. Recently, I named a certain calculated field ‘🔴/🟢’ [Unicode — U+1F534 and U+1F732] for very specific reasons. First, this calculated field carried a difference of two main measure fields. If the difference is positive then the green circle Unicode will appear and vice-versa. The color and shape card were already used so this method helped in bringing color to the calculation indicating the rise or fall visually. This field was placed as a dimension so the name of this calculation became the header and clearly conveyed the meaning without using words as there already were space constrains. Second, I don’t have to search for this calculation for correction or for reference as it appears right on the top. However, do not overuse this form of naming as multiple calculative fields will affect readability.
5. Reference Line
Unicode characters can be used in Reference line label. One simply has to copy paste a Unicode character in the Add Reference Line, Band or Box dialogue box. For example, the requirement is to show temperature in degrees Celsius. Use ‘ ° ’[Unicode — U+00B0] instead of using word degree.
6. Custom Formatting
As mentioned in the introduction, I am including a few links later on that cover how to use Unicode characters in custom formatting.
However, Unicode characters above 10000 (example: 🔴 and🟢) do have rendering issues on the server. Tableau claims that this issue has been resolved from version 2019 onwards. In my experience, this is partially true — while 2019 and beyond do render Unicode character above 10000, the renders fail if complexities like sorting on measure fields, allowing users control on the number of row views, and presence of multiple dimensions and measures are added — at least on Tableau Cloud version 2023.2.
Thus, it’s best to check Unicode renderability on your Test system before recommending it to clients. In sheets with less complexity, use of colored Unicode characters can add zing to your dashboards and can be an alternative to images.
Other links that covers this topic more in depth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE2cv2Ga-ok — by Flerlage Twins. They talk about usage of blank Unicode character.
https://priyankadobhal.medium.com/unicode-characters-in-tableau-b8784e29970d — by Priyanka Dobhal. She covers the usage of Unicode characters in custom formatting.
https://vizzendata.com/2018/04/20/unicode-for-all/ — by Lindsay Betzendahl. She covers how to use Unicode characters to create static legends.
Hope you have learned something new today and if I have missed a usage then do mention it in the comments for others to learn. Ciao.
