Date Properties for a Data Source
You can set date properties for a data source. To do so, right-click (control-click on Mac) a data source in the Data pane and choose Date Properties. The
Date Property Options
Default calendar
Specifies which calendar system to use, Standard Gregorian or ISO-8601 Week-Based. Setting the default calendar determines how dates are used in the view by default. See Date Functions(Link opens in a new window)
Week start
Specifies which day is considered the first day of the week. You can override the data source level Week start for certain date functions by including a start_of_week parameter. See Date Functions(Link opens in a new window).
The initial value for this setting is sometimes determined by your data source. If the data source doesn’t initialize the start-of-week day, then Tableau consults the system's locale settings. The day that is considered the first day of the week varies from region to region. For example, Sunday is the first day of the week in the US, while Monday is the first day in the EU.
This setting is unavailable for multidimensional data sources because this information is defined when the cube designer creates the datetime dimension.
After a data source is created, the Week start value doesn't automatically update to stay in sync with the host operating system (for example, if the published data source is used in a different country). Calendar controls reflect the workbook locale rather than the data source's Week start setting.
Note: An exception is a week truncation that shows the week number. This function uses the data source's Week start setting to provide a consistent week number value in the calendar.
Fiscal year start
Specifies which month is considered the first month of the fiscal year. This setting is applied to the data source overall.
Specific date fields
To specify whether a particular field uses the standard calendar (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) or the fiscal calendar:
- Right-click the field in the Data pane
- Select Default Properties > Fiscal Year Start
For any date field in the view, you can then specify whether to use the standard calendar or the fiscal calendar. For details, see Fiscal Dates(Link opens in a new window).
Date format
Specifies the default format for date fields in locations such as the tooltip or labels. To override the default date format, right-click the field in the Data pane and select Default Properties > Date Format, then set a format.
Day of the week sorting
If Tableau sorts the names of days of the week alphabetically, check your workbook locale. The local setting tells Tableau how to sort the days of the week in the correct chronological order. For information on setting the locale, see Language and Locale.
If none of the supported locales is appropriate, you can sort the days of the week manually. See Sort Data in a Visualization(Link opens in a new window).
Supported date formats
When working with dates, Tableau retrieves date formats automatically from the data source.
For a list of supported date formats, see the table of supported date format symbols in Custom Date Formats.