Tableau Desktop and Web Authoring Help

Tableau provides many visual cues to help you evaluate the type of data that’s displayed in the Data pane and the state of a data view.

Data sources in the Data pane

The following table explains each of the icons used to describe the type of data sources in the Data pane. Each icon in the table can be modified by one of two indicators.

• A blue check mark indicates that the data source is the primary data source in the workbook.
• An orange check mark indicates that the data source is the secondary data source in the workbook.

Visual Cue	Description
	The workbook is directly connected to a relational data source or file.
	The workbook is connected to an extract that still references the underlying data.
	The workbook is connected to a cube (multidimensional) data source. In Tableau, cube data sources are supported only in Windows.
	The workbook is connected to an Excel table, sub-table, or named range.
	The workbook is connected to a data source that has been published to Tableau Server.

Fields in the Data Pane

The following table explains each of the icons displayed in the Data pane.

• Blue icons indicate that the field is discrete.
• Green icons indicate that the field is continuous.
• Icons preceded by the equal sign (=) indicate that the field is a user-defined calculation or a copy of another field.

For more information on field types, see Dimensions and Measures, Blue and Green.

Visual Cue	Field description
	Text or string values.
	Numeric values.
	Date values.
	Date and time values.
	Boolean values (true or false).
	Geographical data. This icon also indicates the field has been assigned a geographic role. Use these fields when building map views. See Maps and Geographic Data Analysis in Tableau.
	Geographical data from a custom geocoding file. See Geocode Locations Tableau Does Not Recognize and Plot Them on a Map.
	A URL set to Image Role. See Add Web Images Dynamically to Worksheets.
	A calculation defined on the server.
	A calculation defined in the database.
	A user-defined set. See Create Sets(Link opens in a new window).
	A server named set.
	A set that was automatically created as a result of an action. See Actions.
	A user filter for published content. See Restrict Access at the Data Row Level.
	A numeric bin. See Create Bins from a Continuous Measure.
	A group. See Correct Data Errors or Combine Dimension Members by Grouping Your Data.
	A cluster group. See Find Clusters in Data.
	A relational hierarchy. See Create Hierarchies(Link opens in a new window).
	A level in a multidimensional hierarchy. Levels greater than five are shown without numbers.
	A folder that contains one or more fields. Folders are used to organize fields in the Data pane. See Organize the Data Pane.
	An attribute of a cube (multidimensional) data source. In Tableau, cube data sources are supported only in Windows.
	A varying attribute of a cube (multidimensional) data source.
	The field is an active link for data blending. See Blend Your Data.
	The field is a potential link for data blending. See Blend Your Data.
	The field is unrelated. See About Multi-fact Relationship Data Models.
	The field is a stitching field. See About Multi-fact Relationship Data Models.
	The field is hidden. Click to unhide the field. See Hide or Unhide Fields.

Fields on Shelves

Fields placed on shelves use a combination of icons, colors, and text styles as visual cues.

Visual Cue	Description
	A blue field on a shelf indicates a discrete field. In most cases, adding a dimension to a shelf results in a blue field. Blue fields are discrete—they contain a finite number of values. Adding a blue field to a shelf creates headers. For details, see Headers.
	A green field on a shelf indicates a continuous field. In most cases, adding a measure to a shelf results in a green field. Green fields are continuous—they contain an infinite number of values. Adding a green field to a shelf creates an axis. For details, see Axes.
	The Sort icon indicates a field that has either a computed or manual sort order applied. See Sort Data in a Visualization(Link opens in a new window).
	The sigma icon indicates a slicing filter in a multidimensional (cube) data source. See Create Slicing Filters.
	The Venn diagram icon indicates a set. See Create Sets(Link opens in a new window).
	The unrelated icon indicates the field is unrelated to at least one other field in the viz. See Field-level relatedness indicators.
	The related icon indicates the dimension is stitching otherwise unrelated fields. See Field-level relatedness indicators.
	A field name shown in italics indicates the filter was generated and controlled by an action.
	A gray field on the Filters shelf indicates a context filter. See Use Context Filters.
	The delta icon indicates that the field is a table calculation. See Transform Values with Table Calculations.
	The plus and minus controls appear when the field is part of a hierarchy you can drill down or roll up.
	The arrow icon indicates that a forecast is being displayed for the field. This icon is also used on the Forecast Indicator field, which is an automatic field used to distinguish between actual and forecast values. See Forecasting.
	A data source cylinder with an orange check mark indicates the field is from a secondary data source. See Blend Your Data.
	The filter is assigned to a specific worksheet.
	The filter is assigned to all worksheets with the same data source.
	The field is incompatible with one or more other fields in the view.

 

Fields on the Marks card

Fields placed on the Marks card use specific icons to describe how they appear in the view. For more details, see Control the Appearance of Marks in the View.

Visual Cue	Description
	The field is applied to Color on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Size on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Label on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Shape on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Detail on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Tooltip on the Marks card.
	The field is applied to Path on the Marks card. Path is only available when the Line or Polygon mark type is selected from the Marks drop-down menu.

Sheets in the Dashboards and Worksheets pane

The following table explains each of the icons used to describe the type of sheet that can be placed in a story. A blue check mark indicates that a sheet is being used in one or more story points.

Visual Cue	Description
	The sheet is a worksheet.
	The sheet is a dashboard.

Fields in the Calculation editor

Text in the calculation editor is color coded.

Visual Cue	Description
[Field Name]	Orange text. The field is a dimension or measure, or a set.
[Parameters].[Parameter Name]	Purple text. The field is a parameter. Tableau adds the prefix [Parameters] to avoid ambiguity when a parameter has the same name as another field
[Data source].[Field Name]	Orange text. The field is from a secondary data source. The data source name is added as a prefix.
Blue()	Blue text. A calculation function.