Tableau

Filters and Analytics in Tableau

 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Evaluate the significance of filters in Tableau

Classify the different types of filters in Tableau

Analyze the different analytics options available in Tableau

Learn how to use constant, average, and reference lines

 Business Scenario

ABC is an ed-tech company that is facing losses in the current financial year. It is
planning to create quarterly sales forecasts to compare yearly performance.​​

The company decides to utilize the Tableau tool to optimize the data and
visualization.

Before proceeding, it will have to explore the different types of filters available,
analytics options, and the use of average, constant, and reference lines in
Tableau​​.​
Why Filters?
 Filters

The process of filtering is an essential part of data analysis.

• Filters can be created quickly on a data source and an

extract.
• The execution of a query with less amount of data is
faster.
• Dimensions, measurements, and dates can be filtered.

It helps to reduce the amount of data, which makes analyzing easy and fast.
 Filters

They provide data with a great deal of versatility.

For example, to compare the current year’s sales with

the previous year’s sales.

They provide enormous control over the efficiency of Tableau queries in systems.
 Additional Benefits

The filtering capability in a BI tool serves many purposes:

Removes irrelevant data records

Highlights any underlying Minimizes data for

insights efficiency

Cleans up underlying data

These filters even allow simplifying and organizing data before actual drill-downs and
aggregation functions.
 Tableau Filters: Features

Tableau is used to filter individual views or even entire data sources on dimensions, measures, or sets.
Types of Filters in Tableau
 Discussion: Filters

Duration: 10 minutes

• What are extract filters in Tableau?

• How do data source filters differ from extract filters in Tableau?

 Types of Filters

Tableau has various filters that enable data organization based on predefined conditions.

Data
Extract
source
filter
filter

Table filter Context

filter

Measure Dimension
filter filter
 Extract Filter

Data that is extracted as a saved snapshot of the workbook can be loaded into memory.

Extracts can be filtered to further limit the data fed into Tableau. This can be done either by a
certain measurement or dimension.
 Data Source Filter

Filters created on a data source are called data source filters.

They help to reduce the amount of data present in the original

data source.

They are available to creators when authoring in Tableau Server

and Tableau Online​.

If an extract is created from a data source that already has data source filters, those filters are treated
as extract filters.
 Data Source Filter

Recommended filters need not be a part of the extract filter list and they can be removed safely.

• Data source filters can be useful in restricting data that users

can see on publishing a workbook.
• When a data source is published, all associated files or extracts
are transported to the server.
• Access permissions for downloading or modifying can be
defined.
 Data Source Filter

The following are some features of the data source filter:

• Users who query a published data source cannot see or

modify any data source filters available on it.
• The primary purpose of data source filters is to restrict
sensitive data from viewers.
• If changed back to a live connection, data source filters will
remain intact.

Note: Extract filters and data source filters are not linked.
 Context Filter

It is used to filter the data that is transferred to each worksheet.

• If a filter needs to be applied first, set it as a context filter.

• A context filter ensures that it is processed first.
• Actionable context is applied to the entire data analysis using
the context filter.

All filters are computed independently; every filter accesses all the rows in a dataset.
 Context Filter

The following are the main reasons why context filters are used:

To include only the required data, and

To improve performance
then set a numerical or Top N filter
 Dimension Filter

They filter the data in a worksheet using a dimension.

Dimension filters are applied via:

Formula

Top or bottom conditions Wildcard match

 Dimension Filter

The dimensions used are discrete blue pills corresponding to discrete data.

A dimension filter provides four options to select the required data:

Top or bottom General

Condition Wildcard
 Dimension Filter

Condition and top/bottom filters allow a customized formula to be created and used for data
selection.

Dimension filters are shown in a sheet or dashboard to change a filter condition dynamically.
 Measure Filter

It is applied to the measure fields with quantitative data.

Aggregating operations available in Tableau include:

Average Sum

Median Min

It is always applied after non-aggregated filters, irrespective of the order of filters on the pane.
 Measure Filter

The user gets the following four options:

• Range of values
• At least
• At most
• Special (which gives the option to include Null
values or not).

The calculations performed on the measure fields determine the filtering.

 Table Filter

It is applied after the view has been created or, in other words, it is applied on the visual level.

• The table calculation filter works when a filter is added

to the view and not the underlying data.

• The table calculation in view is first evaluated, and then

the table calculation filter is applied to the results.

Image source: Tableau

 Discussion: Filters

Duration: 10 minutes
• What are extract filters in Tableau?
Answer: Extract filters in Tableau are applied specifically to data
extracts. They allow users to reduce the stored data by applying
filtering conditions based on criteria such as date ranges,
categories, or calculations. This optimizes extract size and improves
performance when working with the data in Tableau.

• How do data source filters differ from extract filters in Tableau?

