Forecasting When No Date is in the View
If a valid date is not in the view, Tableau will look for a dimension in the view that has integer values. If it finds such a dimension it will use that to forecast additional values for measures in the view. As with a date, when an integer dimension is selected to order the measures to be forecast, it is no longer used to partition the data. If there is more than one such integer dimension, Tableau will go in this order:
An integer dimension on the Columns shelf. If there is more than one such dimension, it will use the first one (farthest to the left on the shelf).
An integer dimension on the Rows shelf.
An integer dimension on the Pages shelf.
An integer dimension on the Marks card.
When Tableau is using an integer dimension to forecast, the Forecast Option and Forecast Description dialog boxes will automatically specify that forecasting is aggregating by periods:
