---
schema_version: "1"
id: 88807045e5aea37784a56e9d5edc3421b850d873f0304e1c6ded65ee08f39da8
title: Build Data Views from Scratch
collection: tableau
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/tableau/current/en-us/public/desktop/building_overview.md
canonical_url: https://help.tableau.com/current/public/desktop/en-us/building_overview.htm
source_site: help.tableau.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: bef65bded50ad74d6f26045743771d6ae5a6117c52e49b82bde86754cc6077ce
description: Solves how to build custom data visualizations and charts from scratch by dragging data fields into Tableau views.
---
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# Build Data Views from Scratch

This section describes the various features at your disposal and tasks related to building visualizations in Tableau.

Every view that you build in Tableau should start with a question. What do you want to know? Every time you drag a field into the view or onto a shelf, you are asking a question about the data. The question will vary depending on where you drag various fields, the types of fields, and the order in which you drag fields into the view.

For every question you ask about your data, the marks in your viz update to represent the answer visually—with shapes, text, size, color, headers, axes, hierarchies, or table structures.

For information on building and viewing visualizations on the web, see [Use Tableau on the Web](https://help.tableau.com/current/public/desktop/en-us/web_author_home.htm).

Looking for a data set to work with? Download one from the [Tableau Public sample data page](https://public.tableau.com/app/learn/sample-data), or check out our tips to [find good data sets](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/find_good_datasets.htm).

## Other articles in this section