Pills: A piece of data that you want to show up on your visualization

Shelf: It is an area on the visualization screen where you can drop pieces of data so
that Tableau can act on them. What Tableau does with a pill depends on which shelf
you drag it to. There are four kinds of shelves: 1 Columns, 2 Rows, 3 Pages and 4
Filters.
A dashboard: It is a group of visualizations that consolidate individual pieces of
information or it is a collection of individual worksheets that you’ve created and
gathered into one bigger worksheet. This gives your audience a way to see all of the
readouts.
What makes Tableau so powerful is its user-friendly interface. You don’t have to be
a programmer or database administrator to use it.
Action An interaction that you can add to your views. There are three types of action:
Filter, Highlight, and URL.
ad-hoc calculation A calculation that you can create and update as you work with a
field on a shelf in the view. Also known as type-in calculation or in-line calculation.
Aggregation A result of a mathematical operation applied to a measure. Predefined
aggregations include summation and average. You can convert dimensions to
measures by aggregating them as a count. For relational data sources, all measures
must be either aggregated or disaggregated (unless they appear on the Filters
shelf). Tableau aggregates measures, usually as a summation, when you place
them on a shelf. For multidimensional (OLAP) data sources, aggregations are
defined when the cube is created and cannot be modified in Tableau.
Alias An alternative name that you can assign to a field or to a dimension member.
Analytics pane A pane on the left side of your workbook that provides quick and
easy access to common analytic features in Tableau. From the Analytics pane, you
can drag reference lines, box plots, trend lines forecasts, and other items into your
view. Toggle between the Data pane and the Analytics pane by clicking one of the
tabs at the top of the side bar.

B
Bin A user-defined grouping of measures in the data source.
blending data The process of combining data from different data source types in a
view. The first data source that you use in the view becomes the primary data
source. The remaining data sources become the secondary.
Bookmark A .tbm file in the Bookmarks folder in the Tableau repository that contains
a single worksheet. Much like web browser bookmarks, .tbm files are a convenient
way to quickly display different analyses.
C
calculated field A new field that you create by using a formula to modify the existing
fields in your data source.
Canvas An area at the top of the Data Source page where you can drag tables or
select queries or cubes to set up your data source. See also: Data Source page.
Caption A description of the current view on the active worksheet. For example,
“Sum of Sales for each Market”. You can automatically generate captions or create
your own custom captions. Show and hide the caption by selecting Worksheet >
Show Caption.
Cell A basic element of any table that you create in Tableau. You can control cells to
enhance your data view, which is useful for text tables and heat maps.
color legend An area of the view that displays the colors associated with a measure
or dimension member. The default legend is modified when you place a dimension
or a measure on the Color property.
Color property A property on the Marks card that enables you to encode data by
assigning different colors to the marks in a view. The property accepts measures
and dimensions. When you place a dimension on the Color property, Tableau
separates the marks according to the members in the dimension, and assigns a
unique color to each member. When you place a measure on the Color property,
Tableau draws each mark with a different color using a continuous range. In both
cases, a legend describes the color encoding.
Columns shelf A shelf at the top of the workbook that you use to create the columns
of a data table. The shelf accepts any number of dimensions and measures. When
you place a dimension on the Columns shelf, Tableau creates headers for the
members of that dimension. When you place a measure on the Columns shelf,
Tableau creates quantitative axes for that measure. See also Rows shelf.

cross-database join A join that contains tables from two or more connections to
different databases.
Crosstab A text table view. Use text tables to display the numbers associated with
dimension members.
Cube A data source that is connected to a multidimensional database. Also known
as multidimensional data source. For example, data sources that connect to
Microsoft Analysis Services or Oracle Essbase are called cubes.
custom geocoding A process of adding your own location data to extend the built-in
geocoding.
D
Dashboard A combination of several views arranged on a single page. Use
dashboards to compare and monitor a variety of data simultaneously.
data grid An area at the bottom of the Data Source page where you can review the
fields and the first 1,000 rows of the data in the data source. You can also use the
data grid to make general modifications to your data source, such as adding a
calculation, hiding or renaming a field, or changing its data type. See also: Data
Source page
Data Interpreter A tool that parses your Excel or Google Sheets data source to help
prepare your data for analysis.
Data pane A pane on the left side of the workbook that displays the fields of the data
sources to which Tableau is connected. The fields are divided into dimensions and
measures. The Data pane also displays custom fields such as calculations, binned
fields, and groups. You build views of your data by dragging fields from the Data
pane onto the various shelves that are a part of every worksheet.
data source The link between your data and Tableau. A Tableau data source
contains information about how to connect to your data, table names, the
relationships the tables have with each other, and any customizations that you make
on top.
Data Source page A page where you can set up your data source. The Data Source
page generally consists of four main areas: left pane, canvas, data grid, and
metadata grid.
data view see: view
Detail property A property on the Marks card that you can use to separate the marks
in a view according to the level of detail (that is, members) of a dimension. The
Detail property works only on aggregated data.