Answer: Data source filters in Tableau are applied directly to the
data source before importing, which reduces the amount of data
loaded into Tableau. In contrast, extract filters are applied after the
data has been loaded in Tableau; they affect the data stored within
extracts.
Introduction to Analytics
 Introduction to Analytics

Companies all over the world generate massive amounts of data in the form of:

Log files

Web servers

Transactional data

Various customer-related data

Companies should use the data generated to derive value and make important business decisions.
 Analytics

It is the process of drawing insights from data by analyzing and exploring data sets.

Both data analytics types, techniques, and processes are

varied.

It refers to all the tools and activities involved in processing data to get valuable
insights and interpretations.
 Analytics

Diverse techniques have been automated into algorithms that work over raw data.

Analytics help organizations to:

Drive business growth Bring down cost

Make faster and smarter

Classify audiences
decisions
 Analytics

To analyze different behavioral trends, data is extracted from various sources, cleaned, and
transformed.

• Data analysis helps people and organizations

understand data better.
• Data analytics technologies are used to help
organizations make business decisions.
 Data Analytics and Data Visualization

Data analytics is the process of analyzing data sets to make decisions based on the
information available.

Data analytics technologies are used to help organizations

make business decisions.

Data visualization is the graphical representation of information and data in a pictorial or

graphical format.
 Data Analytics and Data Visualization

Platforms such as Power BI and QlikView make it simple to see and understand trends, patterns, and
outliers in data.

They simplify the vast and complicated data and make it

accessible to the stakeholders involved.

Data analytics introduces structure into data; data visualization is concerned with
visualizing information.
Types of Analytical Functions in Tableau
 Types of Analytical Functions in Tableau

Tableau supports various analytical functions including:

6
Time filters Aggregations
1

Categorical filters 5

2 Grouping

Numerical filters 4
3 Sorting
 Aggregations

Aggregations allow values to be aggregated.

Sum

Maximum Average

Aggregate
functions
Minimum Median

Distinct count Count

 Grouping

It is used to group the value of fields and use it in visualization.

It is equivalent to placing dimensions or unaggregated measures on the rows or columns shelf.

 Sorting

It is used for arranging visuals in ascending or descending order, either alphabetically or according to
the numeric value associated with it.

Sorting allows one to select the order in which a table's dimension members are shown and frequently
reveals correlations between fields.
 Numerical Filters

There are three types of numerical filters:

At least: For value above

the selected value

Range of values: Between At most: For value below

two values the selected value
 Categorical Filters for Text Values

These filters narrow down data to specific text values as required.

The following are examples of each sort of filter:

Does not contain (Name does not

contain “le”) 6 Is (Name is “Aleem”)
1

Contains (Name contains “A”) 5

2 Is not (Name is not “Aleem”)

4
Ends with (Name ends with “A”) 3
Starts with (Name starts with “A”)
 Time Filters

They filter data for a specific time period.

The following is a list of time filters:

In (followed by the specific date) Next

Previous Between

Last Starting at

Following Ending at

It helps to answer questions such as "Sales in the last ten years" or "Profit between 2018 and 2023”.
Assisted Practice: Using Average, Constant, and
Reference Lines

Problem statement:

Create average, constant, and reference lines for the graph using the superstore.csv dataset
Assisted Practice Guidelines

Steps to perform:

1. Create an average line

2. Create a constant line
3. Create a reference line

Note: Please download the pdf file 4.01_Using_Constant_Average_and_Reference_Lines

from the Reference Material section.
Assisted Practice: Using Average and Median

Problem statement:

Create an average with a 95% CI (Confidence Interval) and a median with a 95% CI (Confidence Interval)
line using the superstore.csv dataset
Assisted Practice Guidelines

Steps to perform:

1. Create an average of 95% and a median with a 95% line using a graph

Note: Please download the pdf file 4.02_Using_Medians_and_Averages from the

Reference Material section.
 Key Takeaways

Filtering helps reduce the amount of data and makes analyzing

more efficient.

Sorting is used for arranging visuals in ascending or descending

order.

Tableau analytics along with different analytics options were

explored.

A data source filter helps to reduce the amount of data present in

the original data source.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of filters in Tableau?
1

A. To remove irrelevant data records

B. To minimize data for efficiency

C. To clean the underlying data

D. All of the above

 Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of filters in Tableau?
1

A. To remove irrelevant data records

B. To minimize data for efficiency

C. To clean the underlying data

D. All of the above

The correct answer is D

Filters are used to remove irrelevant data, increase efficiency, and clean the underlying data.
Knowledge
Check
Which filter is applied on the visual level?
2

A. Table filter

B. Measure filter

C. Data Source filter

D. Dimension filter
 Knowledge
Check
Which filter is applied on the visual level?
2

A. Table filter

B. Measure filter

C. Data Source filter

D. Dimension filter

The correct answer is A

The table filter is applied on the visual level.

Knowledge
Check
How many aggregation functions are available in Tableau?
3

A. Two

B. Six

C. Seven

D. Nine
 Knowledge
Check
How many aggregation functions are available in Tableau?
3

A. Two

B. Six

C. Seven

D. Nine

The correct answer is C

There are seven aggregation functions available in Tableau.

Thank You