1. What is TABLEAU?

Tableau is the powerful and fastest visualizing tool that is used in the Business
Intelligence(BI) Industry. It simplifies the raw data into an understandable format.
Analysis of the data becomes faster with Tableau. The visualizations can be created in
the form of dashboards. The visualizations or diagrammatic representation of data can
easily be understood by the employees of the organizations who are at different levels.

2. What is data visualization?

Data visualization means the graphical representation of data or information. We

can use visual objects like graphs, charts, bars, and a lot more. Data visualization
tools provide an accessible way to see and understand the data easily.

3. List out Tableau File Extensions.

The below ones are few extensions in Tableau:

 Tableau Workbook (.twb)

  Tableau Data extract (.tde)

 Tableau Datasource (.tds)

 Tableau Packaged Datasource (.tdsx)

 Tableau Bookmark (.tbm)

 Tableau Map Source (.tms)

 Tableau Packaged Workbook (.twbx) – zip file containing .twb and external files.

 Tableau Preferences (.tps)

4. What is the latest version of Tableau Desktop?

Tableau Desktop's latest version is 2021.3(as of, 7thSep 2021).

5. Define LOD Expression?

LOD Expression stands for Level of Detail Expression, and it is used to run complex
queries involving many dimensions at the data sourcing level.

6. Define Heat Map?

A heat map is a graphical representation of data that uses the color-coding technique
to represent different values of data. As the marks heat up due to their higher value,
dark colors will be shown on the map.
7. Define TreeMap?

TreeMap is a visualization that organizes data hierarchically and shows them as a set of
nested rectangles. The size and colors of rectangles are respective to the values of the
data points they project. Parent rectangles will be tiled with their child elements.

8. What is the difference between a Heat map and Treemap?

TreeMap Heat MapIt represents the data hierarchically and shows them as a set of
nested rectangles. It represents the data graphically which uses multiple colors to
represent different values. It is used for comparing the categories with colors, size, and
it can also be used for illustrating the hierarchical data and part to whole relationships.
It is used for comparing the categories based on color and size. And also it is great in
spotting the patterns based on the density of the information. The colors and size of
rectangles are respective to the values of the data points When their values are higher
or density of records, the data will represent in dark color.

9. What is a parameter Tableau? And how does it work?

Parameters are dynamic values, we can replace the constant values in calculations.

10. What are the different data types in Tableau?

Tableau supports below data types.Data TypeMeaningExamplesStringCharacter

Sequence. Enclosed in ''.Tableau', 'World'Number (Whole)Integers9Number
(decimal)Floating values.123.45BooleanThey are logical values.TRUE,
FALSEDateDate"02/01/2015"Date & TimeDate and Time01 January 2019 05:55:00
PMGeographic ValuesGeographical ValuesIndia, Italy, Canada

11. Give a brief about the tableau dashboard?

Tableau dashboard is a group of various views which allows you to compare different
types of data simultaneously. Datasheets and dashboards are connected if any
modification happens to the data that directly reflects in dashboards. It is the most
efficient approach to visualize the data and analyze it.

12. Define Page Shelf in Tableau?

Page shelf breaks the views into a series of pages. It displays an alternate view on each
page. Due to this feature, you can analyze the effect of each field on the rest of the
data in the view.

13. Define the story in Tableau?

The story can be defined as a sheet which is a collection of series of worksheets and
dashboards used to convey the insights of data. A story can be used to show the
connection between facts and outcomes that impacts the decision-making process. A
story can be published on the web or can be presented to the audience.

14. Give an overview of the fact and dimensions of the table?

Facts are numeric measures of data. They are stored in fact tables. Fact tables store
that type of data that will be analyzed by dimension tables. Fact tables have foreign
keys associating with dimension tables.

Dimensions are descriptive attributes of data. Those will be stored in the dimensions
table. For example, customer’s information like name, number, and email will be stored
in the dimension table.

15. State some ways to improve the performance of Tableau

 Use an Extract to make workbooks run faster

 Reduce the scope of data to decrease the volume of data

 Reduce the number of marks on the view to avoid information overload

 Try to use integers or Booleans in calculations as they are much faster than

strings

 Hide unused fields

  Use Context filters

 Reduce filter usage and use some alternative way to achieve the same result

 Use indexing in tables and use the same fields for filtering

 Remove unnecessary calculations and sheets

16. Explain different connection types in Tableau?

There are 2 connection types available in Tableau.

Extract: Extract is a snapshot of data that will be extracted from the data source and
put into the Tableau repository. This snapshot can be refreshed periodically fully or
incrementally. This can be scheduled in Tableau Server.

Live: It creates a direct connection to the data source and data will be fetched directly
from tables. So, data will be up to date and consistent. But, this also affects access
speed.

17. What are the different Joins in Tableau?

Tableau works the same as SQL. So, it supports all Joins possible in SQL

 Left Outer Join

 Right Outer Join

 Full Outer Join

  Inner Join

18. What is Data Modelling?

Data modeling is the analysis of data objects that are used in a business or other
context and also used as identification of the relationships among these data objects. It
is the first step of doing object-oriented programming.

19. Define Dual-axis?

Dual-axis is used to show 2 measures in a single graph. It allows you to compare 2

measures at once. Many websites like indeed use this Dual-axis to show the
comparisons and growth rate.
20. Define blended axis?

Multiple measures can share in a single axis so that all the marks will be shown in a
single pane. We can blend measures by dragging the 1st measure on one axis and the
2nd on the existing axis.

21. Define shelves and sets?

Shelves: Every worksheet in Tableau will have shelves such as columns, rows, marks,
filters, pages, and more. By placing filters on shelves we can build our own visualization
structure. We can control the marks by including or excluding data.

Sets: The sets are used to compute a condition on which the dataset will be prepared.
Data will be grouped together based on a condition. Fields which is responsible for
grouping are known assets. For example – students having grades of more than 70%.

22. Explain the limitation of context filters in Tableau?

Whenever we set a context filter, Tableau generates a temp table that needs to refresh
each and every time, whenever the view is triggered. So, if the context filter is changed
in the database, it needs to recompute the temp table, so the performance will be
decreased.

23. What is Mark Card in Tableau?

There is a card to the left of the view where we can drag fields and control mark
properties like color, size, type, shape, detail, label, and tooltip.

24. Define published data source?

When you are ready to make a data source available to other tableau desktop users.
You can publish it to the tableau server or online. Or else you can make it available by
saving the same like embedded excel or text file.

25. Define dual axis?

Dual-axis is used to show 2 measures in a single graph. It allows you to compare 2

measures at once. Many websites like indeed use this dual-axis to show the
comparisons and growth rate.

26. Define Bullet graph?

A bullet graph is a variant of Bar graph. It is responsible for comparing the
performance of one measure with other measures.

27. Define Gantt chart?

Gantt Chart displays the progress of value over the period. It consists of bars along
with the time axis. It is a project management tool. Here, each bar is a measure of a
task in the project framework.

28. Define a Histogram chart?

A histogram chart shows the distribution of continuous information over a certain

period of time. This chart helps us to find extreme points, gaps, unusual values, and
more concentrated values.

29. What are the file size limitations with Tableau?

In Tableau, there are no limitations with the file sizes. And moreover, there is no row or
column limit to import the data.

30. What is Tableau Reader?

Tableau Reader is a free desktop application, where you can read and interact with
the Tableau packaged workbooks. It can only open the files but cannot create new
connections to the workbook.

31. What is the difference between published data and embedded

data sources?

The published data source contains connection information that is independent of

workbooks and can be used by multiple workbooks.

The embedded data source contains connection information but it is associated with
the workbooks.

32. What is the Hierarchy in Tableau?

When we are working with large volumes of data, incredibly data may be messed. With
Tableau, you can easily create hierarchies to keep your data neat. Even if you don’t
need it, it is built into your data, which you can easily manage or organize the data and
you can track the data easily.
33. What is a Column chart?

A column chat visualizes the data as a set of rectangle columns, as their lengths are
proportional to values when they represent the data. The horizontal axis shows the
category to which they belong, and the vertical axis shows the values.
34. What is the Bar Chart in Tableau?

The bar chart visualizes the data as a set of rectangle bars, as their values are
proportional to lengths when they represent the data. The vertical axis shows the
category to which they belong to and the horizontal axis shows the values. So, the bar
chart is a vertical version of the Column chart.
35. What is the Line Chart?

The line chart is a popular type of diagrammatic way for visualizing the data, it connects
the individual data points to view the data. We can easily visualize the series of values,
we can see trends over time or predict future values. The horizontal axis holds the
category to which it belongs and the vertical axis holds the values.

36. What is a Stacked Bar chart?

Stacked Bar Chart, composed of multiple bars stacked horizontally, one below the
other. The length of the bar depends on the value in the data point. A stacked bar chart
makes the work easier, they will help us to know the changes in all variables presented,
side by side. We can watch the changes in their total and forecast future values.

37. What is a Stacked Column Chart?

Stacked Column Chart, composed of multiple bars stacked vertically, one on another.
The length of the bar depends on the value in the data point. A stacked column chart is
the best one to know the changes in all variables. This type of chart should be checked
when the number of series is higher than two.

38. What is an Area Chart?

An area chart is nothing but line chat, the area between the x-axis and lines will be
color or patterns. These charts are typically used to represent accumulated totals over
time and are the conventional way to display stacked lines

39. How to download Tableau Public?

Step 1: Go to public.tableau.com and enter your e-mail address and click “ Download
the App “.

Step 2: After downloading the file, run the file and follow the prompts to install the
Tableau.

Step 3: Now, you can see the Tableau shortcut on your desktop.

Step 4: Double click on the icon, to load tableau public. Now you see the screen as
below.

40. What is Context Filter and show the steps on how to create the
Context Filter Tableau?

Context Filters are applied to the data rows before any other filters. They are limited to
views, but they can be applied on selected sheets. They define Aggregation and
Disaggregation of data in Tableau

Step 1: Drag the subcategory dimensions to the row shelf and measure sales to the
column shelf. Now choose the horizontal bar chart as chart type and again drag the
sub-category dimensions to the filter shelf. Then we will get the following chart.

Step 2: Right-click on the Sub-Category field in the filter shelf and go to the Top fourth
tab. Choose the option field, from the next drop-down and choose the option Top 10
by Sales Sum as shown in the following screenshot.

Step 3: Drag the dimension Category to the filter shelf. Give right-click on the general
tab to edit and under that choose Furniture from the list. As you can see the result
shows three subcategories of products.

Step 4: Right-click the Category: Furniture filter and select the option Add to Context.
This produces the final result, which shows the subcategory of products from the
category Furniture which are among the top 10 subcategories across all the products.
Tableau Interview Questions and Answers For
Experienced

41. What are the products offered by Tableau? Explain a few things
about them.

Tableau has 4 main products.

Tableau Prep: Tableau Prep is responsible for preparing data for analysis. This tool
provides 3 coordinated views which provide us with a complete picture of data.

Tableau Desktop: Tableau Desktop is the place where the analysis happens. It has
powerful drag and drops analytics which is very easy to use. Through the desktop, you
get your data insights quickly.

Tableau Online: Tableau Online is a secure and scalable self-service analytics cloud
tool. You can use it anywhere, anytime and it has eliminated the complexities of IT.

Tableau Server: From small to large enterprises, Tableau server is used for fulfilling
their BI requirements. This is an on-premise solution. This tool can take data from
anywhere and shared it across the organization through the desktop or mobile
browsers.

42. Differentiate parameters and filters in Tableau

Filters are the simpler and straightforward feature in Tableau. It applies to dimensions
or measures directly. For example, to only show Gujarat or Karnataka in a State
dimension, we can apply the filter on that. In Tableau, there are multiple UI options
available for filters like radio buttons, drop-down lists, checkboxes, sliders, and more.
Filters on sheets are also available in Tableau.

Parameters are like variables. They are complex and more powerful. Like a variable, a
parameter can be used in calculations. So, that means, it only allows a single value.
Parameters have the same UI options except for checkboxes because checkboxes don’t
have a single value. For example, we can create a parameter for interest rate and
period, and then we can use these parameters to calculate interest and principal
payments.

43. Explain how many types of filters are available in Tableau?

Filters are used to provide the correct information to viewers after removing
unnecessary data. There are various types of filters available in Tableau.

Extract Filters – Extract filters are used to apply filters on extracted data from the data
source. For this filter, data is extracted from the data source and placed into the
Tableau data repository.

Datasource Filters – Datasource filters are the same as extract filters. They also work
on the extracted dataset. But, the only difference is it works with both live and extract
connections.

Context Filters – Context Filters are applied on the data rows before any other filters.
They are limited to views, but they can be applied on selected sheets. They define
Aggregation and Disaggregation of data in Tableau

Dimension Filters – Dimension filters are used to apply filters on dimensions in

worksheets. Dimension filters are applied through the top or bottom conditions,
formula, and wildcard match.

Measure Filters – Measure filters are applied to the values present in the measures.

44. Differentiate between Tiled and Floating in dashboards?

In a tiled layout, items don’t overlap. The layout will be adjusted according to
dashboard size. In the floating layout, items can be placed on some other layers.
Floating items can have fixed positions and sizes.

45. Categorize dimensions in Tableau?

Dimensions are divided into 9 various categories

Slowly ever-changing dimension: The value of the dimension changes over an

amount of time for slowly ever-changing dimensions.

Example – student of worker

Chop-chop ever-changing Dimension: Value in the dimension is rapidly changing for

chop-chop ever-changing dimensions.

Example – Age (It changes every second)

Unchanged Dimension: Values are constant for unchanged dimensions.

Example – Traffic Signals

Shrunken Dimension: A set of 1 dimension is termed as Shrunken Dimension.

