How to Add Information Icon in Tableau

Adding a small information icon to your Tableau dashboard can dramatically improve a user's experience. It provides key context right where it's needed, clearing up confusion about definitions, calculations, or data sources without cluttering up your valuable screen space. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to add these helpful info icons to your visualizations.

Why Add an Information Icon to Your Tableau Dashboard?

Before diving into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." A well-placed information icon, often triggering a tooltip on hover, is more than just a slick design element. It's a functional feature that serves several key purposes:

• Reduces Clutter: It allows you to tuck away vital information like data definitions, methodology notes, or contact info. This keeps your dashboard focused on the data itself, presenting a cleaner and more professional look.
• Improves User Experience (UX): Users no longer have to message you asking, "What does 'Adjusted MQL' mean?" or "How often is this data refreshed?" The answers are available on-demand, making your dashboard truly self-service.
• Builds Trust and Promotes Data Literacy: By proactively defining terms or explaining a complex calculation, you're transparent about the data. This builds trust with your audience and helps educate them on the metrics that matter.

Method 1: Using a Dedicated Worksheet for Your Info Icon

This is the most common and versatile method for adding an info icon to a Tableau dashboard. You’ll create a tiny, separate worksheet that holds your icon and then use its tooltip feature to display the information you want to share.

Step 1: Get Your Information Icon Image

First, you need an image for your icon. You can download a simple "i" icon or similar imagery from sites like Flaticon or Freepik.

Once you have your image (a transparent PNG works best), save it in your Tableau shapes repository. You can find this folder in your Documents folder: \Documents\My Tableau Repository\Shapes. It's a good practice to create a new folder inside "Shapes," such as "Custom Icons," and place your image file there.

Step 2: Create a New Worksheet

In your Tableau workbook, create a new worksheet. Name it something descriptive, like "Info Icon - Key Metrics," so you can easily identify it later.

Step 3: Create a Calculated Field to Act as a Placeholder

You need to give Tableau something to assign the shape to. The easiest way is with a simple calculated field.

• Right-click in the Data pane and select Create Calculated Field.
• Name it something like "Info Placeholder".
• In the formula box, just type a string, like "i".
• Click OK.

Now, drag your new "Info Placeholder" calculated field onto the Detail card on the Marks shelf.

Step 4: Change the Mark Type to Shape

On the Marks card, click the dropdown menu that likely says "Automatic" and change it to Shape. You'll see a default shape appear in your worksheet view.

Step 5: Assign Your Custom Icon Shape

Now it's time to swap that default shape with your cool new information icon.

• On the Marks card, click the Shape box.
• If you just added your icon to the repository, you may need to click Reload Shapes.
• From the Select Shape Palette dropdown, find and select the folder you created (e.g., "Custom Icons").
• Click on your icon image in the palette, then click OK.

Your icon should now appear in the worksheet. You can adjust its size using the Size slider on the Marks card.

Step 6: Craft Your Tooltip

This is where the magic happens. The tooltip is the pop-up box that appears when a user hovers over your icon.

• On the Marks card, click the Tooltip box.
• A text editor will open. Delete the default text.
• Write the information you want to share. You can format the text with different fonts, colors, and sizes to make it clear and readable.

Here’s an example of what to include in your tooltip:

Metric Definitions:

Sales Growth QoQ: Compares revenue from the most recent quarter to the previous quarter.

Customer Churn Rate: Percentage of customers who canceled during the period.

Data Details:

Source: Salesforce & Shopify

Last Refresh: <Data Update Time>

Step 7: Add and Format the Icon on Your Dashboard

Finally, navigate to your dashboard and drag the "Info Icon - Key Metrics" worksheet onto your canvas. By default, it will be added as a tiled object. It's usually better for a floating object.

• Select the worksheet container on the dashboard. From its dropdown menu, choose Floating.
• Position the floating icon wherever you need it, typically next to the title of the chart it corresponds to.
• Right-click the icon's title (e.g., "Info Icon - Key Metrics") and select Hide Title.
• Adjust the size of the floating container so it's snug around your icon. You can also edit the padding or borders by selecting Format from the container's dropdown menu.

Now, when you or your users hover over the icon, your perfectly formatted tooltip will appear with all the necessary context!

Method 2: Creating a Clickable Icon to Show/Hide a Help Panel

Sometimes a simple tooltip isn't enough. If you need to provide a more detailed set of instructions, a small user guide, or a longer explanation of your methodology, you can make the icon clickable to reveal a full help panel.

Step 1: Create the Info Icon and Help Panel Worksheets

First, create your info icon worksheet by following steps 1-5 from Method 1 above. For this technique, we just need the icon, we won't configure its tooltip.

Second, create another new worksheet called "Help Panel." This is where you will write your detailed information.

• Create a new calculated field called something like "Help Text".
• In the formula box, type a long string containing all your help information:

User Guide for Sales Dashboard

1. Filters: Use the dropdowns at the top to filter by Region and Date.

2. Metrics: All revenue figures are in USD and exclude returns. 'Lead Conversion Rate' is calculated based on leads generated in the selected period.

3. Data Sources: Syncs with Salesforce Opportunity data and Google Ads campaign costs. Data is refreshed every 4 hours.

• Drag this "Help Text" field onto the Text mark on the Marks Card.
• Format the text in the worksheet view—change the alignment to be left-justified, increase the font size, and break up the text so it's easy to read.

Step 2: Create a Parameter and a Filter

Next, we will set up a mechanism to control the visibility of the "Help Panel" worksheet.

• Create a Parameter:
• Create a Calculated Field for Filtering:

Go to your "Help Panel" worksheet, drag this new "Filter for Help Panel" field to the Filters shelf, and check the box for True. The sheet will now appear blank, which is what we want for now.

Step 3: Assemble on the Dashboard and Create the Action

Now we bring it all together on the dashboard.

• Drag a Vertical Container onto your dashboard. Place your main chart(s) in this container, and then drag the "Help Panel" worksheet into it as well.
• Drag your "Info Icon" worksheet onto the dashboard as a floating object and place it where you want users to click.
• Finally, create a dashboard action to make it work. Go to Dashboard > Actions.
• Click Add Action and choose Change Parameter....
• Configure the action:

IF [Show/Hide Help Panel] = 1 THEN 0 ELSE 1 END

This calculation cleverly flips the parameter value each time the action is run. Set this field as the value in the action window.

• Click OK twice to close the action windows.

Now, clicking the info icon on your dashboard will set the parameter to "1," which makes the help panel appear. Clicking it again will set the parameter back to "0," hiding the panel. It's an elegant solution for providing detailed help without permanently occupying dashboard real estate.

Final Thoughts

Adding info icons to a Tableau dashboard is a simple step that shows you're thinking about your end-users. It neatly provides context where needed, transforming a good dashboard into a great one that is truly self-sufficient, all without adding visual noise for your audience.

Creating intuitive interfaces is all about meeting users where they are. While info icons are a step in the right direction, an even easier way for your team to understand data is by simply asking questions in their own words. For those who want to skip the complexities of dashboards entirely, we built Graphed to be your team's AI data analyst. You can just ask something like, "compare website traffic from US vs Canada on line charts," and instantly get live-updating visuals without opening a complex tool like Tableau.