Salesforce Tableau Data Analyst key terms

A connection where Tableau queries the underlying database directly whenever a view is opened or refreshed, so results always reflect current source data. It requires network access and adequate database performance to stay responsive.

A saved, optimized snapshot of source data stored in Tableau's own format. It can be refreshed on a schedule and usually performs faster than a live connection, but its data is only as current as the last refresh.

A Tableau feature that cleans up messy spreadsheets and text files during import by detecting and removing titles, footnotes, merged cells, and blank rows so the table starts at the true header row.

Combines two tables horizontally by matching values in one or more shared fields. The join type chosen, such as inner, left, right, or full, decides which unmatched rows survive.

Stacks rows from two or more tables that share the same structure on top of each other, producing one longer table. It is commonly used to combine monthly files or regional exports.

The flexible layer in Tableau's data model that links logical tables by shared fields without forcing one fixed join type, keeping each table at its own level of detail and querying only what a view needs.

Reshapes wide data into a tall layout by turning several columns into two: one holding the original column names and one holding their values. Handy for crosstab-style spreadsheets.

A new field created from a formula rather than stored in the source. It can combine fields, apply logic, or aggregate values, and Tableau computes it at query time.

A field used to categorize or slice data into groups, such as region, product category, or order date. Dimensions are usually discrete and set the level of detail shown in a view.

A numeric field that can be summarized, such as sales amount or quantity ordered. Measures sit on axes or in text marks and are aggregated according to the dimensions present in the view.

A calculation that sets the granularity at which an aggregate is computed, independent of what dimensions are in the view, using the FIXED, INCLUDE, or EXCLUDE keywords.

A calculation that runs on the values already returned in a view rather than on raw data rows. It powers running totals, percent of total, rank, and moving averages.

A workbook-level input control whose value a user can change so a view responds dynamically. Parameters are not tied to data and must be referenced by calculations, filters, or reference lines.

A custom, dynamic subset of dimension members defined by a condition or manual selection. Sets can drive filters, calculations, and color to compare in-group versus out-group values.

A way to combine several dimension members into one category, such as merging multiple product names under a single brand. Grouping simplifies a view without altering the underlying data.

A calculated field that splits a continuous measure into equal-width ranges, turning numbers into a discrete dimension. Bins are the building block of histograms and distribution analysis.

A line drawn across a view at a fixed value, a computed statistic such as average or median, or a value supplied by a parameter, giving readers a benchmark to compare marks against.

A regression line fitted to the marks in a view that shows the general direction of a relationship. Statistical details such as R-squared and p-value can be displayed alongside it.

A statistical feature that projects future values of a measure from historical time-series data, adding a prediction band that widens as uncertainty grows further out.

An analysis feature that groups rows into similar clusters using k-means on selected measures, producing a cluster field that can drive color, filtering, or grouping in the view.

A single view built from one or more fields, holding marks, axes, filters, and formatting. Worksheets are the building blocks that get combined into dashboards or stories.

A layout that arranges several worksheets, text objects, images, and controls on one canvas so related views can be read together and filtered interactively.

A rule that fires when a user interacts with a dashboard, such as filtering target sheets, highlighting marks, navigating to another sheet, or opening a URL in a browser.

An ordered sequence of story points, each capturing a worksheet or dashboard together with a caption, used to walk an audience through a guided narrative about the data.

The control panel that decides how fields are rendered: mark type such as bar, line, or circle, plus the color, size, label, detail, tooltip, and shape encodings applied to marks.

A feature that embeds a miniature worksheet inside a tooltip, so hovering over a mark reveals extra related detail without adding clutter to the main visualization.

Dashboard layouts designed for specific screen sizes, letting an author tailor the position and visibility of dashboard elements for phones and tablets versus desktop.

A charting technique that plots two measures in one view against two separate axes, often paired with different mark types to build bullet charts and combination views.

A panel that recommends and applies chart types based on the fields currently in the view, offering alternatives such as bar, line, scatter, map, histogram, and box plot.

An isolated environment inside Tableau Cloud or Server with its own users, projects, and content, used to separate departments, regions, or test and production environments within one deployment.

A container for workbooks, published data sources, and flows on Tableau Server or Cloud. Permissions are usually assigned at the project level and inherited by everything inside it.

A specific permission granted to a user or group, such as View, Filter, Download, or Publish, that determines exactly what that person may do with a given piece of content.

The role assigned to a user on a site, typically Creator, Explorer, or Viewer, which caps the maximum set of capabilities that person can be granted across all content.

A connection and its metadata published to Server or Cloud so many workbooks can share one governed definition, including its extract, calculations, default filters, and field naming.

A configured recurrence that tells Tableau Server or Cloud when to re-run a published extract, so every workbook built on it sees updated data without manual republishing.

A scheduled email that delivers an image of a view or a PDF to chosen recipients at a set time, serving stakeholders who rarely sign in to the platform themselves.

A rule that watches a view for a numeric condition, such as a measure crossing a threshold, and emails the owner when that condition is met.

A technique that limits which rows each viewer can see, usually implemented with a user filter calculation, an entitlement table, or data source filters applied before publishing the content.

A status a trusted publisher or administrator sets on a data source or workbook to signal that it has been reviewed and is approved for use by the wider organization.