Example – A week is Shrunken dimension for the month

Junk Dimension: Junk values or unrelated dimensions are termed as Junk Dimension.

Conformed Dimension: If any dimension is provided by various business areas, then

such a dimension is termed as Conformed Dimension.

Example – Time (9-5) for any company or hospital or college

Degenerated Dimension: Degenerated dimensions have primary keys only without

any matter of info.

Role enjoying Dimension: If one dimension is employed in multiple roles, then they
are termed as Role enjoying Dimensions.

Example – Date for e-commerce site order (Date of Order, Date of Shipment, Date of
delivery)

Inferred Dimension: Empty dimensions are called inferred dimensions. They are
usually used in ETL.

Example – Customer email which he may not enter while submitting any form will be
filled as null.

46. What is VIZQL in Tableau?

VIZQL is Visual Inquiry Language. It is a combination of VIZ and SQL. It is similar to SQL
language. But instead of SQL commands, the VIZQL language converts data queries
into visual images.

47. Explain the disaggregation and aggregation of data in Tableau?

Aggregation → The process of summarizing the data and viewing a single numeric
value is called aggregation. Example – sum/avg of salary for each employee

Disaggregation →The process of viewing each transaction for analyzing all the
measures both dependently and independently. Example – individual salary
transactions for each employee.

48. State the components of the dashboard?

The dashboard consists of 5 components.

 Web: it consists of a web page embedded in the dashboard.

 Horizontal component: it is a horizontal layout container in which we can add

objects.

 Vertical component: it is a vertical layout container in which we can add

objects.

 Image Extract: it allows you to upload an image to the dashboard from a

computer.

 Text: it is a small Wordpad where we can format and edit the text.

49. Differentiate discrete and continuous data roles in Tableau

Discrete data roles consist of values that are separate and distinct. Discrete data roles
can take individual values within a range. For Example – cancer patients in the hospital,
no. of threads in a sheet, state. Discrete values are displayed as blue icons in the data
window and blue pills on shelves. Discrete fields can be sorted.
Continuous data roles consist of any value within the finite or infinite intervals. For
Example – age, unit price, order quantity. Continuous values displayed as green icons in
the data window and green pills on shelves. Continuous fields cannot be sorted.

50. What is the difference between Traditional BI Tools and Tableau?

Traditional BI Tableau BI Architecture has hardware limitations. Tableau does not have
dependencies. It does not support in-memory, multi-thread, and multi-core computing.
It supports memory when using advanced technologies. It has a predefined view of
data. It uses predictive analysis for various business operations. We should need a
good knowledge of BI and skills. It is easy working and understanding without the
knowledge of BI and the skills data security is provided data security is not provided for
the public, whereas in the professional version.

51. Define performance testing in terms of Tableau

We can check the performance of Tableau in the following 2 ways.

 We can create performance recordings to keep track of performance details of

main events while interacting with workbooks. Then, these performance metrics

can be viewed by the user and analyzed. Navigation to start/stop performance

recording is Help→Settings and Performance>→ Start Performance Recording

Help→ Setting and Performance → Stop Performance Recording

 Review the logs created by Tableau Desktop. The location for log files is C:UsersMy

DocumentsMy Tableau Repository.

 For live connection, check the log files log.txt and tabprotosrv.txt.

 For Extract connection, check the log file tdeserver.txt

52. What is the difference between .twb and .twbx extensions?

.twb: .twb means Tableau workbook. .twb is an XML sheet, it stores the data about
your documents, stories, and dashboards. This file is the reference to the source file
such as Excel or tde. This file will be linked to your source file when you save the TWB
file. If you want to share your workbook you need to send both the workbook and data
source file.

.twbx: It is a compressed file, where you have all files. It includes data source files, twb,
and other files to produce the workbook. TWBX is obsolete for sharing because it will
share the copy of the file instead of an original source file. .twbx is used for reports and
we can view using the tableau viewer.

53. Why Tableau?

 Tableau is very simple and user-friendly.

 Tableau helps in analyzing the data and using this one can change the raw data

into an understandable format.

 Users can blend the data with the other data to create their own views on the

data and to share it with the customers, and colleagues.

 Users can manage a large amount of data.

 It can easily integrate with multiple data sources.

 Tableau can create complex graphs which simply look like pivot table graphs in

Excel.

 It gives quick calculations on datasets.

 Users can create the visuals easily and switch between the types, to find the

model to represent the user messages.

54. How to create a calculated field in Tableau?

Step 1: Select Analysis -> drop down will open -> Select create calculated field

Step 2: Calculation Editor Box will open, give the name to the calculated field.

Step 3: Enter a formula in the calculation editor.

Example: Sum(Profits)/Sum(Sales). (Calculation Editor validates the formula)

Step 4: Click, Ok.

Now, the new calculated field added to the data pane.

Real-Time Tableau Interview Questions and Answers

55. Are there any limitations of parameters in Tableau? If yes, give

details.

Tableau dashboard allows the representation of parameters in four ways only. They
don’t allow any multiple values like a filter can do. They only allow a single value.

56. State some reasons for the low performance of Tableau? Explain
in detail.

Following are the reason for low performance

 Filters - filters need to create an extra query and if it used in large numbers and

inefficiently then they can reduce the performance. So, it is advised to use filters

whenever it is mandatory

 Live connection - Tableau extract works much better in comparison with a live

connection.
  Data sources - a wrong query to a wrong data source can reduce performance.

Also, the data source’s performance can also affect Tableau’s performance.

57. State some ways to improve the performance of Tableau.

Following are the few ways to improve the performance

 Use an Extract to make workbooks run faster

 Reduce the scope of data to decrease the volume of data

 Reduce the number of marks on the view to avoid information overload

 Try to use integers or Booleans in calculations as they are much faster than

strings

 Hide unused fields

 Use Context filters

 Reduce filter usage and use some alternative way to achieve the same result

 Use indexing in tables and use the same fields for filtering

 Remove unnecessary calculations and sheets

58. Tell me different ways to use parameters in Tableau

 Filters

 Calculated fields

 Actions

 Measure-swaps

 Changing views
  Auto-updates

59. Can we see SQL generated by Tableau Desktop?

Tableau Desktop Log files are placed in C: UsersMy DocumentsMy Tableau Repository.
In case of live connection to any data source, check the log file “log.txt” and
“tabprotosrv.txt” files. In case of extract connection to any data source, check the
“tdeserver.txt” file which has detailed information about queries.

60. If the owner of the published workbook license expires, then can
other users see those workbooks?

If the owner of a published workbooks license expires then his/her role will change to
“Unlicensed”. He/She cannot access those workbooks, but others can. Only site admin
can change the ownership of those workbooks.

61. Can we remove the All options from a Tableau auto-filter?

Follow few steps

1. Go to the Segment filter, Click on the small drop arrow which is on the right side.

2. Select Customize.

3. Then we can visible a small dropbox under customize, uncheck the option for “

All” Value.
62. Which one is better? Extract or Live connection?

Extract connection is better than live connection because extract connection can be
used from anywhere, anytime without connecting to the database. We can construct
our own visualizations on it irrespective of the database connection.

63. Tell me something about the workbook version controlled in

Tableau.

Versioning of workbooks can be done in 2 ways in Tableau.

 At the desktop level, you keep copies of your changes and files or using 3rd

party system like Microsoft TFS.

  At the server level, where you publish the data source and version will be saved

in revision history on Tableau Server or Online. Reverting to a previous version is

also possible here.

64. Where can we apply global filters?

Global filters can be applied to sheets, stories, and dashboards.

65. How to add custom color to Tableau?

To add custom color in Tableau, we need to follow 3 steps

 Generate custom color code and create it in “Preferences.tps”

 Navigate to Documents→ My Table Repository→ Preferences.tps

 Add a note for custom color code

66. Can we create cascading filters without using context filters?

Cascading filters means filter2 values are dependent on filter1 values. For Example,
filter1 is country and if we select “India” for filter1, filter2 values should show all Indian
states. This feature we can achieve by using the option “Only Relevant Values”.

67. How can we display the top and bottom 5 of records in a single
Tableau view?

To achieve this, we need to create 2 views

 View1 which contains the top 5 records

 View2 which contains the bottom 5 records

 View3 which is a join of View1 and View2

68. State a few charts which we should not use with valid reasons
Below here are few charts which we should avoid.

 3D Charts: Visual representation of numbers in 3D charts will be skewed and it

makes it difficult to compare and analyze.

 Pie Charts: Pie charts are not that much accurate as bar charts. In Pie charts, we

have areas and angles to compare instead of length in a bar chart. Areas and

angles cannot be analyzed with ease.

 Donut Charts: This is the same as Pie chart, but here, we have a hole in the

middle to make it look like a donut. Due to that hole, we need to compare arc

length with other arcs to analyze the values. Comparing arcs lengths is also a

difficult task for our eyes.

69. Do we have any way to handle null values in Tableau?

Tableau cannot plot null values on-axis. So, it will display an indicator at the lower right
corner of the view. Once you click on that indicator, you have options to handle null
values. Below are the options available to handle null values.

 Filter Data – If you choose this option, null values will be filtered out from the

view.

 Show Data at Default Position – It replaces the null value with the default

value and shows the data at the default position on-axis. These default values

depend on the data type of field. Below here are the defaults of a specific data

type.

 Numbers →0
  Dates → 12-31-1899

 Geographic Location → (0,0)

 Negative Values → 1

70. Do we have any data limitations in Tableau Public?

Yes, Tableau Public can only allow 10 million rows to users for data visualization.

71. Can we download views or workbooks from the server? If yes, in

which data formats?

We can download views or workbooks from the server. But, data formats available to
us depend on the permissions granted by site administrators or content owners.

 Image: .png format

 Data: .csv file.

We can also download selected sheets into PDF format, but while generating PDF, web
page objects won’t be included.

72. Can we use unused columns (Columns that are not used in
reports but data source has columns) in Tableau Filters?

Yes, we can use unused columns in tableau filters.

Let us consider one example.

In data source, I have column like emp_id, emp_name, emp_sal, emp_dep,

emp_designation. But, in reports, I am using emp_name in columns and emp-sal in
rows. I can use emp_designation on filters.

73. What is the benefit of the Tableau extract file over the live
connection?

Extract files can be used without any connections and you can build your own
visualization without connecting to the database.
74. How many tables join are possible in Tableau?

We can join 32 tables in Tableau.

75. Can we place an excel file in a shared location and use it to

develop a report and refresh it in regular intervals?

Yes, we can place an excel file in a shared location and we can use it to develop a
report, but for better performance, we need to extract the file.

76. How do we do testing in Tableau?

Yes, we can do testing in Tableau by using tools and the easiest way is using the
desktop application. We need to check it before we publish it on the Tableau server.

77. Can you get values from two different sources as a single input
into a parameter?

Tableau, currently not supporting the multi-valued parameters. As Tableau parameters

are not dynamic, we cannot filter the list of values at runtime.

78. Design a view in a map such that if a user selects any state the
cities under that state have to show profit and sales.

If you want to show the profit and sales of each and every city under the state in the
same worksheet, then follow a few steps.

The data which you want to display under the state, it must be in the same worksheet.

 Double click on the state filed.

 Drag the city and drop it under the state(Mark Card).

 Drag the Sales and drop into the size.

 Drag the Profit and drop it into the color.

 Click on the size legend and increase the size (75%).

 Give a right-click on State filed and select show filter.

  Select the state and check whether you got the required view or not.

In the View, Size indicates the Sales, and Color indicates the profit of the respective
state(which you have selected).

79. How can u set permissions or protect the data in tableau public?

Tableau does not have any security permissions or to protect the data in Tableau
public. Whatever we shared in Tableau public those files, workbooks can be viewed by
all users. There is no security option in Tableau public.

80. If I delete a workbook from tableau public and there are links to
other blogs and other web locations. What happens to them?

Tableau public is like a repository, if you delete anything in the Tableau public the data
will be lost, even if links are in other locations and blogs. We cannot access those links.

81. Mention whether you can create relational joins in Tableau

without creating a new table?

Yes, we can create relational joins in Tableau without creating a new table

82. When publishing workbooks on Tableau online, sometimes an

error about needing to extract appears. Why does it happen
occasionally?

It happens when the user is trying to publish the workbook which is connected to the
internal or local server that means the company’s network.

83. Can parameters have a drop-down list?

Yes, Parameters have their own drop-down list, which enables the users to view the
data entries which are available in the parameter during the creation.

84. How do you optimize the performance of the dashboard?

1. Minimize the number of fields.

2. Minimize the number of records.

 3. Reduce the marks (data points) in your view( remove unneeded dimensions).

4. Reduce the number of filters.

5. Use an include filter.

6. Use a continuous data filter.

7. Use action filters and parameters.

8. Reduce the number of nested calculations.

9. Remove custom SQL.

10. Clean up your workbooks.

85. How to use group in calculations field?

Option 1:

We can create the group by using the calculated field.

 Step 1: Select Analysis-> click the calculated field

 Step 2: Enter the field name (a dialogue box will appear)

 Step 3: Enter the calculation -> Click Ok.

Example:

IF [Container]=’Jumbo Box’ then ‘Big Containers’

ELSEIF [Container]=’Jumbo Drum’ then ‘Big Containers’
ELSEIF [Container]=’Large Box’ then ‘Big Containers’
ELSEIF [Container]=’Medium Box’ then ‘Midsize Containers’
ELSEIF [Container]=’Wrap Bag’ then ‘Midsize Containers’
ELSEIF [Container]=’Small Box’ then ‘Little Containers’
ELSEIF [Container]=’Small Pack’ then ‘Little Containers’
END
The above calculation creates the group with four values: Little Containers, Big
Containers, Small Containers, Midsize Containers.

