Tableau glossary
44 terms, each linked to the full answer.
Aggregation & DisaggregationAggregation is combining many rows into one value — summing, averaging, counting. Tableau aggregates measures automatically, because each mark in a view can only…aliasAn alias is an alternative display name for a member of a dimension — the values, not the field. Right-click the dimension → Aliases, and you can rename each…Assume referential integrityIt is a setting under the Data menu that tells Tableau every row on one side of a join is guaranteed to have a match on the other. When it is on, Tableau can leave…calculated fieldA calculated field is a new field you define with a formula, computed from existing fields rather than read from the source. Create one from Analysis → Create…Connect liveA live connection queries the source directly every time the view changes, rather than using a stored copy of the data. The benefit is currency — the workbook…Context FilterA context filter is one you promote above the ordinary dimension filters so that everything else operates on its result. Tableau builds a temporary table containing…crosstab chartA crosstab, also called a text table or pivot table, displays numbers as text in a grid of rows and columns rather than as a graphic. You build one by putting…Data BlendingBlending combines data from separate data sources into one view — a spreadsheet with a database table, for instance. The mechanics matter, because blending is not a…data blending? When do you use thisBlending combines data from separate sources by aggregating each one to the level of the view and then matching the results on a shared dimension. Use it when the…data Source pageThe data source page is the screen you land on after connecting, where the data is prepared before any charting happens. It has four areas: the connections pane on…Data VisualizationData visualization is the practice of representing data graphically so that patterns, outliers and relationships become apparent faster than they would from reading…default Data Blending JoinThe default behaves like a left outer join from the primary data source. Every row from the primary is kept. Where the secondary has a matching value on the linking…difference between discrete and continuousDiscrete fields take distinct, separate values and Tableau draws them as headers — one label or pane per value. They appear blue. Continuous fields can take any…differences between groups and setsA group merges dimension members into higher-level categories — twenty subcategories into five buckets, or several spellings of the same city into one. The result…differences between twb and twbxA .twb holds the workbook definition only — sheets, dashboards, formatting, calculations and the connection details. No data travels with it. A .twbx is that same…DimensionA dimension is a field holding qualitative information — names, categories, dates, geography. Tableau shows dimensions in blue in the Data pane. Placing one on a…Dual AxisA dual axis shows two measures in one view on two independent axes, drawn on top of one another rather than side by side. Each measure keeps its own Marks card, so…extract is TableauAn extract is a compressed snapshot of your data held in Tableau's own columnar format rather than queried live from the source. It is usually much faster, because…Extracts and Schedules in Tableau serverAn extract is a compressed snapshot of the data stored in Tableau's own columnar format rather than queried live from the source. It is usually much faster, works…fact table and Dimension tableThese are data-warehouse terms rather than Tableau features, but Tableau is designed around them. A fact table holds the events you measure — order lines,…ForecastingForecasting projects a measure forward in time using exponential smoothing, fitted automatically from the historical values in the view. It requires a date…format paneThe Format pane is the panel that opens on the left when you choose Format from the menu or right-click something and select Format. It controls how the view looks…Gannt ChartA Gantt chart shows the duration of events over time as horizontal bars, each bar beginning at a start date and extending by a length. In Tableau it needs a date on…Import all data featureIt is the option that brings the entire data source into an extract, rather than a filtered or aggregated subset. The alternatives in the same dialog are importing…limitations of context filtersThe temporary table has to be built, and it is rebuilt every time the context filter changes. That is real work, so a context filter on a fast-changing quick filter…LOD expressionA level of detail expression computes an aggregate at a granularity other than the view's, which is otherwise impossible because a calculation normally inherits the…marks cardThe Marks card is the panel controlling how the marks in a view look. The dropdown at the top sets the mark type — bar, line, area, square, circle, shape, text,…MeasureA measure is a field holding quantitative data that can be aggregated — sales, profit, quantity. Tableau shows measures in green. Placing one on a shelf aggregates…Page shelfThe Pages shelf splits a view into a sequence of pages, one per member of the field you place on it, showing a single page at a time along a common axis. It comes…Pages shelfThe Pages shelf breaks a view into a series of pages, one per member of the field placed on it, and shows one at a time on a fixed axis. It provides a playback…platforms Tableau server can run onTableau Server runs on Windows Server and on Linux — Red Hat, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Ubuntu and Amazon Linux among the supported distributions. It can be installed…possible reasons for slow performanceUsually one of a small number of causes, and worth diagnosing with a performance recording before changing anything. - A slow live connection. The workbook can only…Published data sourceA published data source is a data connection saved to Server or Cloud as its own object, separate from any workbook, and reusable by many workbooks. It carries…Quick FiltersA quick filter is a filter exposed as a control in the view, so a reader can change its value without editing anything. You create one by right-clicking a field on…shelvesShelves are the named drop targets around the view where you place fields to build it. Columns and Rows define the structure — a field on Columns spreads data…storyA story is a sequence of sheets and dashboards arranged to make a point in order, each step being a story point with its own caption. Each story point remembers the…table calculationA table calculation is computed on the aggregated result already in the view, after the query has returned, rather than in the database. That makes it fast and…Tableau data paneThe Data pane is the panel on the left of a worksheet listing every field in the connected data source. Fields are split into dimensions (blue, qualitative) and…Tableau ReaderTableau Reader is a free desktop application that opens packaged workbooks (.twbx) and lets you interact with them — filter, sort, hover for tooltips, drill through…Tableau Show meShow Me is the panel in the top right that suggests chart types based on the fields you currently have selected or in the view. Hovering over each option tells you…Tableau workbookA workbook is the file that holds your work — worksheets, dashboards, stories, data connections, calculated fields, parameters and formatting. It saves as .twb,…TDE fileTDE stands for Tableau Data Extract — the old file format for extracted data, a columnar store designed for analytic queries rather than transactional ones.…TrendlineA trend line is a fitted model drawn over the marks in a view, showing the underlying direction of the relationship rather than the point-to-point movement. Add one…types of filtersTableau applies filters in a fixed order, and the types line up with it: - Extract filters — applied when the extract is built, so excluded rows never enter the…