Connecting to and Preparing Data23% of the exam
Geographic roles and default field properties
How to assign the right geographic role (Airport, City, State/Province, ZIP Code/Postcode, Latitude, Longitude) from a field's data type icon and what Tableau generates, and how Default Properties set a field's number format, date format, aggregation, color, sort and comment once for every new view.
Manage data properties: Rename a data field; Assign an alias to a data value; Assign a geographic role to a data field; Change data type for a data field (number, date, string, Boolean, etc.); Change default properties for a data field (number format, aggregation, color, date format, etc.).
~7 min read · 5 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Assign a geographic role from a field's data type icon and pick the role that matches the values (airport codes, city names, postcodes, coordinates).
- Predict what Tableau adds when a role is assigned: Latitude (generated) and Longitude (generated) in the measures area.
- Know that Latitude and Longitude roles need a numeric field, so a text coordinate must change type first.
- Set Default Properties (Number Format, Date Format, Aggregation, Color, Sort, Comment) once in the Data pane so every new view uses them.
- Renaming fields, aliases and changing data types are taught in Field names, aliases and data types.
- Key terms: geographic role (tells Tableau which kind of location a field holds so it can geocode it); geocoding (assigning latitude and longitude to each value from data built into the Tableau map server); Default Properties (field-level settings used whenever the field is added to a view); default aggregation (the aggregation a measure gets when first added to a view).
Key facts
Assign a role
- Detail
- Data type icon > Geographic Role > role
Geocoding source
- Detail
- Data built into the Tableau map server
Generated fields
- Detail
- Latitude (generated) and Longitude (generated), in the measures area
Airport role
- Detail
- IATA or ICAO codes
City role
- Detail
- Worldwide cities with population of 15,000 or more
Latitude / Longitude roles
- Detail
- Decimal degrees; only for numeric fields
Unrecognized locations
- Detail
- May need custom geocoding
Default Number/Date Format
- Detail
- Set on number and date fields
Default aggregation
- Detail
- Used when the measure is first totaled in the view
Default color
- Detail
- Shared across worksheets using the same data source
Default sort
- Detail
- Also controls the order in filters
- When do you need custom geocoding instead of a built-in role?
- When does a measure's default aggregation take effect?
- Why does a region keep the same color on every worksheet once you set it?
- What does a default sort order affect besides the view?
- Which role fits a column of ISO 3166-1 alpha 3 codes such as FRA?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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