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Add Dynamic Reference Lines Into Your Charts (Example: Pareto Chart)

This post was originally published on The Data School blog between 2018 and July 2025, before our program was renamed to MIP’s Analytics Career Accelerator. References throughout this article to “The Data School” or “DS” all refer to what is now MIP’s Analytics Career Accelerator. The program, its people, and its commitment to launching outstanding analytics careers remain the same – just under a new name.

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Hello everyone, in this post I want to explain how to add dynamic reference lines into our Pareto Chart. If you want to see how to create a Pareto Chart use the following link:
https://mip.com.au/ehsan-forouedinadl/visualizing-the-pareto-principle-in-tableau/
And, If you want to know the concept of Pareto Principle, its advantages and disadvantages and knowing everything about 80/20 Rule use the following link:
https://mip.com.au/ehsan-forouedinadl/pareto-principle-80-20-rule-in-data-analysis/

Ok, Let’s start:
In Sample Superstore dataset:
1. To add two dynamic lines into our chart, we should Create two Parameters. In this example we are going to create line for % of Product and one for % of Total Sales and show them on the sheet.
2. To create a parameter, Click on the little triangle and then select Create Parameter.
3. As we want to have one line for 20% of Products, we use the Float Data Type and using Range Allowable value with Minimum of 0 and Maximum of 1. You can also set the Current value everything you want. So, make two parameters like following pictures.

6. On your X axis right click and select Add Reference Line. Then like the following picture, in the Value section, we choose our parameter. Do the same thing for another Parameter for your Y axis.

7. Following picture should be the final view:

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