Tableau Desktop Specialist cheat sheet

Live connection queries the source each time; an extract stores a .hyper snapshot that can be refreshed and is often faster.

Data Interpreter cleans Excel and Google Sheets by removing titles, footnotes, and merged cells before analysis.

Union appends rows from tables with matching structure; join combines columns using a key and can be inner, left, right, or full outer.

Relationships are logical-layer connections that keep tables separate; joins are physical-layer and combine tables into one.

Pivot converts wide crosstab columns into rows, producing a dimension field and a value field.

SPLIT([field], delimiter, token) returns one token; Custom Split uses a delimiter and splits on all or selected tokens.

Data source filters apply to every sheet using the source; extract filters limit rows saved in an extract.

Change data type or geographic role from the field menu; geographic roles enable map plotting.

Dimensions partition data and create headers; measures are aggregated and create axes.

Common aggregations include SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTD, and MEDIAN; COUNTD returns distinct non-null values.

Row-level calculations run per row; aggregate calculations use SUM or AVG and run at the viz level of detail.

LOD syntax: {FIXED [dim]: SUM([Sales])}, {INCLUDE [dim]: ...}, and {EXCLUDE [dim]: ...}.

FIXED ignores dimension filters but respects context filters; INCLUDE adds a dimension; EXCLUDE removes one.

Quick table calculations include percent of total, running total, difference, percent difference, and moving average.

Filter order: extract, data source, context, dimension, measure, then table calculation filters.

Use bins for numeric ranges, groups for combined members, sets for in/out membership, and hierarchies for drill-down.

Save .twb to reference external data; save .twbx to package the workbook with extracts and local files.

Dashboard size can be fixed, automatic, or range; device layouts customize phone and tablet views.

Filter actions pass selected values; highlight actions emphasize related marks without removing others.

Parameter actions let dashboard selections update a parameter value.

URL actions open a web page and can pass field values as URL parameters.

Publish workbooks and data sources to Tableau Server or Cloud; permissions control access.

Stories combine sheets or dashboards into points with captions for a guided narrative.

Export options include image, PDF, crosstab, and data; subscriptions email views on a schedule.

Tableau filter order: extract filters, data source filters, context filters, dimension filters, measure filters, table calculation filters.

Discrete fields are blue and create headers; continuous fields are green and create axes.

The viz level of detail is the set of dimensions on Rows, Columns, and Marks cards.

Measure Names and Measure Values are generated fields used to display multiple measures together.

The data model has a logical layer of relationships and a physical layer of joins and unions.

Marks cards control color, size, label, detail, tooltip, and shape.

Aggregation occurs at the granularity of the dimensions in the view; adding a dimension changes the grouping.

Tableau generates queries against the underlying data source; extracts are stored in .hyper format.