Connect To and Transform Data24% of the exam
Field properties, roles, data types and aliases
Set Default Properties once (sort, color, comment, aggregation, format), fix data types and the mixed-value columns Tableau maps from the first rows of a file, rename and reset fields (in bulk in Tableau Prep), choose between discrete and continuous and between dimension and measure in the view or the Data pane, and alias members, including the published data source limits.
Customize fields: Change default field properties (types, sorting, etc.); Rename columns; Choose when to convert between discrete and continuous; Choose when to convert between dimension and measure; Create aliases.
~8 min read · 18 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Change default properties and data types, and predict what a mixed-value file column becomes.
- Rename and reset fields, and bulk-rename in Tableau Prep.
- Choose when to convert discrete/continuous and dimension/measure, per view or workbook.
- Create aliases, and know what blocks them.
- Basics are in the Desktop Foundations units Field names, aliases and data types, Geographic roles and default field properties, and Dimensions and measures in the Data pane.
Key terms:
- Default property: how a field first appears wherever it is used.
- Mixed-value column: a file column mixing data types, mapped to one type.
- Discrete / continuous: blue fields that create headers versus green fields that create an axis.
- Dimension / measure: fields that group the data versus fields that are aggregated.
- Alias: an alternate display name for a member of a discrete dimension.
Key facts
Default sort
- Detail
- Also controls the order in filter lists
Mixed-value mapping
- Detail
- First 10,000 rows (Excel), first 1,024 rows (CSV)
Text in a number column
- Detail
- Treated as Null
Data Source page type change
- Detail
- Original fields only, not calculated fields
Prep bulk rename
- Detail
- Rename Fields, Clean step only
Can't be continuous
- Detail
- String and Boolean dimensions
Role change scope
- Detail
- Pill: current view; Data pane: all future uses
Aliases
- Detail
- Discrete dimension members only
Sources for this section (6)
- Edit Default Settings for Fieldshelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Data Typeshelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Clean and Shape Datahelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Dimensions and Measures, Blue and Greenhelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Convert a Measure to a Dimensionhelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Create Aliases to Rename Members in the Viewhelp.tableau.com (opens in a new tab)
- Why does a numeric field named with "ID" or "Key" usually land in the dimensions area?
- Why does a mixed-value column mapped as Text show no Nulls?
- Which field types can have a default number format?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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