Option 2:

Create a set from the group, and use the set in the calculated field.

Step 1: Right-click on the Data Pane and then select Create Set.

Step 2: Create a set dialogue box that will open,

Enter the field name.

Select the group, on the general tab.

Step 3: Click Ok.

86. Can Tableau be installed on macOS?

Yes, Tableau can be installed on both the Windows Operating system and macOS.

87. How to automate reports in Tableau?

When we are publishing the reports to Tableau Server, there we will find an option to
schedule the report, just select the time when you want to refresh the data.

88. Which databases give the best performance when connected live?

Native Database gives the best performance when connected live.

89. What are the challenges faced when working with huge volumes
of data?

1. View running will be slow.

2. Data Extraction.

3. Alignment issues with data.

4. Testing Data.
90. State limitation of context filters in Tableau

Whenever we set a context filter, Tableau generates a temp table that needs to refresh
each and every time the view is triggered. So, if the context filter will be changed, the
database needs to recompute and rewrite the temp table, which in turn slows down
the performance.

91. What is a marks card in Tableau?

There is a card to the left of the view where we can drag fields and control mark
properties like color, size, type, shape, detail, label, and tooltip.

92. Define a published data source

The published data source has connection information in it. It is independent of any
workbook and can be accessed by multiple workbooks.

93. Define blended axis

Multiple measures can share a single axis so that all the marks will be shown in a single
pane. We can blend measures by dragging the 1st measure on one axis and the 2nd on
the existing axis.

94. Can we remove the “All” option from the auto-filter in Tableau?

Yes, we can. Navigate to filter→ Right-click on it→ select customize→ uncheck the
option “Show All”

95. Define Bullet graph

A bullet graph is a variant of a Bar graph. It is responsible for comparing the

performance of one measure with other measures.

96. Define Gantt chart

Gantt Chart displays the progress of value over the period. It consists of bars along
with the time axis. It is a project management tool. Here, each bar is a measure of a
task in the project framework.

97. Define Histogram chart

A histogram chart shows the distribution of continuous information over a certain
period of time. This chart helps us to find extreme points, gaps, unusual values, and
more concentrated values.

98) What is Tableau Public?

Tableau Public is an open-source and free service that allows anyone to publish the
data source and visualizations to the web. These visualizations can then be embedded
into blogs or web pages. They can also be distributed through email or social media.
Moreover, they can be made downloadable by other end users. For Tableau Public, no
programming skills are needed. It can be accessed by anyone free of cost.

99) What are sets?

Sets are custom fields that define a subset of data based on certain conditions. The
condition can be a computed condition such as a list of customers with sales over a certain
threshold. Computed sets update with change in data. Alternatively, a set can also be
based on a specific data point in one’s view.

100. What are groups?

A group is a combination of dimension members that make higher level categories.

For example, if you are working with a view that shows average test scores by major,
you may want to group certain majors together to create major categories.

Another 100 Question

1) What is Tableau?

Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool used in the Business Intelligence

Industry. It helps in simplifying raw data into a very easily understandable
format.
2) What are the popular features of Tableau?

The popular features of Tableau are:

 Data blending
 No need of technical knowledge
 Real-time analysis
 Data collaboration and data notifications
 DAX analysis function
 Patented technology from Stanford university
 Toggle view and drag-and-drop
 List of native data connectors
 Highlight and filter data
 Share dashboards
 Embed dashboards within
 Mobile-ready dashboards
 Tableau reader for data viewing
 Dashboard commenting
 Create “no-code” data queries
 Translate queries to visualizations
 Import all ranges and sizes of data

3) What is Tableau Public?

Tableau Public is a free service that allows anyone to publish interactive data
to the web. Once it is on the web, anyone can interact with the data,
download it, or create their own data visualization.

4) What are the properties of Tableau combined sets?

Properties of Tableau combined sets are:

 Name: It is used to specify the unique name of a tableau set.

 Sets: Users can select the existing set from the menu. The first set in
the menu acts as a left set. The second set act as the right set.
 All members in both sets: This is an option to combined set that
holds all the members from left as well as right set.
  Shared members in both sets: This option holds matching members
from both left and right sets. It means every record must match the
condition present in these sets.
 Left set except shared members: This Tableau set is used to hold all
the members from the left set except matching members from the
righsst set.
 Right set except shared members: It holds all the members from the
right set by matching members from the left set.

5) What are the different Tableau files?

Different Tableau files include:

 Workbooks: Workbooks hold one or more worksheets and

dashboards.
 Bookmarks: It contains a single spreadsheet, and it’s an easy way to
quickly share your work.
 Packaged workbooks:It includes a workbook having supporting
background images and local file data.
 Data extraction files: Data extract files are basically a local copy of
the entire data source or a subset.
 Data connection files: It is a XML file containing various information
related to connection.

6) What is the basic difference between published data sources and

embedded data sources in Tableau

The basic difference between a published data source and an embedded

data source is:

The public data source contains connection information that is independent

of any workbook. On the other hand, embedded data source connection
information and is associated with a workbook.

7) Mention the characteristics that distinguish data source

The characteristics that distinguish data source are:

 Icon/Name
 Connection Type
 Connects to
 Live or the last extract

8) What are Joins?

Tableau can “join” tables. It can join up to 32 tablets in a data source. Two or
more tables can be specified while joining the relationship. The tables
present in the data source can be related to each other using the joins such
as inner join, left join, right join, and outer join.

9) Explain Tableau Data Extract

A Tableau data extract is a compressed snapshot of data stored on disk. It is

loaded into memory to render a Tableau.

10) Explain the primary differences between blending and joining in

Tableau?

Joining terms is helpful when you are combining data from the same source.
On the other hand, blending would require two completely defined data
sources in your report.

11) How many maximum numbers of tables can be joined in Tableau?

The maximum number of tables that can be joined in Tableau is 32.

12) Name the different type of Tableau

The other kind of Tableau products are:

 Desktop
 Prep
 Online
 Server
13) Explain Longitude and Latitude in tableau

Longitude and Latitude (generated) fields are associated with the

geographical detail present in the data. The dataset should consist of
geographic information like City, Country, or State.

The longitude and latitude values are auto-generated in Tableau. These fields
can be used to build maps in Tableau.

14) Why use a hierarchical field in tableau?

A hierarchical field in tableau helps you to drill down data. It allows you to
view your data in a more granular level.

15) Explain Connect live

Connect live creates a direct connection to the data source and speed up
access.

16) Define the term analytics pane concerning Tableau

The analytics pane offers quick and easy access to everyday analytic objects
in Tableau. It allows you to drag forecasts, reference and trend lines, and
other objects into your view from the Analytics pane.

17) Explain the term filter actions

Filter actions show related information between a source sheet and one or
more target sheets. This type of activities best suited when a developer is
building a guided logical path using a workbook or in a dashboard.

18) How to view SQL generated by Tableau Desktop?

A developer can click on My Tableau Repository folder available in My

documents in PC to view SQL. If the user is using a live connection to the data
source, then check tabprotosrv.txt and log.txt files. If the user is using
extract, check the tdeserver.txt file. This file shows details about queries.

19) List out Three Tableau limitation

Here are some notable limitations in Tableau:

 The parameter doesn’t accept multiple sections.

 User can’t define the width and columns individually.
 Users can’t control the selection, display, sorting of columns in view
data option for a worksheet view.

20) How can you perform load testing in Tableau?

Users can do load testing with the help of Tableau Server performance
testing solution called TabJolt. However, this is third-party software that is
not supported by tableau directly. Therefore, it may be installed using other
open-source products.

21) Where can a developer use global filters?

A developer can use global filters in sheets, dashboards, and stories.

22) What is a parameter in Tableau?

Parameters in Tableau are dynamic values that you can replace as constant
values in calculations. These values serve as context filters.

23) What is the use of showing me in Tableau?

The show me clause is used to applying a required view to existing data in

the worksheet. Views are displayed in graphical formats like a line chart, pie
chart, and scatter plot.

24) How to get the current date and time in Tableau?

A developer can get the current date and time in Tableau using the NOW()
function.

25) What is Forecasting in Tableau?

Forecasting means predicting the future value of a measure. There are

various methods for forecasting. However, in Tableau, the user can only use
exponential smoothing.
26) What is the calculated field in Tableau?

A calculated field is a new field that you can create using a formula to modify
the existing filed in your data source.

27) What is the use of formatting pane in Tableau

A formatting pane contains a setting that controls the entire worksheet and
individual fields in

28) Explain Tableau Product Suite

The Tableau Product Suite consists of

 Tableau Desktop
 Tableau Public
 Tableau Online
 Tableau Server
 Tableau Reader

Another 120 Questions

Q1. What is Tableau?

Ans. Tableau is a Business Intelligence Application. Tableau is used
to create visualizations and interpret data. Tableau follows the basic
principles of BI i.e. extracting raw data, transforming it and
presenting the data visually so that Business users can make
informed decisions.
Q2. Explain Tableau Architecture?
Ans. Tableau Architecture follows as below
 Data. Tableau can connect to any format of source data.
 Data Connectors. Tableau provides over 40 optimized data
connectors. To various data sources such as MS Excel, MS SQL
Server, Google Big Query, Amazon RedShift, Oracle and others.
 It also provides a generic ODBC connector for systems without a
native connector.
Data can be used in-memory or live.

 Components. The following components handle the server

operations
1. Application server. Application Server processes (wgserver.exe)
handle content browsing, Server- Administration and
authentication to Tableau server web and mobile interfaces.
2. VizQL Server. When a user/client requests a visualization, it
sends a request to VizQL process (Vizqlserver.exe). The VizQL
process in turn sends queries to the data source, returning a
result set in the form of images.
3. Data Server. It facilitates the management of Data sources on
the server.
 Gateway/Load balancer. Gateway directs requests to other
components.
 View. User can view Tableau dashboards thru Tableau desktop or
via zero footprint HTML 5 in a web or mobile browser.
Q3. What are the different components of Tableau?
Ans. Basic components of Tableau are Tableau Desktop, Tableau
reader and Tableau Server.
 Developer uses Tableau desktop to create visualizations,
dashboards and stories.
 Dashboards can be deployed on the Tableau Server. Users can
access dashboards stored on the server through server URL.
 Tableau desktop can use data as a “Live” connection or as an
“Extract” (TDE).
 Data connection/s used in developing dashboards is reusable. It
can be published to the server. Data load schedules can be
created to meet the user requirements.
 Tableau desktop design file is called a “Workbook”. It has an
extension .twb.
 Tableau workbooks can also be packaged with data. This
packaged workbook is a zip file with extension .twbx.
 In the absence of the server, Tableau design files can be viewed
by using Tableau Reader. Tableau reader is also a free download
and can open twbx files.
Q4. Why Tableau is preferred by the business community?
Ans.
 Tableau using the powerful visualization, helps in understanding
the data.
 Tableau dashboards are interactive and displays the whole
picture of the data. All the data is present, data analysis across
different time periods and dimensions is faster.
 Datasource used in the dashboard design can be shared with
other developers and users, this helps in maintaining the single
version of the truth.
 Development is faster as compared to other applications. Tableau
provides easy to use functionalities to create data hierarchy,
calculated fields, filters, parameters, Sets and Bins.
 Development is not IT centric. It gives power to the business
users. Users can design their own dashboards.
 Creating worksheets, dashboards and stories is easy.
 Based on the data, Tableau’s “Show Me” feature suggest user the
best visualization type to use. This helps novice users in creating
meaningful charts and tables.
 Tableau can handle huge amounts of data. Connection to the
data can be live or to an extract.
 For quick review, workbooks can be emailed as packaged
workbooks with data.
 Publishing to the server and applying security is easy.
Q5. How Tableau development environment works?
Ans. Tableau development environment works as follows,
 Tableau desktop is used for creating visualizations such as charts,
tables and Maps.
 User can connect to any data source. If multiple tables are used,
then these tables can be joined. Data Sources can be named and
shared.
 When the data source is created, depending on the data type,
Tableau automatically segregates data into measures and
dimensions. Data elements can be transformed.
 These data elements are used to create charts, tables and Maps
by simple drag-and-drop of data elements into the development
area.
 One visualization is created per “worksheet”. Multiple worksheets
make one “dashboard”.
 If the user needs a “story”, worksheets and dashboards can be
used to create a story.
 Worksheet, Dashboards and Story is created by clicking on the
icons at the bottom of the screen

 Or by using the menu options

Q6. Explain My Tableau Repository folder?

Ans.
When Tableau desktop is installed, Tableau creates a folder called
“My Tableau Repository” in \Documents folder.

The folder contains all the files required by Tableau

• Logs, folder contains all the issue logs.

