A parameter is a global placeholder value such as a number, date, or string that can replace a constant value in a calculation, filter, or reference line.

For example, you may create a calculated field that returns True if Sales is greater than $500,000 and otherwise returns False. You can replace the constant value of “500000” in the formula with a parameter. Then, using the parameter control, you can dynamically change the threshold in your calculation.

For example -

Explanation

Whenever you add a measure to your view, an aggregation is applied to that measure by default. This default is controlled by the Aggregate Measures setting in the Analysis menu.

If you decide you want to see all of the marks in the view at the most detailed level of granularity, you can disaggregate the view. Disaggregating your data means that Tableau will display a separate mark for every data value in every row of your data source.

To disaggregate all measures in the view:

Clear the Analysis >Aggregate Measures option. If it is already selected, click Aggregate Measures once to deselect it.

In fact, the opposite of this is true.

Trick : Whenever you think of joins -> Think that after the join is created, we get 1 single flat combined (joined) table. This flat combined table is created prior to us creating our visualizations. This happens at the physical layer.

If you ever think about relationships, know that all tables will remain distinct and separate, and relationships sit at the logical layer. At run time, when you bring in the dimensions and measures to create your viz, Tableau very smartly creates the necessary joins, relates the tables and sends queries to these tables to get the resultant data back in the most meaningful way possible. This allows you to focus on using your data and revealing insights from it and focus less on the data preparation aspect!

Refer to logical layer vs physical layer from the official documentation: https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/datasource_datamodel.htm

Explanation

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Extracts would be more beneficial for analyzing historical prices where we won't be making use of any real time data being streamed. Same is the case for enormous datasets having billions of rows (extracts will be more efficient in analyzing subsets of such large data).

As for live stock prices, flight updates, real time updates from production or mission critical systems - having a live connection is the most logical choice, since we need access to the most fresh and recent data possible at all times!

With dimension filters in Tableau, you can use several filter modes, including "Multiple Values (drop-down)" which allows users to select one or more values from a drop-down list of all the dimension's members. Another mode is "Wildcard Match," which lets users filter the view by typing in a text box to match dimension members that contain the typed string. These filter types are particularly useful for string or categorical dimensions where users need to search or select specific members to display in the view.

Tree maps size begins from maximum in top left to smallest in bottom right.

See below to learn how to create a TreeMap and add colours to it:

Explanation

To interactively display information from the web INSIDE a dashboard, you can use a URL action with a web page object.

For example, you might have a dashboard that shows profits by country. In addition to showing the profit data in your dashboard, you also want to display supplemental information about the countries from a web site.

Explanation

Data is generated and analyzed at many different levels of granularity. Granularity is the level of detail of the data. For example, when looking at graduation data, granularity would describe whether a row in the data set represents a single person or the graduating class of a university.

You should use a relationship instead of a join for two data sets when the data sets include similar data aggregated at different levels of detail. A relationship is a way of combining data from different tables based on common fields without creating a single table with all fields. A relationship allows you to query data from multiple tables as needed and preserve the level of detail of each table. A relationship is useful when you have data sets that are aggregated at different levels of detail, such as sales by region and sales by product. A relationship can match data from different levels of detail without creating null values or duplicate rows. The other options are not valid situations for using a relationship instead of a join for two data sets. The data sets include similar data aggregated up to the highest level is not correct, because a relationship is not needed when both data sets have the same level of detail. You can use either a relationship or a join in this case, depending on your preference and performance. The data sets are in two separate tables within a single spreadsheet is not correct, because a relationship is not limited by the location or format of the data sets. You can use a relationship to combine data from different sources or connections, such as databases, files, or web services. To use both data sets across multiple sheets in a visualization is not correct, because a relationship does not affect how you use data in your visualization. You can use either a relationship or a join to create multiple sheets and dashboards with your data sets.

Explanation

The word 'static tool' gives it away.

According to the official website :

Explanation

This is true, indeed!

The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all records from the left table (table1), and the matched records from the right table (table2). The result is NULL from the right side, if there is no match.

Explanation

The following is the official documentation for the String function LEFT:

According to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Readiness, a line chart will be created whenever you place measures on one shelf, and a date dimension on the other. This is because Tableau automatically recognizes date fields and treats them as continuous dimensions.

Explanation

When using a Blend, the primary data source appears with a BLUE tick-mark and the secondary data source appears with a ORANGE tick-mark.

