How to Insert an Image in Tableau

A wall of numbers and charts can sometimes obscure the story your data is trying to tell. Adding images - like product shots, logos, or flags - to your Tableau dashboard gives it vital context, branding, and a professional finish. This guide will walk you through several methods for inserting images, from the simple drag-and-drop to a powerful technique for making images change dynamically with your data.

Before You Start: Getting Your Images Ready

Before jumping into Tableau, take a minute to prepare your images. Optimizing them beforehand will save you from performance headaches and layout frustrations later.

• File Type: Use PNG files for images that require a transparent background, like logos. For photos or images without transparency needs, JPG is a good choice as it typically has a smaller file size.
• Image Size: Tableau has to load every asset in your dashboard. Large, high-resolution images can significantly slow down your dashboard's performance. Resize your images to be close to the dimensions they'll actually occupy on the dashboard. A 100x100 pixel space doesn't need a 2000x2000 pixel image.
• Organization: If you plan to use multiple images dynamically, store them all in a single, dedicated folder with clear and consistent file names. This is crucial for the custom shapes method we'll cover later.

Method 1: Add a Static Image using the Image Object

This is the quickest and most common way to add a static image, like a company logo or an informational icon, to your dashboard. It's perfect for elements that don't need to change.

Let's say you want to add your company logo to the top right corner of your sales dashboard.

1. Navigate to your dashboard page in Tableau.
2. In the Objects panel on the left side of the screen, find the Image object.
3. Drag the Image object and drop it onto your dashboard canvas. By default, it will be placed as a Tiled object, meaning it snaps into the grid layout. To place it freely, hold the Shift key while dragging to make it a Floating object.
4. Once you drop the object, a dialog box will appear. Click Choose... to browse your computer for your logo file.
5. After selecting your image, you have a couple of options. "Fit Image" will stretch or shrink the image to fill the object's dimensions entirely, which can distort its proportions. "Center Image" will maintain the image's original aspect ratio and center it within the container. "Center Image" is almost always the better choice to avoid a stretched or squished logo.
6. You can also add a Target URL that users will be directed to when they click the image. This is great for making your logo link back to your company's homepage.
7. Click OK. You can now resize and position the floating image container anywhere you'd like on your dashboard.

This method is fantastic for its simplicity. For branding, titles, or static icons, this is your go-to solution.

Method 2: Create Dynamic Images with Custom Shapes

Now for the more advanced - and more powerful - method. What if you want to show an image that changes based on your data? For example, displaying a country's flag next to its sales figures or showing a product picture when a user filters for a specific product. This technique uses Tableau's underrated "Shapes" feature.

The secret is to tell Tableau to associate a specific data value (like the string "USA" or "Canada") with a specific image file (like usa-flag.png or canada-flag.png).

Step 1: Locate Your "My Tableau Repository" Folder

Tableau stores all your custom assets in a special folder. To add your own images as shapes, you first need to find it.

• On Windows, it's typically located at: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\My Tableau Repository
• On a Mac, it's normally at: /Users/[YourUsername]/Documents/My Tableau Repository

Inside this folder, you will find another folder named Shapes.

Step 2: Create a New Folder for Your Custom Shapes

Inside the Shapes folder, create a new folder and give it a descriptive name. This name will appear in the Tableau interface, so make it clear. For our example, let's call it "Country Flags".

Step 3: Add Your Image Files

Copy all the images you want to use into this new folder (e.g., "Country Flags"). Here are two critical tips for success:

• Match Filenames to Data: For the easiest mapping, name your image files to match the data values in your dimension exactly. If your data has "USA", name your image "USA.png". If your data has "United Kingdom", name its flag image "United Kingdom.png". This saves a ton of manual work.
• Consistent Dimensions: Try to make all your images roughly the same height and width. This ensures they look uniform and aligned when displayed in your visualization.

Step 4: Reload Shapes in Tableau

Tableau won't automatically detect the new image files you've added. You have to tell it to check the repository again.

• Go to any worksheet in your Tableau workbook.
• On the Marks card, click the dropdown menu and change the mark type to Shape.
• Click on the Shape box that appears. In the "Edit Shape" window, click Reload Shapes.
• Tableau will now scan your repository folder again, and your newly created folder ("Country Flags") will appear in the "Select Shape Palette" dropdown.

Step 5: Connect Images to Your Data

Now you're ready to build the visualization.

1. Create a new worksheet. Let's build a simple table showing sales by country.
2. Drag your "Country" dimension to the Rows shelf.
3. Drag your "Sales" measure to the Text mark on the Marks card. You should now have a basic text table.
4. Drag the "Country" dimension again, but this time, drop it onto the Shape box on the Marks card. Tableau will assign a default shape to each country name.
5. Click the Shape box on the Marks card to open the "Edit Shape" dialog again.
6. From the "Select Shape Palette" dropdown, choose your "Country Flags" folder.
7. Tableau does its best to match the data item to the shape with the same name. If your filenames match your data, you can click Assign Palette, and Tableau will map USA to USA.png, Canada to Canada.png, and so on, automatically.
8. If the names don't match perfectly, you can map them manually. Select a data item on the left (e.g., "United States") and then click the corresponding image on the right (e.g., the United States flag).
9. Click OK when you're done.

Back on your worksheet, you'll see a flag next to each country name! You can now adjust the size of the shapes using the Size slider on the Marks card. Place this worksheet on your dashboard to create a visually appealing, dynamic legend or chart.

Method 3: Display Web-Hosted Images with URL Actions

This method works if your images are hosted on the web and you want to display them interactively, perhaps in a tooltip or a dedicated section of your dashboard. This is useful when you have too many images to store locally (like a massive product catalog) or when the images are already hosted online.

This technique requires two key components: a dataset with URLs to the images and a Web Page object on your dashboard.

1. Set up your data: Ensure you have a field in your data source that contains the full URL for each image. For example, a "Product Image URL" column.
2. Add a Web Page Object to Your Dashboard: Go to your dashboard. In the Objects panel, drag a Web Page object onto your canvas. When the dialog appears, just click OK for now - you don't need to enter a URL yet. This empty object will be the container where your images display.
3. Create a Dashboard Action: From the top menu, navigate to Dashboard > Actions...
4. Click Add Action > Go to URL.... This opens the URL Action configuration window.
5. Configure the Action:
6. Click OK to close both dialogs.

Now, when you go back to your dashboard and hover over or click a product name, the corresponding image from the web will load directly into the Web Page object you added earlier. It's a fantastic way to build interactive catalogs, personnel directories, or detailed information dashboards without bloating your workbook with image files.

Final Thoughts

You now have three effective methods for adding images to your Tableau dashboards. Whether you're adding a simple static logo using an Image Object, creating a high-impact dynamic visualization with custom shapes, or displaying web-hosted images with URL actions, each technique serves a unique purpose in making your reports more engaging, informative, and professional.

Mastering tools like Tableau often involves navigating a significant learning curve with many steps and configurations. We believe getting insights shouldn't be that complicated. With Graphed, you can ditch the manual setup. Simply connect your data sources, describe the dashboard you want in plain English - like "Show me trends in sales by product, including product images" - and our AI builds it in real-time. We handle the analysis and visualization so you can get immediate, actionable answers from your marketing and sales data.