• Workbooks, contains all the workbooks – twb and twbx files. Save
all your workbooks in this folder.
• Datasources, this folder is used to keep all the datasource files
such as csv, excel etc.
• Local Data, when custom geocoding is imported, it gets stored in
this folder.
• Mapsources, Tableau Map Source (.tms) file is stored in this folder.
• Bookmarks, with .tbm file extension are stored in this folder.
• Shapes, this folder contains all the shapes provided by Tableau. To
add your custom shapes, copy custom shapes in an image format
and add to a new folder under this folder. • Preference.tps, file is
used to add custom color palettes.
Q7. Give an Overview of Tableau Desktop
Ans.
Tableau desktop is a development environment and provides
functionality to develop interactive dashboards.
1. Data window. Displays information about the data connection
and fields in the data source.
2. Analytics. Contains ready-to use objects for faster analysis of
data.
3. Workbook Name. Workbook consists of data connection, work
sheet, dashboard, stories and images. Worksheet name has an
extension of .twb. If it is a packaged workbook then the extension is
.twbx.
4. Cards/shelves. Views are created by placing fields on the cards or
shelves. Mark cards have different shelves such as color, size, label,
detail, tooltip. Fields can be placed on these shelves. Changing the
Mark type like Automatic, Shape will change these shelves.
5. Toolbar. Toolbar provide quick access to different functionalities
such as undo/redo, adding sheets, sorting, displaying labels and so
on.
6. Pills. Fields or calculations on the rows or columns are called Pills.
Click on a pill to access pull down menu options such as filter, Table
calculations etc. Dimension pill is blue in color and Measure pill is
green.
7. View/Canvas. This space displays visualization created by the
fields placed on the shelves.
8. Filters. Filter shelf is used to place filters that limit the data.
9. Pages. This shelf displays views into different pages. If a
dimension is placed on Pages, it creates separate pages for each
dimension. If a measure is used, then measure is converted to
discreet measure.
10. Show Me. Depending on the field selection in the data window,
Tableau suggests the best suited visualization. Different
visualizations can be selected in the “Show Me” box.
11. Status bar. Displays various attributes of the visualization in the
current worksheet. It displays information such as number of Marks,
number of rows and columns and aggregated measure.
12. Sheet Name. Displays the name of the current worksheet. Give
meaningful names to the sheets, if multiple sheets are created. There
are three types of sheets – worksheet, dashboards and story.
Exercise:
Launch Tableau Desktop, connect to datasource Sample –
Superstore.xls
under \Documents\My Tableau Repository\Datasources\. Use Orders
datasheet as the source data.

Q8. What are the different responsibilities of a Tableau

professional?
Ans.
A Tableau professional’s responsibilities may differ based on specific
organization but at high-level it consists of

 Understanding the business requirements.

 Analyzing data sources and relationships.
 Extracting data from the required data sources. Making decisions
in collaboration with Business users on connecting data live or as
an extract.
 Applying required data transformations, creating calculations,
Sets, Bins as driven by the requirements.
 Creating visualizations that helps in answering business
questions. These visualizations are created and displayed in
Sheets, dashboards and stories.
 Deploying the dashboards on the server
Q9. What data sources can be used with Tableau?
Ans. Tableau can be used with variety of data sources. This includes
excel, csv, Multi-dimensional cubes, MS –access and also relational
databases, cloud based data sources.
Q10. What is a KPI?
Ans.
Every organization has certain measures that are used to evaluate
performance. These measures or indicators are called Key
Performance Indicators (KPI). KPI’s are different for different
organizations, for example, for a Staffing company, one for the KPI
may be # of Consultants working at the client site, for a hospital it
may be the number for patients treated.

Q11. How is source control performed in Tableau?

Ans. Tableau can be integrated to source control applications like
Microsoft TFS (Team Foundation Server).
Q12. What data sources can be used with Tableau?
Ans. Tableau can be used with variety of data sources. This includes
excel, csv, Multi-dimensional cubes, MS –access and also relational
databases, cloud based data sources.

Q13. What is Tableau Development life cycle?

Ans.
Typical Tableau implementation follows these principles,

 Requirement gathering. Discussion with users to understand their

data and visualization requirements.
 Analyze data sources. Gather information on different data
sources and relationships among the data elements.
 Create mockups of the dashboards. User review of mockups.
 Create data source.
 Structure the data by renaming data fields to user friendly
columns. As required, create calculated fields, hierarchies,
parameters and other elements.
 Depending on the number of data elements in the datasource,
organize data into different folders.
 Create worksheets and dashboards as per the requirement.
 Unit Testing. Comparing the data in the visualizations with the
source data.
 Review of dashboard by the users.
 If server option is available and desired deploy dashboards over
the Server.
 Create data load schedules.
Q14. What are dimension and fact Tables?
Ans.
Dimension tables, also referred as Dimensions contain the
descriptive attribute of the data element. Example of a Dimension
table, will be a Customer Dimension, containing fields that describe a
customer, i.e. Customer Name, Address and so on. Dimensions are
used to slice the data. Primary key in a Dimension table also referred
as Dim ID uniquely identifies each row.
Fact table contains measurable attribute of the data. For example,
Fact table can contain Sales Amount or the Sales made to a
Customer. Fact table contains the foreign key of the Dimension
Table.
Dimension provide context to a Fact. Without Dimension Fact will not
be meaning full.

In the above example, Customer Info will be stored in Customer

Dimension, and Sales made to different customers will be stored in
Fact table. These two tables will be joined to get Sales Amount of a
Customer.

Q15. Given an ER diagram, how you will identify fact and

dimension tables
Ans.
 Cardinality between Dimension and Fact is one to many, with
many on the Fact side. Look for One to Many relationship in the
ER diagram.
 Dimension contains the textual/ descriptive attribute and Fact
contains the measureable data. Look for such data elements in
the tables.
 Fact table contains the foreign key of the dimension table.
Q16. What is star schema?
Ans.
Star schema is a data structure in which a Fact table is at the center
surrounded by dimension tables. The structure looks like a Star and
hence the name.

Using below Star schema, you can slice Sales Amount and Quantity
by Customer, Time period, Product and Regions.
Q17. What is a Snow flake scheme?
Ans. In Star schema, Fact is at the center and surrounded by
dimension tables. Snow flake schema is similar to star schema. In
Snow flake schema, dimension table/s may be connected to other
related dimensions. For example, Product dimension may connect to
Category dimension.

Q18. How will you perform requirement gathering for a Dash

boarding application?
Ans.
When creating a dashboard, it is important to get the requirements
from the users. When gathering requirements,

 Take data requirements. Data sources, key filters, data refresh

frequency.
 Ask users about the KPI (Key performance Indicators).
 Inquire about the questions users are trying to answer.
 Document business rules required for the dashboards.
 Understand security requirements.
 Gather details about any existing reports or desired visualization.
 Provide layout of the screen in terms of dashboard- charts and
tables in excel or hand drawn.
 Get users feedback on the layout. Get requirements about the
screen resolution.
Q19. What’s the difference between a primary key and foreign
key in SQL?
Ans. Primary key uniquely identifies a record in a table. Primary key
in one table is referenced by foreign key in another table. Two
relational tables are linked based on primary key and foreign key.
Q20. What are some of the joins in SQL?
Ans.
The joins in SQL are

 Inner Join. Returns matching rows from both the tables.

 Left/Outer join. Returns all rows from the left table and the
matched rows from the right table
 Right/Outer join. Returns all rows from the Right table and the
matched rows from the left table
 Full/Outer join.Returns all rows from table1 and from the table2.It
combines the result of both LEFT and RIGHT joins.
 Cartesian join. Join of every row of one table to every row of
another table.
Q21. What is the difference between Union and Union All in SQL?
Ans. Union and Union All are used to combine results of queries.
Union eliminates the duplicate records and Union All includes all the
records.
Q22. What is data granularity?
Ans. Data granularity refers to the level of detail or depth of data.
It means the level at which data is stored in a fact table. For e.g. if
data is stored at the Year level then it is at the lower granularity. If
the data is stored at the Month or day level then it at higher
granularity.

Q23. What is meant by data transformation?

Ans.
Data transformation means transforming the data from its original
format. Raw data may be in a different format then required by the
report or dashboard. Data transformation is required to make the
data more suited for the application. An example, can be, removing
time information from the DateTime field.

Q24. What is the meaning of discreet and continuous data?

Ans.
Data can be discreet or continuous.

Discreet data contains specific categories. For example, Regions –

South and North or Years like 2011, 2012.

Continuous data, on the other hand, is defined by a range and it can

take any value over a continuous range.

In Tableau, Dimensions are discreet and Measures are continuous.

Q25. How discreet and continuous data affects the color in

visualization?
Ans. Dimensions are discreet and when dropped on the Color shelf
displays different colors or color palette.
Measures are continuous and when dropped on the Color shelf
shows a gradient color.

Q26. How can workbooks be viewed by users in Tableau?

Ans. Workbooks can be published on Tableau Online or Tableau
server. In the absence of Tableau Server, Workbooks can also be
viewed using Tableau Reader. Tableau reader accepts Tableau
packaged workbook (twbx) which contain data.

Chapter 2. All About Data connections

Q27. How to connect to data in Tableau?
Ans.
When Tableau desktop is launched it provides an option to connect
to the data. Tableau can connect to a variety of data sources.

 When connecting to data, Tableau provides an option to connect

to data Live or as an Extract.
 Data can be extracted to a .tde file. Extracts are faster than live
connection.
 When data is extracted, the symbol of the data source changes in
the data window. It shows up with two cylinders.

 Data Source can be saved as TDS file or published to Tableau

Server.
Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.

Connect to data live or as an extract.

When connected as an extract, it will provide an option to save the

data source as TDE file.

Q28. What are Dimensions and Measures fields in Tableau?

Ans.
When a datasource is created, Tableau automatically segregates data
into Dimensions and Measure fields.

 Dimension fields contain the textual attribute of the data. It

provides the context to the Measure. Dimensions are generally
used to create labels and filters. Dimensions are discreet and
appear blue in color in the data pane and the view.
 Measure fields contain the measureable attribute of the data –
such as Revenue, Profit or Population. Measures are continuous.
 They are axis in the charts and appear green color. Measures are
analyzed by dimensions.
Q29. A query is created and tested in a SQL editor like TOAD or
SQL Developer. How can you use this query in Tableau?
Ans.
Tableau provides an option to write custom query in New Custom
SQL.

A pre-built query can be copied/pasted in the query editor. The

Developer can also use this space to write a custom query.

New Custom SQL option is available when connected to relational

data sources.

Q30. How is data prepared for analysis?

Ans.
Data source preparation also called as data transformation is an
important step in dash boarding. Data Source preparation depends
on the Business and visualization requirements.

 Review your source data to see if data is formatted correctly. If

multiple tables or excel sheets are involved, look for the
relationships between them. Create appropriate joins.
 For successful visualization, data should have dimensions and
measures.
 If the source data contains a wrongly formatted Excel file, utilize
Data Interpreter to format the file.
 Use Split to segregate concatenated columns and use Pivot to
transform Rows to Columns.
 Data preparation may include renaming columns, creating
hierarchies, Groups and calculations.
Q31. What are the best practices of data preparation in Tableau?
Ans.
Data should be prepared so that it improves user experience and
helps in development of visualizations.

 The Data source should be given a user friendly name. Right click
on Data Source and select Rename.
 Dimension and Measure columns should be given user friendly
names. Right click on a field and select Rename.
 Check the data types of the fields. If data types are incorrect then
change the datatypes in Tableau.
 Related fields should be organized in Folders. Right click on a field
and select Group By/ Folder.
 Hierarchies help in drill downs. Identify the columns to be
included Hierarchy. Create Hierarchy by Shift or Ctrl select the
columns to be included in Hierarchy, right click and select
Hierarchy.
 Provide Aliases to give meaningful description to the values. For
example, if Region is SZ, you can alias it to South Zone.
 Hide the columns, dimensions and measures which are not used
in the calculations or the view.
 Create Calculations to achieve required functionality. Name
calculations in a user friendly manner.
 Apply appropriate filters to get meaning full data.
 Use extract when possible. Extracts are faster than live
connection.
 Save the datasource as TDS file. This file can be shared and other
developers can use this file for development.
Q32. On a chart, a user wants to drill down from Category to
Sub- Category. What data transformation should be applied to
achieve this functionality?
Ans.
In the Dimension section, create a hierarchy for Category and Sub-
Category.

Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.

Use Orders data sheet and prepare data for dash boarding.

Q33. How to create a copy of the data source? In what scenarios

it will be useful?
Ans.
Copy of a data source can be made by right clicking on it and
selecting

Duplicate.

Copy of the data source can be useful when you have to create
additional view/s of the same data source to create some
visualizations like two separate charts for Year by Year comparisons.
Q34. In a multi-developer environment, how do we make sure
that all the developers are using the same datasource
structure?
Ans.
To ensure that all the developers are using the same data source,
right click on the datasource and Publish on the Tableau Server.

While connecting to the datasource, other developers can connect to

the datasource from the Tableau server option.

Developers using the published datasource will be allowed to create

their own calculations on the data source.

Q35. What is a TDE file and how it is created?

Ans.
Tableau Data Extract (TDE) file is a data extract or snap shot of the
data. TDE files can be created by right clicking on the data source and
selecting Extract Data.
 When an extract is created, the symbol of the datasource icon
changes to two cylinders.

 Extracts result in better performance as compared to live

connection.
 Extracts are useful in offline access of data. Extracts can be saved
locally and do not require live connection to the source data.
 Extract is a snapshot of data, it needs to be refreshed as
underlying data changes.
 Filters can be applied while creating an extract.
 While creating an extract data can be aggregated by dimensions.
 Extract can be created for all the rows or incrementally.
 Extract refreshes can be scheduled to run.

Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources
Use Orders datasheet to create a TDE file. Review the file after the
data extract and see changes in the datasource icon.

Q36. What is a .TDS file?

Ans.
A TDS file stores the data source connection information. Developers
can connect to the TDS file to get the data source details. TDS file is
created by right clicking on the data source and selecting “Add to
Saved Data Sources”
TDS file is in XML format and contains the following information

 Data Source Type.

 Data Source connection details such as Server, Port, Location of
local files.
 Joins, tables joined and type of join.
 Groups
 Sets
 Calculated fields
 Bins
 Default field properties such as number formats, aggregation and
sort Order.
Exercise:
Use the file you have created in the previous section and save the
data source as .TDS file under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.

Navigate to the above path and open .Tds file and review it in a
notepad.

Q37. Developer needs to create a chart where data is coming

from 2 different sources. How you can combine data from these
two data sources and display it in the chart?
Ans.
Data Blending is used when there are 2 independent data sources
and visualization needs to merge the data from these data sources.
 In Data blending, one datasource becomes primary and the
second data source becomes secondary.
 Data blending is not a join. Join occurs between the tables from
the same data source.
 To perform data blending there should be at least one common
column between the data sources.
 If a common field does not exist, then edit the relationship
between the datasources. To edit relationship, navigate
to menu and select Data/Edit Relationships.
 Data blending can be applied per visualization, it is does not carry
over to the entire workbook.
Q38. How are primary and secondary datasources identified in
data blending?
Ans. Primary data source has a blue check mark and secondary has
an orange check mark.

Q39. You have to show data in a chart. This data is stored in 2

tables in Oracle database called “Sales Structure”. What
technique should be used – data blending or joins?
Ans. A Join will be more appropriate in this scenario because data
source is same.
Q40. What is data aggregation?
Ans. Tableau aggregates data automatically when measure is placed
on the view canvas. Default aggregation is Sum. But it can be
changed to any other type of aggregation.
Q41. A Source data table has 100,000 rows of data. Every month
around 10,000 new rows get added to this table. What option
you will choose to load only the new rows?
Ans. This can be accomplished by creating an extract and choosing
incremental load option.
Q42. Filters can be created from Dimension and Measures. To
which SQL keyword do they correspond?
Ans. Dimension filters are similar to WHERE clause in SQL query.
Measure filter is similar to the HAVING clause.
Q43. How does Pills work in Tableau?
Ans.
When a field is placed from the data window into the view canvas,
Tableau creates a pill.
Whether a pill is dimension or measure or continuous or discreet
affects the analysis and the view.

 Pill can contain continuous or discreet data. Continuous data can

take any value in a range. Discrete data have distinct separate
values.
 Dimensions are discreet and Measures are continuous. Discrete
pills are blue in color and continuous are green in color.
 Dimension and Measure can be changed to discrete or
continuous by right clicking and selecting the desired type.
 When a continuous pill is dropped into the view it creates
an axis.
 When a discrete pill is dropped into the view, it creates
a label/header.
 Color is also decided depending on whether – the pill is
continuous or discrete.
 Filtering on a discreet field such as category will ask for the
specific values.
 Filtering the continuous field such as profit, will first ask if you
want to filter at the row level or
 Aggregate level and then brings up options for continuous
ranges.
Q44. How is color created in a Map?
Ans.
 In Maps, the default color depends on whether a field is
continuous or discreet.
 A measure on Color will create a filled map. A dimension on the
color will create a Symbol map. But whether color is gradient or
palette still depends on whether the pill/field is continuous or
discreet.
Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.
Create a Map by using State and Region in one sheet and State and
Sales in another sheet.

Q45. How to organize/structure your workbook?

Ans.
It is important to structure your workbook for ease of use and
development.

 Fields can be organized in folders. Keep related fields in a folder.

 Hide all unused fields.
 Workbook many contain multiple sheets and dashboards. Color
related sheets and dashboards.
 Hide unused worksheets.
Q46. How to change/replace the data source after developing
visualizations or dashboard?
Ans.
Datasource can be replaced by following the below steps:

 Add new datasource to Tableau. Navigate to main menu and

select Data/New Data Source

 Make sure the new data source contains the same data structure
in terms of calculations, hierarchies, parameters etc.
 Right click on the old datasource and select Replace data.

 Select the Current and Replacement datasources

 After replacing the datasource, close the original datasource.

Q47. Which fields get automatically generated in Tableau?
Ans. Tableau generates few fields automatically in the data window.
These fields get generated when you connect to the data and create
a sheet. These fields are Measure Names, Measure Values and
Number of Records.
Q48. What is Data interpreter?
Ans.
Sometimes the source data is not in the right format. Headers and
rows are not stored correctly in the excel file. In such scenarios,
Tableau invokes “Data interpreter”.

Data interpreter option is invoked automatically when Tableau

recognizes that data is not in the right format.

Data Interpreter formats the data correctly and also provides you
option to Pivot the columns into rows.

Calculations in Tableau
Q49. What are the different types of Calculations available in
Tableau?
Ans.
Calculations or calculated field/s help in enhancing your visualization
and implementing business rules. Calculated fields are created by
using different Tableau functions.

Types of calculations available are:

 Regular Calculation. This calculation is sent to the data source

for processing and the result is returned to Tableau.
 Table Calculation. Calculation occurs on top of the returned
result set or chart.
 Quick Table Calculation. These calculations are predefined
Table calculations provided by Tableau.
 Level of Detail (LOD) calculation. This calculation computes
aggregation that is out of the level of detail of the view.
Q50. How to create a Regular calculation?
Ans. Regular calculation can be created by right clicking on the white
space in the data section and selecting “Create Calculated Field”.

Calculated field can also be created by navigating to the

Menu/Analysis and selecting Create Calculated Field.
Calculated field can use any of the Tableau defined functions such as

Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.
Use Orders Data sheet. Create a calculation for Sales with Discount.

Use the formula :

Sales * Discount.

Q51. How is Table calculation created?

Ans.
Since Table calculation works on the returned result set or the chart,
it can be created on the view canvas.

Create a visualization by placing dimension and measures on the

view canvas.

Click on the measure pill and select Add Table Calculation.

Table calculation can also be created just like regular calculation but
will use the Table calculation functions.

Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.
Use Orders data sheet. Place State on Rows and Sales on
the Columns Shelf.
Click on the Pill to add Table Calculation for Rank
Q52. What are Quick Table calculations in Tableau?
Ans.
Tableau provides some pre-defined Table calculations called Quick
Table calculations.

Quick Table calculations also works on returned result set and is

created by right clicking on the measure pill on the view canvas and
selecting “Quick Table Calculation”

The types of quick calculations available are

Q53. What is Addressing and Partitioning of Data?
Ans.
Tableau internally assigns all fields in the dataset to be addressing or
partitioning.

Partitioning field partitions data into separate individual sections.

Calculations are applied to these sections.
Addressing field provides the direction in which the calculation will
take place.
Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.
Use the Orders data sheet.
Place Order Date on the Rows, drill down to Quarters. Double click
on Sales.
Create a Table calculation for “Running Total”. After the visualization
is created, navigate to Sum(Sales) and select edit Table calculation.
Under Running Along, choose the option for Advanced and see
which columns are used for Partitioning and Addressing.
Switch the columns around to see the changes in the output.

Q54. What is First (), Last () and Index () functions in Tableau?

Ans.
Refer to Partitioning field’s definition in the previous question.

First, Last and Index Table calculation functions provide information

about the position of a data element within a partition.
First() – returns the number of rows from the current row to the first
row in the partition. It is a negative number.
Last () – returns the number of rows from the current row to the last
row in the partition. It is a positive number.
Index() – returns the index of the current row in the partition. The
first row index starts with 1.
Exercise:
Create an example to understand First, Last and Index functions.

Place Category on the Rows and drill down to Sub-Category. Place

Sales on the Columns. Create calculations for First(),Last() and Index()
and place them on the Table in the view canvas.
Observe the output.

Navigate to the function pills on the left under Marks and

use Compute using to change the partitioning fields and see the
difference in your output.

Q55. What are LOD (Level of Detail) calculations in Tableau?

Ans.
LOD calculations compute aggregation that is outside the “level of
detail” of the view.

LOD expression has a specific syntax and works with keywords such
as Include, Exclude and Fixed. LOD calculation follows the below
syntax

{Keyword [Dim1],[Dim2]: Sum(Measure field)}

Q56. Explain keywords in LOD expressions?

Ans.
LOD expressions have the following keywords

 Fixed computes the value using the mentioned dimensions

ignoring the dimension in the view
 Include computes the value using the mentioned dimension in
addition to the dimensions in the view
 Exclude will ignore the mentioned dimension. It ignores the
dimension even if it is used in the view.
 If no dimension or Keyword is specified then the expression is
“Table scoped” which is the complete aggregate of the data.
{Sum(Sales)}
 Only field names can be used in Dimension declaration.
Calculated fields can be used but not the calculation expression.
Sets, parameters or Table calculations are not allowed.
 The LOD expressions that use Exclude or Include always result in
measure. These results cannot be binned.
 Fixed can be an expression or a dimension based on the
aggregation used. If the aggregate expression results in measure
then the overall expression will be a measure. If aggregation such
as string, Boolean or Date types results in dimension then the
overall expression will be a dimension. Fixed expression can be
converted to a dimension or a measure.
 Numeric Fixed LOD expressions can be binned unless the
aggregate expression is a date.
Q57. Visualization displays Sum (Profit) by Zipcode. In the same
visualization, the user also wants to see “Sum (Profit) at the
State level”. What kind of function should be used in such
scenario?
Ans.
LOD expressions are used to aggregate outside the level of detail of
the view. In this case the level of detail is defined by ZipCode. So if a
developer wants to calculate the Sum by Profit at the State level, he
can create a calculated field with the following LOD expression and
place this calculated field in the Detail shelf.
{Fixed [State]: SUM ([Profit])}

This expression will compute at the State level. It will ignore the
dimension in the view i.e. ZipCode.

Q58. What is Attr function?

Ans.
Attr checks to see if there is only one value for a given field for all
rows in a result set. Attr is used to aggregate the dimension.

Whenever we need to check for a single value such as if State = “NJ”,

use Attr

Q59. When using Dimension field with a measure field in a

calculation, you get the following error. What is the resolution
of the error?

Ans.
This error occurs when a dimension is used with aggregated
function. If the dimension returns more than one row of data, this
error occurs. This error can be resolved by using ATTR function with
the dimension.
Q60. Source data contains the EmpID and Name in the format
EmpID-Name. How will you separate the EmpID and Name into 2
fields?
Ans.
On the data window, navigate to the field.

Right click on the field, select Transform and Split.

Split will split the columns using the delimiter -. The split function will
create two separate columns- EmpID and Name.
Q61. How are dates handled in Tableau?
Ans.
Tableau provides different options and functions to manage dates
effectively.

 Date property can be set by right clicking on the data source in

the Data section and select Date properties. Week Start day can
be selected. Also there is an option to specify a Fiscal Year Start
Month. The Developer can also specify the Date Format to be
followed in the design.

 Dates can be Discreet or Continuous. Date level of a field can be

changed by dropping it into the Row or Column shelf and
selecting pill drop menu. Using this menu, dates can be changed
between discreet and continuous.

 Sometimes Dates are not interpreted correctly by Tableau and

dates – comes as String or some other format. In such cases, a
field can be converted to Date in Tableau. On the data window,
right click on the field and select “Change Data Type”.
 Custom date format can be created by right clicking on the date
field and selecting Create Custom Date.
 Dates functions available in Tableau are

Q62. A Developers need to calculate the difference between two

dates – Order Date and Ship Date. Which function will be best
suited?
Ans. DATEDIFF(‘day’,[Order Date],[Ship Date])

Visualizations
Q63. What is a visualization?
Ans. Visualization is a pictorial representation of data.
Q64. How is visualization created in Tableau?
Ans.
In Tableau visualization is created on a Sheet.

 To create any visualization, the developer needs to

drop Dimension and/or Measure on the view canvas.
 When you drop a measure in the view canvas, Tableau
automatically aggregates the data. Default aggregation is Sum.
These aggregations can be changed to other types.
 Show Me feature suggests the best visualization for the number
of Dimensions and Measures selected.
 Dimensions or measures can be used to create filters and quick
filters. These filters or quick filters help in providing context to the
data.
 Visualization can have Color, calculated field, Shape and Size.
 One or multiple Sheets are combined to create Dashboard.
 Sheets and Dashboards are used to create a Story.
Q65. How are Maps created in Tableau?
Ans.
 Maps are created for the geographical or location fields.
 Tableau automatically identifies geographical fields like County,
State, City and zip-codes. It assigns Latitude and Longitude to
each value of the field based on the data present in Tableau Map
Server.
 Fields having the geographical role assigned, can be identified by
a globe symbol next to them.
 Sometimes Tableau cannot recognize a field as a geographical
location. For example, sometimes Zip code would be identified as
number. In such instances you can right click and assign a
geographical role to the field.
 If Tableau does not contain the desired Latitudes and Longitudes,
you can define them in a database or a csv file.
Geographical roles available in Tableau are

 Area code contains USA telephone area codes.

 CBSA/MSA denotes USA metropolitan Statistical Areas.
 City represents worldwide cities with population more than
15,000.
 Congressional District represents U.S. congressional districts.
 County/Region represents worldwide countries.
 County represents counties of few countries such a USA, France,
German etc.
 State/Province represents worldwide states.
 Zip code/ Postalcode of selected countries are available
Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls located
under \My Tableau Repository\Data sources.
Use Orders data sheet. Place State on Rows and Sales on the
Column Shelf. This will create a Map which will give Sales for each
State.
Q66. When a developer uses City and Sales to generate a Map,
“146 unknown” is displayed at the bottom of the Map. How can
this issue be resolved?
Ans.
“146 Unknown” means Tableau is unable to plot some 146 cities.
Some of the cities may also be duplicate.

In such a scenario, drop State on the Detail shelf.

Alternatively, you can click on “146 Unknown” and from the popup
dialogue box select “Edit Locations”

Q67. How is data granularity maintained in Tableau?