Dimension A field of categorical data. Dimensions typically hold discrete data such
as hierarchies and members that cannot be aggregated. Examples of dimensions
include dates, customer names, and customer segments. See also: measure.
E
Encoding A visual representation of your data. You can encode your data by color,
shape, size, and path using the associated worksheet shelves.
Extract A saved subset of a data source that you can use to improve performance
and analyze offline. You can create an extract by defining filters and limits that
include the data you want in the extract.
extract mode A connection state. In extract mode, a snapshot of your data is taken,
which then becomes the Tableau data source. See also: live mode
F
Field A dimension or a measure in a database. For relational data sources, fields are
the columns of a table. For cube (multidimensional) data sources, fields are the
dimensions of a cube. Each dimension or column contains a unique attribute of the
data, such as customer name, sales, or product type.
field label A row or column heading that indicates the data field used to create the
view. For example, a view that has rows for East, Central, and West might have a
Region field label at the top of the column indicating that each row is a member of
the Region field.
Filters shelf A shelf on the left of the workbook that you can use to exclude data from
a view by filtering it using measures and dimensions.
Forecast A calculation that predicts future trends based on current trends and data.
Format pane A pane that contains formatting settings that control the entire
worksheet, as well as individual fields in the view. When open, the Format pane
appears on the left side of the workbook.
G
Group A field you can use to combine dimension members into higher level
categories. For example, you could group a dimension that contains states into
regions. Groups are marked with a paper clip icon in the Data pane.
H
Header A label for member names for each field that you place on Rows or
Columns.
hexagonal binning A technique for clustering data in a two-dimensional plane.

I
in-line calculation see: ad-hoc calculation
integrated data source see: multi-connection data source
J
join condition A relationship between fields in a join. You can define the relationship
on the canvas of the data source. See also: joining.
Joining A way to combine data from multiple tables.
L
level of detail (LOD) expression A syntax that supports aggregation at
dimensionalities other than the view level. With level of detail expressions, you can
attach one or more dimensions to any aggregate expression.
live mode A connection state. In live mode, the Tableau data source fetches your
data and saves the metadata associated with your data to the Tableau data source.
See also: extract mode
LOD see: level of detail (LOD) expression
M
Marks A part of the view that visually represents one or more rows in a data source.
A mark can be, for example, a bar, line, or square. You can control the type, color,
and size of marks.
Marks card A card to the left of the view where you can drag fields to control mark
properties such as type, color, size, shape, label, tooltip, and detail.
Measure A field of quantitative data. Measures are fields that are dependent
variables. They are typically quantitative fields or calculated fields like sales,
temperature, or frequency. You can also create discrete measures in Tableau. See
also: dimension.
metadata grid An area that can be accessed from the Data Source page by clicking
the metadata button and that displays the fields in your data source as rows so that
you can quickly examine the structure of your data source and perform routine
management tasks, such as renaming fields or hiding multiple fields at once. When
connected to cube data, the metadata displays by default. See also: Data Source
page.

 multi-connection data source

A Tableau data source that contains two or more connections to tables from
different databases.
 multidimensional data source

see: cube

 packaged workbook

A single zip file with a .twbx extension that contains a workbook along with
any supporting local file data sources and background images. Use this
format to package your work for sharing with others who don’t have access to
the data.

 Pages shelf

A shelf to the left of the view that you can use to split a view into a sequence
of pages based on the members and values in a discrete or continuous field.
Adding a field to the Pages shelf is like adding a field to the Rows shelf,
except that a new page is created for each new row.

 pane

An area in the table that is created by the intersection of rows and columns.
Tables consist of one or more panes. The number of panes in a view depends
on the number and type of fields placed on the Rows and Columns shelves.

 parameter

A dynamic value that can replace a constant value in calculations, filters, and
reference lines.

 pass-through function
 A function that sends SQL expressions directly to the database to access
custom database functions.

