When uploading an Excel (XLSX) file into Tableau Public, metadata and extra rows can interfere with data analysis. This guide walks through a way to import your data while ensuring only the relevant records are included.
📝 Step 1: Open Your Excel File and Identify Metadata Rows
Before importing, examine your Excel file. The screenshot below shows an example dataset where the first few rows contain metadata (notes, definitions, or summaries). The rows before 16 are not part of the actual dataset and need to be excluded.
🔗 Step 2: Connect to the Excel File in Tableau Public
Open Tableau Public.
In the Connect pane, under To a File, select Microsoft Excel
Locate and select your XLSX file to load it into Tableau.
📄 Step 3: Use Data Interpreter and Select the Correct Table
Check the ✅ "Cleaned with Data Interpreter" option (it may not do it as accurately as expected) to allow Tableau to identify and remove metadata and extra rows.
If the data cleaning is not done properly by the interpreter, remove the default table Tableau initially loads.
Decide whether to use one of the suggested tables, which may represent cleaned subranges of the original data.
✍️ Step 4: Adjust the Table Selection and Define the Data Range (If Necessary)
Drag the selected table to the data source workspace to preview the data
If extra metadata rows are still present, right-click on the dataset and select Edit Found Table
Modify the top-left cell and bottom-right cell references (e.g., A16:I1155) to capture only the actual data.
Click OK to confirm the changes.
📊 Step 5: Verify and Start Analyzing Your Data
Check the preview pane to ensure the correct columns and rows are loaded.
For further cleaning, you can use the filter pane in the worksheet tab
Now, you can start analyzing your data in Tableau Public! 🚀