Ans.
In Tableau, granularity of data is defined by the Dimensions field.
Dimension field dropped in Detail shelf will change the granularity of
the visualization.
Dropping measure in the Detail shelf will have no effect.
Q68. What is ToolTip and how to provide a Tool Tip?
Ans.
Tooltip is a shelf next to Detail.
 Tooltip displays the data description, when the user hovers over
the data elements of the chart.
 Tooltip displays the data elements that are in the view canvas.
You can display other data elements by placing them on the
Detail. Use those data elements that do not change the
granularity of the data.
 Tool Tip can be formatted to add different colors and fonts.
 Any comments can also be displayed in the ToolTip.
The screen shot given below shows Tooltip when the user hovers
over a state in the Map.

Q69. How to make sure that all the sheets have the same look
and feel?
Ans. Complete all the formatting changes on one sheet, say, Source
Sheet. Right click on the sheet and select Copy Formatting.
Go to the Target Sheet or other sheets – where you want to copy the
formatting, right click on the sheet and select “Paste formatting”.

Q70. Source data contains several Sub-categories – Binders,

Bookcases, Chairs and Copiers. The requirement is to combine
all these Sub-categories into a new dimension called “Office
Supplies”. What technique can be used to achieve this
requirement?
Ans. Fields can be combined into a new dimension by creating a
Group.
Groups are used to combine different dimension values. Once
grouped, these values show up as a new dimension field under
Dimensions. Group is also used to improve data quality in a
dashboard. For eg., if visualization contains values such as Unites
States, USA, US , you can combine all these values into one Group
and have a value like USA.

Q71. How is a Group created?

Ans.
A Group can be created from the view canvas such as from Table,
Bar chart or Scatter chart.

On a Bar chart, select the headers of a dimension and click on the

“pin” icon.

On a scatter chart, highlight the marks on the chart and click on the
“pin” icon to group.

Group can also be created in the data window. Group can also be
calculated by creating calculated field.

Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls Use Orders
data sheet. Create a Group called Office Supplier – Group.

Q72. What are Bins in Tableau?

Ans.
Bins are used to convert a continuous measure or dimension into
discreet buckets. Bins, when created, display as a field under
Dimensions.

Bins are created by right clicking on a measure field and selecting

Create/Bins. Tableau suggests a size of the Bin or it can be entered
by the developer.

Bins can also be created by using a calculated field.

Q73. How do colors work in Tableau?

Ans.
In Tableau, measures or dimensions are colored by placing them on
the Color Shelf.

 Color of a data element is decided by it being continuous or

discreet.
 A discreet field on the Color shelf, produces a “color palette”. A
continuous field creates a “gradient”.
 Click on the color shelf to Edit Colors.
 To display consistent color, double click on the color and provide
HTML code or RGB values.
Q74. How to create custom color palette in Tableau?
Ans.
Custom color palette can be provided to Tableau by modifying the
Prefrences.tps file. It is an XML file and is located under “My Tableau
Repository” folder on your machine or where Tableau desktop is
installed.
If no custom color is specified, this file appears with place holder
such as

<?xml version=’1.0′?>

<workbook>

</workbook>

Custom color can be specified in this file by using the HTML tags for
Color Type and hexadecimal value.

Q75. Developer wants to create a “subset of data” such as “Top

10 customers by sales”. This subset of data can be used as a
filter in other sheets. What visualization technique should be
used in such a scenario?
Ans.
Sets are used to create sub-set of the data based on a condition such
as, Top 10 Customers by sales.

 Sets can be created manually from the visualization in view

canvas. On a scatter graph, highlight the marks which you want to
use to create a Set, and select Create Set by clicking on the
overlapping circle icon from the popup tool bar.
 Sets can also be created dynamically from the data section. Right
click on any dimension and select Create/Sets. On the dialogue
box, navigate to Top

 Sets can be used with other sets. Sets can be used as a filter. They
can also be used in a calculated field.
 Sets once created, show up in the data section below Measures.
 Sets are available in all the sheets and can be used in multiple
visualizations.
Exercise:
Use Tableau sample data source Sample- Superstore.xls

Use Orders data sheet. Create a SET for Top 10 Customers by Sales.

Q76. What is the difference between Sets and Filters?

Ans.
Sets and filters are similar with few differences.

 A set can be used as a filter. Filters are available only in one sheet
but Sets are available as a part of data and therefore available in
any sheet you create.
 Since Set becomes a part of the data, it is available when the
datasource is saved as a .TDS file and shared across other
dashboards.
 Sets get created automatically when Action is used in a
dashboard.
 Sets get created, when User filter is applied to the dashboard for
security.
Q77. What are the best practices of developing visualization in
Tableau?
Ans.
Best practices should be followed to keep the design clean. Data
should be organized and visualization should be easy to understand.

 Use folders to organize related fields or calculations.

 Name the data connections appropriately.
 Use standard naming conventions for the calculated fields.
 Use standard naming convention for the parameters.
 Use standard naming conventions to name the sheets and
dashboards.
Q78. What are the charts types available in Tableau?
Ans.
Tableau provides different kinds of visualization objects. Show Me
option shows all the charts available. Based on selected dimensions
and measures, Tableau shows the suggested charts in “Show Me”

Q79. What are the data elements required to create a chart?

Ans.
Most of the charts require one or more dimensions and one or more
Measures/expressions.

Q80. What chart should be used to show the relationship

between two measures, say Sales and Quantity?
Ans.
The relationship between two measures is displayed using a Scatter
chart.

Q81. A user wants to see – Sales and Profit by Region on the

same chart. Sales should be displayed as a bar and Profit as a
Line. What kind of visualization should be created?
Ans.
Combo chart or combination chart should be used to display 2
measures by a dimension.

Place Region on the Columns Shelf. Drop Sales and Profit on the
Rows shelf.
Right click on the pill of Profit and select Dual axis.

Click on Sum(Sales) pill and change the Mark Type to Bar

Click on Sum(Profit) pill and change the Mark Type to Line.

Exercise:
Use the Orders data sheet. Create the above combo chart for Sales
and Profit by Region.

Q82. What are Filters? How many types of Filters are there in
Tableau?
Ans.
Filters help in restricting or excluding data. Filters are applied
independent of each other. Each time a filter is applied a separate
query is sent to the data source. Exceptions to the rule are the
“Context filters”.

Tableau provides different types of filters.

 Data Source filters. These filters are added to the data source.
These filters restrict whole data.

 Extract filters. These filters are implemented while creating an

extract. Right click on the datasource and select Extract data. In
the extract data options, select the filter/s.
 Context filters. These filters create a subset of data. Context filter,
if applied, acts like a temp table. All the other filters act on this
sub-set of data.
 Quick filters. These filters give the user an option to select a filter
while viewing a dashboard or a visualization. Place a field on the
Filters shelf, right click and select “Show filter”

Q83. What is the difference between using Dimension as a filter

and Measure as a filter?
Ans.
Usually Dimensions are discreet and Measures are continuous. When
a Dimension field is used as a filter, it displays as separate categories
in a List or a Drop-down. If Measure field is used as a filter, it gets
displayed as a slider.

Q84. What is a parameter?

Ans.
 Parameters provide a dynamic value to the hardcoded or
constant value in a visualization.
 Parameters are single select and provide context only when used
in a calculated field.
 Parameters can work as a data input to the visualization.
 A good use of parameter will be, for example, if you want to
change the measure in a chart based on the values selected by a
user.
 Parameters are displayed at the bottom of the data section.
Q85. Is Parameter a filter?
Ans. Parameter is not a filter but can work with a filter.
Q86. There are 3 measures – Sales, Profit and Quantity. A
Developer wants change the visualization based on user
selection of these measures. What technique should be used to
achieve this requirement?
Ans.
This can be done by creating a string parameter, say “Param select
Measure” for these measures.

Use this parameter in a calculated field, say, “Select Measure”

Create a visualization using this calculated field Select Measure.

Display the “Param Select Measure” for user selection.

Exercise:
Create a new sheet, use Region, Sales, Profit and Quantity.

Create a parameter, so that user can pick a measure from the list
and it should change the measure in the visualization.

Q87. In how many ways can Sorting be done in Tableau?

Ans.
Sorting means arranging data in ascending, descending or
customized order.

 Sorting can be ascending or descending. Sorting can be on

dimensions or measures.
 Sorting option can be selected from the tool bar.

 Sorting option is also available when you mouse hover over the
axis of a chart.
 Pill sorting option is available only for dimensions.
 Sorting can also be performed by dragging and dropping data
elements on a chart.
 Color legends also can be sorted by manually.

Dashboards and Visual Story

Q88. What is a Dashboard?
Ans.
BI dashboards are similar to the car dashboard.

Car dashboard provides the complete status of the working of a car,

such as, Gas, mileage, Air pressure and so on.

BI Dashboard provides a snapshot of the organization or Key

Performance Indicator (KPI).

Q89. How are Dashboards are in Tableau?

Ans.
Dashboards in Tableau are created by either clicking on the
Dashboard icon at the bottom of the screen

or from the Menu/ Dashboard.

 Dashboards contain one or multiple sheets.

 Actions provide interactivity to the dashboards.
 Filters present in the individual sheets are to dashboards too.
 These filters can be applied to a specific sheet or all sheets using
the datasource.
 Dashboard contains “Dashboard Objects”. These objects are
available in the left pane. These dashboard objects are layout
containers – horizontal or vertical. These objects can be used to
add Image, webpage, text and Blank container. Use these objects
to enhance your dashboard.
 Dashboard size and sheet coordinates can also be specified.
Exercise:
Create Dashboard using Sheets, FilledMap_color, Combo chart,
Parameters and TableCalculation_Rank.

Q90. How can interactivity be achieved in a dashboard?

Ans. Interactivity between dashboards is achieved by the use of
“Actions”.
Q91. What are Actions?
Ans.
Actions provide interactivity to the dashboards.

Actions can be of different types

 Filter Actions. This type of Action is used to create interaction

between the sheets in a dashboard.
 Highlight Actions. It is used to color the selected Marks on a chart.
 URL Actions. This type of Action is used to create a hyperlink to
another webpage.
 Actions can be configured by navigating to Menu –
Dashboard/Actions.
Q92. A developer has created a dashboard using 4 sheets, say,
FilledMap_color, Combo chart, Parameters and
TableCalculation_Rank. How can he make sure that when the
user clicks on a data element on one chart, the other charts are
also filtered with that data element?
Ans.
“Use as filter” property in a chart, makes the data element in that
chart act as a filter to other sheets/charts.

On the desired chart, click on the pull down menu on the right and
select Use as Filter.
Q93. What is Story in Tableau?
Ans.
Story uses dashboards and sheets to provide detail information
about a measure or KPI.

Sheets or Dashboards make up a Story. A Story can contain multiple

tabs. Story is created like any other sheet by clicking on the icon at
the bottom of the screen

Exercise:
If you have created different sheets and dashboards using the
previous exercises, create a Story by using
FilledMap_Color,Db_SalesDashboard and Sets sheets/Dashboards.

Q94. How will you deploy Tableau workbook on the server?

Ans.
Tableau workbook can be published to the Tableau Server by using
Tableau Desktop.

 Open your workbook on Tableau desktop.

 Navigate to Menu/Server and select Publish Workbook
 It will ask you for the server credentials. On successful login, you
will get the options to publish your entire workbook or specific
sheets.
 Entire workbook or specific sheets in a workbook can be
published.
Q95. In a visualization, you have data for all the Segments. In
the source data, Users are assigned to a specific Segments.
Requirement is that the users should see data only for their
assigned Segments. What technique should be used to achieve
this requirement?
Ans.
The above requirement can be fulfilled by creating User Filter in
Tableau Desktop during design.

User Filter will work when Users login to the Tableau Server. To
implement User Filter, you should have to access to Tableau Server.

To create User filter, on Tableau Desktop, navigate to Menu-

Server.Login to the Server.

Navigate to Menu – Server – Create User Filter using the Segment.

In this way when the User login’s he will see the data only for his
segment

Q96. How will you schedule an data extract in Tableau?

Ans.
 Create an extract on Tableau desktop and configure it for Full
refresh or incremental load.
 Navigate to your sheet and right click on your data source and
select “Publish to Server”
 On Publish Data Source to Tableau Server dialogue, you can set
the schedule.

 This will publish and set the schedule on the Server.

 This schedule can be modified any time.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q97. Tableau can connect to different data sources but on my
version of Tableau desktop, I see only limited data source
options.
Ans.
You have installed Tableau desktop personal edition. Personal
edition allows you to connect to only excel and text files. All the other
data sources are available with the licensed version.

Q98. Multiple users in different departments are developing

dashboards. How to make sure that dashboards will show a
single version of the truth and the enterprise wide solution is
delivered?
Ans.
We should implement some practices that will ensure the enterprise
wide implementation
 Data source should be created only once. All the common
transformations and calculations should be present in this data
source.
 Data source should be shared with other users creating the
dashboards. Data Source/s can be shared by publishing them on
the server or by creating a TDS file.
 Look and feel of the dashboard should be the same. Color
scheme, fonts etc. should be decided and implemented in all the
dashboards.
 Create a dashboard review board that will review all the
dashboards before moving to production. This will ensure that
standards are maintained.
Q99. How does licensing work on Tableau server?
Ans.
Tableau Server licensing comes in two modes – User based or core
based. User based licensing restricts how many users can work on
your installation of Tableau Server. Tableau Server can be installed
on a single machine or multiple machines in a cluster.
Core-based licensing provides license on number of cores on a
single machine installation or multi-node installation. It does not
restrict the number of users in the system.
Q100. When a measure is placed on the view canvas – row or
column, sometimes I see field prefixed by an aggregation
function like Sum and at other times I see Agg()
Ans.
Tableau automatically aggregates measures on the view canvas.
Default aggregation in Sum.

When you drop a measure field, the aggregation applied is Sum. This
aggregation can be changed to Average or any other type.

