Design and Troubleshoot Calculations and Workbooks40% of the exam
Efficient calculations: strings, IF logic and LODs
Spot the calculation patterns that slow a workbook and rewrite them: integer parameters behind text labels, ELSEIF and frequent-first logic, MIN or MAX instead of ATTR, Booleans, groups and aliases instead of string IFs, TODAY instead of NOW, filters on indexed fields, one-record label sources, and LOD expressions tested against table calculations, blends and join culling.
Identify and resolve performance issues caused by calculations such as string comparisons, IF THEN statements, and Level of Detail (LOD) expressions.
~7 min read · 9 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Replace string comparisons with numbers or Booleans, including integer parameters that display text labels.
- Rewrite IF logic for speed: ELSEIF instead of nested ELSE IF, CASE for complex logic, and the most frequent outcome tested first.
- Choose cheaper aggregations and native features (MIN or MAX over ATTR, groups and aliases over long IFs, TODAY over NOW).
- Diagnose slow LOD expressions and test the alternatives the help pages name.
- Keep filters and labels from adding work to a large data source.
Key terms:
- Display As: the parameter setting that shows a text label for each underlying value.
- ELSEIF: an IF branch evaluated as part of the same statement, unlike a nested ELSE IF.
- ATTR: an aggregation that returns the value if all rows share it, otherwise an asterisk.
- Join culling: leaving a joined table out of the query when no field in the view needs it.
- Workbook Optimizer: a rules engine that checks a workbook against performance guidelines.
Key facts
Fast vs slow types
- Detail
- Booleans and integers beat strings and dates
Faster aggregations
- Detail
- MIN and MAX perform better than AVG and ATTR
COUNTD
- Detail
- One of the slowest function types
ELSEIF vs ELSE IF
- Detail
- ELSEIF is faster; nested IF computes a second statement
LOD execution
- Detail
- In the database, as a nested select
Table calculations
- Detail
- Computed by Tableau on the query result set
Literal labels
- Detail
- Passed through to the underlying data
Assume Referential Integrity
- Detail
- Joined table queried only when the view references it
- Where in Tableau Desktop do you run the Workbook Optimizer?
- What happens when you click Autofix on an Optimizer guideline?
- Why can RAWSQL or SCRIPT_ functions slow a calculation?
- When might a slow table calculation be worth rewriting as an LOD expression?
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