See below:

Explanation

To reach the correct answer, follow these steps:

1) You can simply drag Country to the view, and look at the marks in the bottom left of Tableau Desktop - 147 marks!

2) Or, you can simply go to Data Source -> Country Tab -> Describe

As you can see, 147 members exist in this Country column!

To perform a union in Tableau, the tables must have a related field with matching data types, and they must have the same number of fields. This allows the tables to be appended vertically in the data source. Different names or tables from different connections do not affect the ability to union the tables.

By default, the shape that a Heap map uses is a "Square". See below:

According to the official Tableau documentation:

Tableau packaged workbooks have the .twbx file extension. A packaged workbook is a single zip file that contains a workbook along with any supporting local file data and background images. This format is the best way to package your work for sharing with others who don’t have access to the original data. For more information, see Packaged Workbooks.

There are three benefits of using an extract as compared to a live connection to a data source:

• A live connection to a data source can be slow due to network and user traffic, whereas a connection to an extract improves performance. An extract is a snapshot of data that is stored locally on your computer or on Tableau Server. An extract can reduce the load on the data source and speed up queries.
• Extracts are stored in memory (RAM), resulting in faster query performance as compared with live data connections. When you use an extract, Tableau loads the data into memory and optimizes it for analysis. This allows Tableau to perform calculations and aggregations faster than with live connections.
• Calculated fields perform better in workbooks connected to extracts than in workbooks with live connections to a data source. Calculated fields are custom fields that you create using formulas or expressions. When you use an extract, Tableau can process calculated fields more efficiently than with live connections.

This is a tricky question. We are talking about story POINTS, and not entire stories in the question.

To create a story, lets say I have a blank story with 1 dashboard and 1 worksheet.

I can simply drag the dashboard into the view to create a new story point.

Now, if I try to adjust the worksheet beside it in this same view, I cannot. See below:

The only option available is to replace the existing view. Therefore, the answer is NO since they both cannot be added.

Read more about stories in Tableau: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/story_create.htm

Explanation

It is possible in Tableau to use a sheet within a story directly.

Moreover, in Tableau, a story is a sequence of visualizations that work together to convey information. You can create stories to tell a data narrative, provide context, demonstrate how decisions relate to outcomes, or to simply make a compelling case.

At the same time, a story is also a collection of sheets, arranged in a sequence. Each individual sheet in a story is called a story point.

The beauty of context filters is that according to Tableau's Order of Operations, they are executed before Sets.

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This means that based on what Region's you've selected - Tableau will first only preserve the rows for those Regions. THEN, after this it will compute the Set , i.e , Bottom 10 products in each Region.

1) First let's create a set to compute the Bottom 10 Products by Profit.

2) Next, take region on the Rows Shelf followed by the Set we just created. Drag Region and the Set to the Filters Shelf as well.

3) Now, try to only visualize the data for the South Region:

4) The problem right now is that Tableau is computing the Set first (Bottom 10 Products), and then applying the Dimension Filter - South Region and hence these values are incorrect. Note how these aren't even 10 products, but rather just 8. To fix this, simply add Region to Context:

Upon doing this, we get the correct answer as : 

References: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/order_of_operations.htm

https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/filtering_context.htm

Explanation

You can show trend lines in a visualization to highlight trends in your data.

To add trend lines to a view, both axes must contain a field that can be interpreted as a number. For example, you cannot add a trend line to a view that has the Product Category dimension, which contains strings, on the Columns shelf and the Profit measure on the Rows shelf.

However, you can add a trend line to a view of sales over time because both sales and time can be interpreted as numeric values.

Explanation

If you chose 111,060 you were SO close to the correct answer but made a small mistake - you didn't change the aggregation to AVERAGE! This is one of the common mistakes many test takers make, so keep this in mind.

To reach the correct answer, follow the steps below:

1) Draw Assortment to the Column shelf, and drag Year to the Rows Shelf. Then Drill down further on Year to accomodate Quarters and Months as well!

Although this seems enough, DON'T FORGET to change the aggregation like in the next step, which will completely change the values!

• The correct answer as you can see is 1,461 - Sales for Harware Assortment in 2017 Q4, October

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Tables that you drag to the logical layer of the Data Source page canvas must be related to each other. When you drag additional tables to the logical layer canvas, Tableau automatically attempts to create the relationship based on existing key constraints and matching fields to define the relationship. If it can't determine the matching fields, you will need to select them.

If no constraints are detected, a Many-to-many relationship is created and referential integrity is set to Some records match. These default settings are a safe choice and provide the most a lot of flexibility for your data source.

