# URL, parameter and filter actions with dynamic zones

*Tableau Consultant Study Guide · Design and Troubleshoot Calculations and Workbooks · Last updated November 3, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-consultant/design-and-troubleshoot-calculations-and-workbooks/url-parameter-and-filter-actions-with-dynamic-zones*

Plan dashboard interactivity that behaves predictably: the fixed order actions run in, dynamic URL actions (inserted fields, ~na, multiple values, encoding, mailto, URL targets), parameter actions that the view must use, filter action limits for cube sources, field values in action names, and Dynamic Zone Visibility.

- Certification: Salesforce Tableau Consultant
- Exam section: Design and Troubleshoot Calculations and Workbooks
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Plan and implement advanced techniques to build interactivity into dashboards, such as dynamic URL actions, parameter actions, and filter actions.

## What the exam expects

- Predict the order in which several actions triggered by one interaction run.
- Configure dynamic URL actions: inserted fields and parameters, actual versus display values, multiple values with delimiters, encoding, email links and the URL target.
- Recommend parameter actions over parameter controls and diagnose a parameter action that changes nothing.
- Plan filter actions across data sources, including cube limits, clearing behaviour and field values in action names.
- Use Dynamic Zone Visibility to reveal dashboard zones, and know where it does not work.

Key terms:
- **Change Parameter action:** an action that sets a parameter value from the marks a user hovers, selects or picks from a menu.
- **Go to URL action:** a hyperlink to a web page, file or other resource, optionally built from field, filter and parameter values.
- **URL Target:** where a URL action opens: a new tab only when no Web Page object exists, a new browser tab, or a Web Page object.
- **Dynamic Zone Visibility:** showing or hiding a dashboard zone from the value of a Boolean field or parameter.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Action order | Parameter, set, filter, go to sheet, highlight, go to URL | [Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions.htm) |
| Same-type actions | Run in alphabetical order by name | [Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions.htm) |
| Parameter in a URL | Sends Display As by default; `~na` sends the actual value | [URL Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_url.htm) |
| URL without a prefix | Works in Desktop, fails when published | [URL Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_url.htm) |
| Vertical list in an email body | `%0a` as Value Delimiter, encoding cleared | [URL Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_url.htm) |
| Parameter action with several marks | Needs an aggregation; with None it does not run | [Parameter Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_parameters.htm) |
| Cube filter actions | Same data source and matching field names; Windows only | [Filter Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_filter.htm) |
| Tooltip menu link text | The action's name, which can contain field variables | [Action Names](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_fieldvalues_names.htm) |
| Dynamic Zone Visibility field | Boolean, single value, independent of the viz | [Use Dynamic Zone Visibility](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dynamic_zone_visibility.htm) |
| Dynamic Zone Visibility in stories | Doesn't work | [Use Dynamic Zone Visibility](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dynamic_zone_visibility.htm) |

## Check yourself

- Why won't a filter action that depends on USERNAME() work?
- When can an author use a multidimensional (cube) source with filter actions at all?
- How can you tell that a dashboard filter action came from Use as Filter?
- Which product supports local paths such as a C: drive file in URL actions?

## Sources

- [Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions.htm)
- [URL Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_url.htm)
- [Parameter Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_parameters.htm)
- [Filter Actions](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_filter.htm)
- [Use Dynamic Zone Visibility](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dynamic_zone_visibility.htm)
- [Using Field and Filter Values in Action Names](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/actions_fieldvalues_names.htm)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 10 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Tableau Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams