Tableau Cloud Help

Tableau Pulse lets you track important metrics and receive updates right where you’re working–in email or Slack. And when you set a goal in Tableau Pulse, you can track a metric’s progress toward that goal.

There are two kinds of goals in Tableau Pulse: data source goals and manual goals. A data source goal is set as part of a metric definition. The data source goal uses a field from the connected data source to display a dynamic goal value on the metrics based on that definition. To learn about data source goals, see Configure data source goals .

A manual goal is set on an individual metric and is a single static number. If you set a manual goal on a metric that has a data source goal, the data source goal is hidden, and the manual goal appears instead.

When a goal is created, it’s visible to anyone who views that metric. And all users can create, edit, or delete a manual goal for a metric, if they have permission. You can restrict permissions for manual goals by editing the metric definition.

Before you set a manual goal, you must first create a metric definition. When you create a manual goal, it’s based on the filters that are applied to the current metric. For example, a month-to-date metric has a monthly goal value.

1. Click into a metric from your email or Slack digest, or from the Tableau Pulse home page.
2. From the Insights Exploration page, choose Filter to adjust the filter values and create a custom metric that you can follow.
3. From the top-right corner, choose the Menu icon (...).
4. Choose Set Goal.
5. Enter the goal value. You can enter positive numbers, negative numbers, or 0 as a goal value.
6. Choose Save.

After a manual goal is created, you’ll see your progress toward that goal in your Tableau Pulse digests and on your Tableau Pulse home page.

To change the manual goal value, return to the Insights Exploration page, choose the Menu icon (...), and select Edit Goal. You can also choose Delete Manual Goal from this modal. Editing a goal or deleting a goal changes the goal for all users who follow that metric.

By default, all users can create, edit, or delete a manual goal. If you have access to edit the metric definition, you can set permissions that restrict which users and groups can edit a goal. Site admins can always edit or delete the goal. To set permissions and choose who can edit a goal:

1. From your Slack digest, email digest, or the Tableau Pulse home page, click into the metric that you want to set goal permissions for.
2. This takes you to the Insights Exploration page. From the Menu icon (...), choose Edit Definition.
3. From the Definition tab of the left pane, under Manual goal permissions, choose Anyone Can Edit.
4. Turn on Restrict editing, and enter the users or groups whom you want to have access to edit the goal.
5. After you’ve added editors, close the Manage Goals Editors modal.
6. Click Save Definition.

If a metric definition is edited, all the metrics based on that definition are also updated. For example, if a definition is edited to use different fields or a different time period, then existing manual goals remain. Review any manual goals to confirm that the goals still measure the desired metrics over the desired period.