When an “aggregated measure” is used in a calculation and then the

calculation is placed on the view canvas, it shows Agg in front of the
calculated column. It means that aggregation is built within the
calculation. This aggregation cannot be changed.

Q101. How will you load new and updated rows of data in
Tableau?
Ans. Create an extract and choose the incremental load option.
Q102. How big should be the Tableau TDE file?
Ans.
Tableau Data Extract (TDE) file is an extract of data and it depends on
the size of the source data. As it is a compressed file, it will be smaller
than the original size of the source data.

Q103. I have created a TDS and TDSX file. Which file will be
bigger and why?
Ans.
TDSX file will be a larger file as it is packaged with data.

Q104. What is What-if analysis and how is it implemented?

Ans.
What-if scenario involves accepting user input in the dashboard and
changing the calculations based on the user input. A good example
will be discount offered, where the user wants to know, at run time,
how his overall profitability will change if he changes the discount
price.

What-if analysis can be performed by the use of Parameters.

Q105. How to implement Tableau multi-developer environment?

Ans.
Multi-developer environment is required when a number of
dashboards are to be developed by different developers.

In such an implementation/s, the team can be divided into data

modelers and dashboard designers. Alternatively, one complete
dashboard can be assigned to a single developer. But when the
dashboard is huge then multiple developers can work on the same
dashboard and create visualization in separate workbooks.

There can be many ways to implement such scenarios

 Data modeler/s create data sources and save it as TDS file or

publish to the server. This will ensure that all data standards and
transformations are maintained.
 Developers connect to this published data source to develop
dashboards.
 If sheets are developed by different developers, then they can be
merged into single dashboard by performing copy/paste.
 Once all sheets are merged into one workbook, there will be
many data sources as data sources are tied to the sheets. These
data sources are to be replaced by the primary data source and
all other data sources can be closed.
Q106. Can I copy and paste the visualization from one Tableau
workbook to another?
Ans.
You can copy a visualization or a sheet from one Tableau workbook
to another. The Sheet is tied to the data source, so when you copy
the sheet, to another workbook, the data source will be copied as
well. You can always replace this new data source with the one in the
copied workbook and close the datasource which is no longer in use.

Q107. Source table contains different data elements without any

header information, what techniques should be applied to
categorize all those fields and have common name for such data
elements.
Ans.
On a scatter plot, highlight all such data elements and create a
Group. This group will be displayed as a field in the Dimension
section, which can be renamed.

Q108. How to test a Tableau application?

Ans.
A Tableau application should be tested at multiple levels. The basic
principle is to always compare against the source data

 Check it against the original data source. Check the count of rows
in Tableau by using “Number of Records” measure and source
table.
 Compare the aggregations in the charts against the database
SQL.
 For excel data sources, use excel filters and formulas. Export the
data out of Tableau, by right clicking on the chart and selecting
view data

Q109. What should be the size of a Tableau workbook?

Ans.
The size of the workbook depends on the specific requirement.
There is no single size. Size of the dashboard depends on the data,
number of objects and functionality of the dashboard.

Q110. How you will open a twb bigger than 4GB in size?
Ans.
If the dashboard size is larger than the RAM size of your computer
then you can open it on the server which will have more RAM.

Q111. What is Performance Recording on Tableau desktop?

Ans.
 Performance recording feature records performance information
on the various events on a dashboard as users interact with the
worksheet and visualization.
 This feature can be turned-on on the Tableau desktop, and can
be turned-off once the recording is done.
 This feature records performance information on the various
events on a dashboard as users interact with the worksheets and
visualization.
 It creates a workbook under \Documents\My Tableau
Repository\Logs. The name of this workbook is similar to
performance_20160808T084552_11184.tab.
 This workbook can be analyzed for performance metrics. To turn-
on performance recording, navigate to help on the menu and
select.

Q112. How to performance tune Tableau data model and

dashboard?
Ans.
Some of the ways to improve performance of a Tableau dashboard

 Use performance recorder to gain knowledge of the performance

of different sheets and actions in a workbook.
 Use extracts, if possible. Extracts are faster than live connection.
 Minimize the number of fields in your workbook. Hide fields
which are not required.
 Reduce the number of filters used on a worksheet and
dashboard. In Tableau, filters are applied separately and each
 time a query is sent to the data source. Multiple filters will slow
down the application.
 All complex calculations should be performed at the data source
level.
 Number of sheets will affect the performance. Delete or hide any
unused sheets.
Q113. In your visualization, you want show – if the Sales is
greater than 15000 then “Good Sales” else “Not so good sales”.
What kind of calculation you will use to implement this rule.
Ans.
This scenario can be implemented by creating a regular calculation.

For example,

Q114. Developer wants to display different colors in a bar chart

based on the following condition.
 If Sales is > 50,000 then display bar in a green color
 If Sales is < 50,000 then display bar in a red color.
He uses the following calculation and places it on the Color
shelf. Will he get the desired color?
If (Sum([Sales]) > 50000) then “Green”
ELSEIF (Sum([Sales]) < 50000) then “Red”
END
Ans.
No. Green and Red in above calculation does not mean color. It is
just a calculated field/measure. After placing this calculation on the
Color shelf, automatic color will be displayed. To change to specific
colors, developer should navigate to Color shelf, click on Edit Colors
and set the desired colors.
Q115. You want to uninstall and reinstall Tableau desktop on
our machine. What is the easiest way to take a backup of your
existing data sources, workbooks and other Tableau related
files?
Ans.
When you install Tableau desktop, it creates My Tableau Repository
folder in your documents folder. The easiest way to back-up your
previous work is to rename the existing “My Tableau Repository”
folder and then uninstall or re-install Tableau

Q116. A developer has created an initial dashboard using a fields

from the source data. In the next data run, the name of one of
the fields used in the dashboard changed and the dashboard
shows error. How can this error be resolved.
Ans.
The developer can right click on the field and select Replace
references and select the new field.

Q117. Your new team is struggling in understanding Tableau

dashboard designed by an ex-employee. There is no
documentation or knowledge available. How you will
understand the previously built workbook.
Ans.
Follow the steps below to understand a previously built workbook

 Review the data sources. Edit the data source to see if any filter is
used while extracting the data. Check to see if the connection is a
live connection or an extract.
 Developer may have renamed the dimensions and measures.
 Right click on the dimensions and measures and select Describe
to get information on the source columns. Fields prefixed with =
are calculated fields. Right click and edit to understand their
definition.
 A delta symbol next to the measure pill in the view, shows that
Table Calculation is implemented. Edit Table Calculation to
understand the definition.
 At the bottom of the data window look for Parameters and Sets.
You can edit and view the definitions of these elements.
 Right click on the status bar and select “Unhide” to display the
hidden sheets.
 See the symbols of the data source to understand if they are
extracts and if using data blending.
 Check the output of the dashboards to see different sheets. See
what data elements, objects, sheets are displayed on the
dashboard.
 Check for any aliases in the fields.
 Look for the Actions in the dashboard. On the Menu, click on the
“Dashboard” and navigate to “Actions”.
 Locate the log files under “My Repository folder”.
Q118. What are the best practices to be followed while creating
a dashboard?
Ans.
While creating a dashboard, care should be taken so that the
dashboard is be clean and easy to understand. The following
practices can be followed

 Design a dashboard for a specific Screen resolution. Discuss with

your user community and decide on a screen resolution that will
cater to all the users
 Design a Screen layout which makes the navigation on the screen
natural and easy.
 Avoid using complex calculations in the dashboard. Move such
calculations to the data source.
 Use muted colors. So that focus is in the dashboard not on the
color.
 Create a template and include all the layout related attributes on
this template. Use this template to develop dashboards.
Q119. Dashboard displays Quick filter, say, Category. By default
all the filters show (All) option. How can you turn this option off?

Ans.
From the pull down menu of the quick filter, select Customize and
uncheck “Show “All” Value.

Q120. What development methodology is preferred in Tableau

development – Agile or Waterfall?
Ans.
Tableau development should follow Agile methodology.

Traditional methodology or water fall model, worked in a sequential

order – Feasibility study, Requirements, Design, Testing, Deployment
and support. This method though good for complex systems,
considered to be time consuming in answering business questions at
a rapid pace.
For a clear understanding, data analytics in the tableau can be classified into
two section

Tableau Desktop

Tableau Desktop has a rich feature set and allows you to code and customize
reports. It ables users to create charts, reports, and dashboards.

Tableau Public

It is the Tableau version specially build for cost-effective users. By the word
“Public,” it means that the workbooks created cannot be saved locally. In
turn, it should be saved to Tableau’s public cloud, which can be viewed and
accessed by anyone.
 Tableau Server

The software is specifically used to share the workbooks, visualizations that

are created in the Tableau Desktop application across the organization.

Tableau Online

As the name suggests, it is an online sharing tool for Tableau. Its

functionalities are similar to Tableau Server, but the data is stored on servers
hosted in the cloud, which are maintained by the Tableau group.

Tableau Reader

Tableau Reader is a free tool that enables the user to view the workbooks
and visualizations created using Tableau Desktop or Tableau Public. The data
can be filtered, but editing and modifications are restricted. The security level
is zero in Tableau Reader as anyone who gets the workbook can view it using
Tableau Reader.

29) Differentiate between Excel and Tableau?

The difference between Excel and Tableau is:

Excel Tableau
Excel is spreadsheet software that is used Tableau is a data visualization tool that
for data manipulation. is used for analysis.
It is ideal for statistical analysis of It is ideal for the quick and easy
structured data. representation of big data.
Macro and visual primary language are It can be used with no programming
must to fully utilize excel. experience.
The inbuilt security feature is not as good The inbuilt security feature is not as
as compared to Tableau. good as compared to Excel.
Best for preparing on-off reports with
Best while working with big data.
small data
Excel integrates with around 60 Tableaus integrated with over 250
applications. applications.
30) Explain the classification of tableau

Tableau is classified into two sections:

 Developer Tools: The Tableau tools that are used for development,
such as the creation of dashboards, charts, report generation,
visualization, fall into this category. Tableau products, under this
category, are the Tableau Desktop and Tableau Public.
 Sharing Tools: As the name suggests, the purpose of the tool is to
share the visualizations, reports, dashboards that were created using
the developer tools. Products that fall into this category are Tableau
Online, Server, and Reader.

31) What is the difference between Traditional BI Tools and Tableau?

The difference between Traditional BI Tools and Tableau is:

Traditional BI Tools Tableau

Tableau BI can handle a huge volume Power BI can handle a limited volume
of data with better performance. of data.
Tableau works best when there is a Power Bl doesn’t work better with a
vast data in the cloud. massive amount of data
Power BI Interface is very easy to
Tableau is a little difficult.
learn.
Power BI concentrates more on
The information can be stored by
reporting and analytical modeling but
using the Tableau server.
not for storing the data.
Tableau deploys MDX for measures Power BI uses DAX for calculating and
and dimensions. measuring columns.

32) List the various datatypes in Tableau?

Various data types in the tableau are: 1) Boolean, 2) date, 3) date and time, 4)
geographical values, and 5) text/string, number.

33) Explain Tableau Desktop Professional

Tableau Desktop Professional is pretty much similar to Tableau Desktop. The
difference is that the work created in the Tableau Desktop can be published
online or in Tableau Server. The professional version provides full access to
all sorts of the datatype. It is best suitable for those who wish to publish their
work in Tableau Server.

33) What are the dimensions?

Dimensions are the values of attributes used for multiple dimensions. It has
a reference of a product key form the table. It can contain product name,
color, size, product type, description, etc.

34) What is a group?

A group is a collection of dimension members which can make categories of

higher level.

35) What is the key difference between .twb and .twbx extension?

Twb is a one of the XML document that contains all the layouts and
selections made by the user whereas Twbx is a ‘zipped’ archive which
contains .twb and external files like background images and extracts.

36) What is Set?

Set is a custom filed that defines a data subset based on some computed
condition or data point.

37) Explain various types of Joins in tableau

Various types of Joins in Tableau are:

Inner Join:

It joins all the common records between two tables or sheets. The joining
condition can be given based on the primary key. One or more joining
conditions can be specified to join the tables. Many tables can be joined
together in Tableau for visualization.
Left Join:

A left join is used to join all the records from a left table and common records
from the right table. One or more join conditions can be specified to left join
two different tables.

Right Join:

A right join is used to join all the records from the right table and common
records from the left table. Based on the requirements, one or more joining
conditions can be set.

Outer Join:

An Outer join is used to join all the records from both the left and right table.
Joining conditions can be set to join common records.

38) Explain the context filter

A Context filter is an independent filter that can create a separate dataset out
of the original data set and compute the selections made in the worksheet.
One or more categorical filter that separates the dataset into major parts can
be used as a context filter. All other filters used in the worksheet works
based on the selection of context filter. The functions of context filters can be
explained through an excel sheet.

39) What is Dimension Filters?

When a dimension is used to filter the data in a worksheet, it is called a

Dimension filter. It is a non-aggregated filter where a dimension, group, sets,
and the bin can be added. A dimension filter can be applied through the top
or bottom conditions, wildcard match, and formula.

40) What is Dimension Filters?

A measure filter can filter the data based on the values present in a measure.
The aggregated measure values can be used in measure filters to modify the
data.
41) What are the advantages of Using Context Filters?

The advantages of Using Context Filters

 Improve Performance: When context filter is used in large data

sources, it can improve the performance as it creates a temporary
dataset part based on the context filter selection. The performance can
be effectively improved through the selection of major categorical
context filters.
 Dependent Filter Conditions: Context filters can be used to create
dependent filter conditions based on the business requirement. When
the data source size is large, context filters can be selected on the
primary category, and other relevant filters can be executed.

