This blog will demonstrate the difference between pivoting in Tableau and Alteryx through examples.
Creating Columns out of Rows
Input:
Output:
Alteryx: Crosstab Tool
- Group data by values: if we are aggregating the data we can choose the fields we’d like to group by
- Change Column Headers: choose the field that contains the column headers
- Values for New Columns: choose the field that contains the values for the new rows
- Method of Aggregation: calculation that we want to aggregate by (in this case each we only have 1 value/ (state and new column), so it doesn’t matter which aggregation we choose)
Tableau Prep: Pivot Tool
- Selecting Pivoting Method: Rows to Columns
- Pivoted Fields: drag on the field that contains the new column headers
- Field to aggregate for new columns: drag on the field that contains the values for the new rows and choose the type of calculation that we want to aggregate by
Creating Rows out of Columns
Input:
Output:
Alteryx: Transpose Tool
- Key Columns: columns we don’t want to change
- Data Columns: columns that contain the values for the new ‘Value’ column; the headers for these columns will be in the new ‘Name’ column
Tableau Prep: Pivot Tool
- Selecting Pivoting Method: Columns to Rows to
- Pivoted Fields: drag on the fields that contain the values