 Path property

A property on the Marks card that you can use to encode data by connecting
marks using a particular drawing order. The property accepts measures and
dimensions. Dimensions connect the marks according to the members in the
dimension. If the dimension is a date, the drawing order is given by the date
order. If the dimension contains words, the line is drawn based on the order of
the words in the data source. Measures connect the marks according to the
values of the measure. The measure can be aggregated or disaggregated.
See also: path.

 pill

A field in the view.

 pivot

A way to convert data from crosstab format into columnar format.

 primary data source

The first data source that you use in a blended view. See also: blending data,
secondary data source.

 query

A set of formalized instructions that Tableau uses to communicate with

databases. Common query languages include SQL and MDX. Every time you
build a view of your data, Tableau translates your actions into queries and
 retrieves the requested information from the data source. If you are building a
dense data view, you can turn queries off until all the fields you want are
placed on shelves.

 relational database

A database that presents information in tables with rows and columns.

Examples of relational databases that Tableau supports are Excel workbooks,
Access databases, comma-delimited text files, MySQL database, and Tableau
Data Extract files.

 Repository

A collection of workbooks, bookmarks, data sources, and logs. By default, the

Tableau Repository is located on the drive where Tableau is installed, in the
My Documents\My Tableau Repository folder.

 Rows shelf

A shelf at the top of the workbook that you can use to create the rows of a
data table. The shelf accepts any number of dimensions and measures. When
you place a dimension on the Rows shelf, Tableaus creates headers for the
members of that dimension. When you place a measure on the Rows shelf,
Tableau creates quantitative axes for that measure.

 secondary data source

A second or subsequent data source that you use in a blended view. See
also: blending data, primary data source.

 set
 A custom field that defines a subset of data based on some conditions. A set
can be based on a computed condition or on a specific data point in the view.
Sets appear at the bottom of the Data pane in the Sets area.

 Shape legend

A legend that displays the shapes associated with dimension members. The
legend appears on worksheets that have a dimension placed on the Shape
shelf.

 Shape shelf

A shelf to the left of the view that you can use to encode data by assigning
different shapes to the marks in the view. The Shape shelf accepts
dimensions only. When you place a dimension on the shelf, Tableau
separates the marks according to the members of the dimension, and a
legend describes the encoding. You cannot place a measure on the shelf
because measures do not contain members.

 sheet

A view (also known as worksheet), dashboard, or story. Sheets appear as

tabs at the bottom of the workbook.

 shelves

Named areas to the left and top of the view. You build views by placing fields
onto the shelves. Some shelves are available only when you select certain
mark types. For example, the Shape shelf is available only when you select
the Shape mark type.

 Size shelf
 A shelf to the left of the view that allows you can use to encode data by
assigning different sizes to the marks in the view. The Size shelf accepts
measures and dimensions. When you place a dimension on the shelf, Tableau
separates the marks according to the members in the dimension, and assigns
a unique size to each member. When you place a measure on the shelf,
Tableau assigns a different size to each mark using a continuous range.

 small multiples

A view that contains small multiple charts of the same type.

 story

A sheet that contains a sequence of views or dashboards that work together

to convey information.

 story point

An individual view in a story.

 table

A visual presentation of a data view. Tables consist of panes, headers, and

cells.

 table calculation

A computation that uses data from multiple rows in the database and that is
applied to the values in the table.

 Text shelf
 A shelf to the left of the view that you can use to view the numbers associated
with a view, and to encode data by assigning text labels to the marks. The
shelf accepts measures and dimensions. The most common view using the
Text shelf is a text table.

 tooltip

Data details that appear when you hover over one or more marks in the view.

 type-in calculation

see: ad-hoc calculation

 unioning

A way to combine data from multiple tables by appending values (rows).

 view

A representation of your data in a Tableau worksheet or dashboard. You can

create data views by placing fields on shelves.

 workbook

A file with a .twb extension that contains one or more worksheets (and
possibly also dashboards and stories).

 worksheet
A sheet where you build views of your data by dragging fields onto shelves.