Understanding Tableau Concepts15% of the exam
Discrete headers, continuous axes and date parts
Blue discrete fields create headers and categorical colors, green continuous fields create axes and quantitative color legends; how to convert between them, which fields can't be continuous, and why a discrete MONTH date part differs from a continuous month value.
Understand discrete and continuous fields: Explain how discrete fields are displayed; Explain how continuous fields are displayed; Explain the difference between discrete date parts and continuous date values.
~7 min read · 9 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Predict what a discrete (blue) field creates on Rows, Columns and Color: headers and a categorical palette.
- Predict what a continuous (green) field creates on Rows, Columns and Color: an axis and a quantitative legend.
- Convert a field between discrete and continuous on a pill or in the Data pane, and know which fields can't be continuous.
- Explain the difference between a discrete date part (October of any year) and a continuous date value (October 2023), and pick the one a view needs.
Key terms:
- Discrete: "individually separate and distinct"; blue; creates headers.
- Continuous: "forming an unbroken whole, without interruption"; green; creates an axis.
- Date part: a discrete date level that aggregates to one part of a date, such as October of any year.
- Date value: a continuous date level, the actual date truncated to a level, such as October 2023.
Key facts
Discrete field on Rows or Columns
- Detail
- Creates headers; the field is blue
Continuous field on Rows or Columns
- Detail
- Creates an axis; the field is green
Discrete field on Color
- Detail
- Categorical palette, a color per value
Continuous field on Color
- Detail
- Quantitative legend with a continuous range of colors
String or Boolean dimension
- Detail
- Can't be continuous
Measure changed to Discrete
- Detail
- Headers replace the axis; still a measure, still aggregated
Dates entering the view
- Detail
- Discrete by default
Date part
- Detail
- Aggregates to one part of a date, such as October of any year
Date value
- Detail
- Actual date truncated to a level, such as October 2023; creates an axis
Continuous by default
- Detail
- Data pane, right-click, Convert to Continuous
- When is an ordinal palette a better fit than a categorical one for a discrete field?
- Why does drilling into YEAR(Order Date) add a second field?
- When do the Hour, Minute and Second levels add nothing to a view?
- Which date level gives record-level dates?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
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