In Tableau, when you initially add a measure to the rows shelf, you create one mark in the view that represents the aggregate value of that measure. When you then add a dimension with 11 members to the columns shelf, the view is subdivided into 11 separate marks, each representing the measure for one of the dimension members. This results in a total of 11 marks in the view after the dimension is added, one for each member of the dimension.

According to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide, a packaged workbook (.twbx) includes background images, extract files, and custom shapes. A PDF copy of the workbook and Tableau Datasource Customization (TDC) files are not included in a packaged workbook.

Important question! You cannot use a context filter to replace a data source filter since each filter type has its own use case. Also, a content filter is an Independent filter and all other filters are called dependent since they only process the data that passes through a context filter.

According to the official documentation : 

Explanation

By default, measures placed in a view are aggregated by SUM, which means that the data for that field in all of the rows is combined. Measures can also be aggregated as average, median, count, or count distinct.

To create a stacked bar chart in Tableau, you can drag a second dimension to the Color shelf on the Marks card. This action will segment the bars already present in the chart by the new dimension, stacking the segments on top of each other within each bar. This is a common method to add additional layers of detail to a bar chart and effectively compare parts to a whole across categories.

According to the official Tableau documentation:

An example of an area chart is shown below:

According to the official Tableau documentation:

When you use the 'Create Set' option in Tableau, it creates a dynamic set if the conditions for inclusion in the set are based on a calculation or an aggregation that may change as the data is updated or as filters are applied. Fixed sets are static and do not change with data refreshes, while dynamic sets can update to reflect the current state of the data.

Explanation

SUM is an aggregate function, not a table calculation!

A table calculation is a transformation you apply to the values in a visualization. Table calculations are a special type of calculated field that computes on the local data in Tableau. They are calculated based on what is currently in the visualization and do not consider any measures or dimensions that are filtered out of the visualization.

The most common Table calculations are:

Running Total

Percent Difference

Difference

Percent of Total

Rank

Percentile

These can be calculated using : Table(across), Cell, or Specific dimensions!

Before you can build a view and analyze your data, you must first connect Tableau to your data. Tableau supports connecting to a wide variety of data, stored in a variety of places.

By default, when you connect a data source to Tableau, Tableau will create a live connection to the data.

Live connection refers to a data source that contains direct connection to underlying data, which provides real-time or near real-time data. With a live connection, Tableau makes queries directly against the database or other source, and returns the results of the query for use in a workbook. Users can create live connections and then share them on Tableau Server so that other Tableau users can use the same data using the same connection and filtering settings.

According to the official Tableau documentation:

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Explanation

Cluster analysis partitions marks in the view into clusters, where the marks within each cluster are more similar to one another than they are to marks in other clusters.

Treemaps use automatically generated sizes that cannot be resized by using the Marks card. A treemap is a type of visualization that shows hierarchical data as a set of nested rectangles. Each rectangle represents a dimension member and its size is proportional to a measure value. Tableau automatically calculates the size of each rectangle based on an optimal aspect ratio for readability and comparison. You cannot manually adjust the size of each rectangle by using the Marks card or any other option in Tableau10 The other chart types do not use automatically generated sizes that cannot be resized by using the Marks card. Pie charts use angles to show proportions of a whole, not sizes. Histograms use bins and frequencies to show distributions of a measure, not sizes. Area charts use filled areas to show trends over time or categories, not sizes. You can adjust the size of these chart types by using the Marks card or other options in Tableau

From the official documentation, the following are the major advantages of using Tableau Data Extracts:

From Tableau 2020.2 onwards, .hyper is the recommended way since it is faster than .tde!

To update the font of an entire workbook in Tableau, you should use the "Format Workbook" pane. This feature allows you to set and modify the default font settings for the entire workbook, ensuring consistency in font style across all sheets and dashboards. It's a global setting that applies to all visual elements in the workbook, including titles, captions, axis labels, and other text elements.

Explanation

In a box and whisker plot:

1) The ends of the box are the upper and lower quartiles, so the box spans the interquartile range

2) The median is marked by a vertical line inside the box

3) The whiskers are the two lines outside the box that extend to the highest and lowest observations.

According to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide, one of the exam objectives is to “Sort data in a visualization”. The guide also states that “You can sort data in a visualization from three locations: the Worksheet menu, an axis, or a field label” (page 15).