42) Mention the primary difference between joining and blending in

Tableau

Joining is a term that is used when the user combines data from the same
source like tables in oracle or excel file while Blending needs two completely
defined data sources report

43) Name the components of a Dashboard

Important components of a Dashboard are:

 Horizontal: A horizontal layout allows the designer to group

dashboard components and worksheets across the page.
 Vertical: Vertical containers enables the user to group dashboard
components and worksheets top to bottom down your page. It also
allows users to edit the width of all elements at once.
 Text: It contains all textual files
 Image Extract: Tableau applies some code to extract the image that is
stored in XML.
 URL action: It is a hyperlink that points to file, web page, or other web-
based resources.

44) Explain story in Tableau

A story is a sheet containing a dashboard or worksheet sequence that works
together to convey particular information.

45) Explain Tableau drive

Tableau drive is one methodology that can be used for scaling out analytics.
It is based on best practices from successful deployments of an enterprise.

46) Explain the Tableau architecture

Different components of Tableau architecture are:

Data server: The primary component of Tableau Architecture is the Data

sources it can connect to it.

Data Connectors: The Data Connectors provide an interface to connect

external data sources to the Tableau Data Server.
Components of Tableau Server:

1) Application Server:

The application server is used to provide the authentications and

authorizations. It handles the administration and permission for web and
mobile interfaces.

2) VizQL Server:

VizQL server is used to convert the queries from the data source into
visualizations. Once the client request is forwarded to VizQL process, it sends
the query directly to the data source and retrieves information in the form of
images.

3) Gateway:

The gateway channelizes the requests from users to Tableau components.

When the client makes a request, it is forwarded to the external load
balancer for processing. The gateway works as a distributor of processes to
various components.

4) Clients:

The dashboards and visualizations in Tableau server can be viewed and

edited using different clients. The Clients are Tableau Desktop, web browser,
and mobile applications.

47) Explain Measure filter

A measure filter can filter the data based on the values present in a measure.
The aggregated values can be used in measure filters to modify the data.

48) Distinguish between Treemaps and Heat Maps

The difference between Treemaps and Heat Maps are:

TreeMap Heat Map
TreeMap represents and shows data Heat Map represents the data
hierarchically as a group of nested graphically with multiple colors to
rectangles. represent values.
It can be used for comparing the
It can be used for comparing the
categories with size, colors, and
categories depend on size and color.
illustrating the hierarchical data.

49) What is the use of toolbar Icon?

Toolbar icon present below the menu bar can be used to edit the workbook
using different features such as undo, redo, save, new data source,
slideshow, and so on.

50) What is the use of a blended axis?

Blended axis is used to blend measures that share the axis when they have
the same scale.

51) What is the use of dual-axis?

Dual Axis enables users to compare measures. It is useful when they like to
compare two measures having different scales.

52) What is LOD expression?

A LOD or (Level of Detail) expression is used to run complicated queries that

involve many dimensions at the data source level.

53) Explain data modeling

Data modeling (data modeling) is the process of creating a data model for
the data to be stored in a database.

This data model is a conceptual representation of Data objects, the

associations between different data objects, and the rules. Data modeling
helps in the visual representation of data and enforces business rules,
regulatory compliances, and government policies on the data.
54) Explain stacked bar chart

Stacked Bar Chart is a chart that is composed of more than one bar that is
stacked horizontally. The length of the bar is depended on the value given in
the data point. This type of chart makes work more comfortable and helps
the user to know changes in all the variables. Users can match the wanted
changes in their future values.

55) Explain Page shelf

Page shelf can be used to view the visualization in video format by keeping
the relevant filter on the page shelf.

56) Explain filter shelf

The filters that can control the visualization can be placed on the filter shelf,
and the required dimensions or measures can be filtered in.

57) Define a bullet graph

A bullet graph is a modification of a bar graph. It is responsible for

comparing the performance of measures.

58) Explain bar chart in Tableau

A bar chart can compare the data across different categories. The height of
the bars represents the measured value of each category. It can be
represented as vertical and horizontal type bar charts.

59) Explain VIZQL in Tableau

VIZQL stands for Visual Inquiry Language. It is a combination of SQL and VIZ.
Visual query languages are similar to the SQL language. This language
converts queries of data into visual images.

60) Mention various types of functions commonly used in Tableau

Various types of functions commonly used in the tableau are:

  String functions: It includes LEFT, LOWER, LTRIM, MID, and more.
 Logical functions: This function contains and, else, else if, if, ifnull,
isdate, isnull, max, min, etc.
 Aggregate functions: It includes attr, collect, count, covar, and covarp.
 User functions: User define functions contain full name, is the full
name, is member of, username, username, user domains, etc.

61) What is Line Chart?

A-Line Chart is used to compare the data over different periods. A line chart
is created by a series of dots. These dots represent the measured value in
each period. The procedure to create a line graph is shown below.

62) List the categories of dimensions in Tableau

The categories of dimensions in Tableau are:

 Slowly ever
 Chop-chop ever
 Unchanged dimension
 Shrunken dimension
 Junk dimension
 Conformed dimension
 Degenerated dimension
 Role enjoying dimension
 Inferred dimension

63) What are the various ways to use parameters in Tableau?

Various ways to use parameters in Tableau are: 1) filters, 2) calculated fields,

3) actions, 4) measure-swaps, 5) changing views, and 6) auto-updates

64) What is the user filter?

User filter secures the row-level data present in a dataset. It can be used
when publishing the workbook on a server. Different filter conditions can be
applied to different users.
65) Define Histogram chart

A histogram can show the values present in a measure and its frequency. It
shows the distribution of numerical data. As it shows both frequency and
measure value by default, it can be useful in many cases.

66) What are the user functions in Tableau?

The user functions in Tableau are unique functions that Tableau developers
can use to perform operations on the registered users on Tableau Online or
Tableau Server.

67) Explain paged workbook

A paged workbook in Tableau consists of different pages based on specific

criteria.

68) Define shelves in Tableau

The Shelves in Tableau are demarcated areas that are used for particular
purposes. There are several shelves on a Tableau sheet-like, Filter shelf, Page
shelf, Rows and Column shelf, Marks shelf, etc.

69) Explain bin

Bin is a user-defined set of data that are of the equal interval that stores data
values according to or which fits in bin size.

70) Explain bubble Chart

A bubble chart visualizes the measures and dimensions in the form of

bubbles. The sizes of the bubbles determine the size of the measured value
for effective visualization. The color of bubbles can be set to differentiate the
members present in a dimension.

71) Define Hyper

Hyper is a high-performance in-memory information engine innovation. It

allows clients to analyze complex or large informational sets speedier. This
can be done by proficiently assessing analytically questions which are in the
value-based database.

72) What are the combined Sets?

The combined Sets in Tableau are handy to compare two existing sets for
further analysis.

73) What is Backgrounder?

The backgrounder refreshes planned extracts, conveys notifications, and

handle other assignments run in the background. The backgrounder is
responsible for expending as much as the processor is accessible to finish
the background action as fast as possible.

74) Explain data visualization

Data visualization is one of the forms of visual communication. It includes

producing images that communicate relationships among the data. This
process can be achieved using a systematic mapping between data values
and graphic marks.

75) How to perform performance testing in Tableau?

User can perform performance testing in Tableau using by:

 Recording performance information about the events that interact with

the workbook.
 Reviewing the tableau desktop logs.

76) What is Aggregation?

Aggregation is the process of viewing measures or numeric values at higher

and more summarized data.

78) Why use Disaggregation in Tableau?

 Disaggregation is a Tableau used to view every row of the data source. It is
useful while analyzing measures for both independent and dependent data
in the view.

79) What the limitations of setting channels

The limitations of setting channels are:

 If the channel is changed by the customers on a regular basis, the

database should be reprocessed and modify the short-lived table.
 The transient table needs to reload every time when the view is begun.

80) What is the difference between Tableau and QlikView?

The difference between Tableau and QlikView is:

Tableau QlikView
Data integration is exceptional. Data integration is good.
The support of PowerPoint is available The support for PowerPoint is not
in Tableau. available.
Tableau scalability is good. QlikView is limited by RAM.

81) What is the Tableau data engine?

Tableau data engine manages to open, refresh, create, and query extracts of
the user.

82) What is metadata in Tableau?

Metadata in tableaus refers to the editing of original data in Tableau. It

includes custom data and formatting of data.

83) Explain dashboard lifecycle

Dashboard lifecycle in Tableau:

Functional Knowledge: Business Analysts give a current functional

knowledge of the organization.
Requirement Analysis: Requirements that are kept in consideration are:

 The requirement of the dashboard.

 How is data flowing in the current system?
 Blueprint or layout of the system.
 Dashboard scope.
 The value that is added to the business
 required tools for the development of the project and its costs.

Planning Phase: It includes:

 Timeline and needed resources.

 Work and leave plan.
 Dependencies and future challenges.

Methodologies to follow: Scrum, Agile, Waterfall, etc.

Technical Specs: It includes:

 Technical details.
 SQL, relations, and Joins.
 Credentials for database access.
 Business logic.

Development: It includes:

 Query generation.
 Connecting databases and creating dimension model
 Publish it to the server.
 Unit testing.

Q&A Testing: It includes:

 Functionality and UI testing.

 SQL testing and data validation
 Security testing
 Testing of applied customization.
Performance testing: Report opening time, with or without any webpage.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT): User validates data and functionality.

Production and Support: System is produced, and support is given once it

goes live.

84) What are the advantages of Tableau over excel?

The advantages of Tableau over excel are:

 Tableau handles big data problems.

 Excel does not have large columns and rows.
 Excel has lesser resources than tableau.

85) What is the use of marks cards?

Marks cards can be used to design the visualization. The data components of
the visualization, like color, size, shape, path, etc. used in the visualizations. It
can be modified in the marks card.

86) List the types of maps available in Tableau

There are six types of maps in Tableau:

 Choropleth maps (filled maps)

 Proportional symbol maps
 Spider maps (origin-destination maps)
 Heatmaps (density maps)
 What are Discrete data in tableau
 Point distribution maps
 Flow maps (path maps)

87) What is the use of a custom data view?

A custom data view is used by tableau users to extend the normal data views
to gain the advantage of additional features.

88) What is Tableau Table Report?

Table Report in Tableau provides the primary ways to display data in tabular
format.

89) What are the types of data sources that can be connected to
Tableau’s native connectors?

What are the types of data sources that can be connected to Tableau’s native
connectors are:

 File systems like Excel and CSV.

 Relational systems like SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, etc.
 Cloud systems like Google BigQuery and Microsoft Azure.
 Database connection sources such as ODBC.

90) What is the use of data blending?

Data blending is used when the is a possibility of related data in multiple

sources that you need to analyze in a view.

91) What is Worksheet in Tableau?

The worksheet is the place where the actual visualization can be viewed in
the workbook. The design and functionalities of the visual can be viewed in
the worksheet.

92) What is the data source page?

The data source page is a page where users can set up their sources of data.
It generally contains four main areas: 1) left pane, 2) join area, 3) preview
area, and 4) metadata area.

93) What is format pane?

A pane that contains formatting settings to control the worksheet and fields
available in the view is called format pane. It appears on the left side of the
tableau workbook.

94) Explain Tableau Navigation

The navigation of workbook contains:

 Data Source: The addition of a new data source of modification of

existing data sources can be done using the ‘Data Source’ tab present
at the bottom of the Tableau Desktop Window.
 Current Sheet: Current Sheet can be viewed with the name of the
sheet. All the sheets, dashboards, and storyboard present in the
workbook can be viewed here.
 New Sheet: The new sheet icon present in the tab can be used to
create a new worksheet in the Tableau Workbook.
 New Dashboard: The new dashboard icon present in the tab can be
used to create a new dashboard in the Tableau Workbook.
 New Storyboard: The new storyboard icon present in the tab can be
used to create a new storyboard in the Tableau Workbook.

95) What are the types of Level of Detail?

There are three main types of LOD expressions.

 Fixed LOD: It is a LOD expression that computes values using the

mention dimensions without reference to any dimensions.
 Include LOD: This expression compute values using the mention
dimensions along with those who are present in view.
 Exclude LOD: These LOC expressions subtract dimensions from the
view.
96) What are the ways to sort out data in Tableau?

The ways to sort out data in Tableau are:

Computed sorting: It is a sort that can be applied on an axis using a sort

button.

Manual sorting: It can be used to rearrange the dimension field order by

dragging them to each other in an ad hoc manner.

97) What is the data server?

The data server is used to manage and store the data from external data
sources. It is a central data management system. It provides metadata
management, data security, data storage, data connection, and driver
requirements. It stores the relevant details of data set such as metadata,
calculated fields, sets, groups, and parameters. The data source could extract
data as well as make live connections to external data sources.

98) What is the use of trend lines?

Trend lines are used to know the continuation of a trend of variables. It helps
users to search the correlation between two or more variables. There is a
wide range of mathematical models for establishing trend lines. These
models are 1) Logarithmic, 2) Linear, 3) Exponential, and 4 ) Polynomial.

99) Explain alias in Tableau

Alias in Tableau can refer as an alternative name that the user can assign to a
dimension member a field.

100) What are Data Labels in Tableau Reports?

Data Labels in Tableau reports or any other Business Intelligence reports

play a vital role in understanding the report data.

101) What is Tableau Crosstab Report?

Table Crosstab in Tableau is the best way to display data in multi-level.

102) What is the waterfall Chart?

Waterfall Chart can visualize the cumulative effect of a measure over

dimension. It can show the contribution of growth or decline by each
member in a dimension. For example, you can see the contribution of profit
by each sub-category using a waterfall chart.

103) Explain measure names

Measure names and Measure values are the two fields created in Tableau by
default. These fields are created when a data set is imported into Tableau.