As a general best practice, your pie chart should contain 2 to 5 categories. Anything more than that is not easy for the eyes to distinguish. This is a common question and mentioned in Tableau's own eLearning module as well!

See how to build a pie chart:

To clear all sorting in a Tableau visualization, you would go to the Worksheet menu, select the "Clear" option, and then choose "Sorts." This action removes all sorting that has been applied to the visualization, including any custom sorting or sorting based on multiple fields. This is a quick way to reset the view to its default sorting state and is particularly useful when you have applied various sorting layers and wish to start fresh.

Explanation

To reach the correct answer, follow these steps:

1) Drag Order Date (Discrete Year) to the Column shelf, and Region to the Row Shelf as shown:

2) Drag Profit to Text in the Marks Shelf as shown:

3) Click on Analysis as shown -> Totals -> SELECT ROW GRAND TOTALS

The following will be the final view:

You could also Filter by Region to only Focus on Canada, but that's your choice:

THEREFORE,

2012 = 4,888

2011 -> 2014 = 17,817

In the context of Tableau, "Migrated Data" typically refers to data or workbooks that have been upgraded from a previous version of Tableau Desktop. When you open a workbook in a newer version of Tableau, the data sources within that workbook might be labeled as "Migrated Data," indicating that they have undergone a conversion process to be compatible with the new version's features and architecture.

You can perform two actions when you join tables from multiple connections: add a data source filter and create an extract. A data source filter is a filter that you can apply to the data source before it is loaded into Tableau. This can help improve performance and reduce the amount of data in the view. A data source filter can be applied to any data source, including those that use cross-database joins2 An extract is a snapshot of data that is stored locally on your computer or on Tableau Server. An extract can also improve performance and enable offline analysis. You can create an extract from any data source, including those that use cross-database joins3 You cannot perform the other two actions when you join tables from multiple connections: create a union or use a stored procedure. A union is a method for combining data by appending rows of one table onto another table. To union your data in Tableau, the tables must come from the same connection. You cannot union tables from different data sources or connections4 A stored procedure is a set of SQL statements that can be executed on a database server. Tableau does not support using stored procedures as part of a cross-database join. You can only use stored procedures with some single-connection relational data sources, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL5

Date values in Tableau represent specific points in time and are typically formatted in a standard date format.

• Option A, "2020-05-01", is a standard date format representing the 1st of May, 2020.
• Option D, "January 1, 1995", is another example of a date value, representing the 1st of January, 1995. Options B ("December") and C ("Wednesday") represent a month and a day of the week, respectively, but do not specify a particular date.

The following options are available when an image is Exported:

NOTE: When we Copy an image rather than exporting it, then the image is copied to the clipboard in the TIFF file format! However, it is not available when EXPORTING an image.

According to the [Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide], an incremental refresh only adds rows that are new, based on a specified column and value. A full refresh replaces all the extracted data with the data in the underlying data source. A full refresh is usually very slow, especially for large extracts. An incremental refresh can take less time, depending on how many new rows are added. A full refresh does not need to be configured, it is the default option for extracts in Tableau. An incremental refresh can be run from both Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server.

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To clean and automatically fix the data issues in our data source - This is the definition of Data Interpreter.

To rename the field in the original data source - We never modify the original data source when managing metadata. All changes are local to Tableau for our convenience only.

All other options can be modified using the Manage Metadata property.

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It is very much possible to specify the formatting at a WORKBOOK level (all sheets) instead of a single worksheet level.

You can quickly change how fonts, titles, and lines look in every view in a workbook by specifying format settings at the workbook level, instead of the worksheet level.

For example, you might want to use a specific font, size, and color so that all views adhere to your company's brand. You might also want to remove grid lines from your views—or make them more noticeable by increasing their pixel size or color.

You can also change the theme used by your workbook. Themes control items like the default font, colors, and line thickness. When you create a new workbook, it automatically uses the Default theme, which uses visual best practices.

Change fonts in your workbook:

You can change all fonts in your workbook or you can change fonts for only certain areas, such as just worksheet titles.

1) On the Format menu, select Workbook.

2) The Format Workbook pane replaces the Data pane on the left and provides a series of drop-down lists where you can change all font settings in a workbook, as well as the font settings for titles of worksheets, stories, and dashboards.

Note: If you have made font changes at the worksheet level, such as on a filter card or a worksheet title, changing the font at the WORKBOOK level will overwrite those changes.

Reset a workbook to its default settings

When you make changes to your workbook's font settings, a gray dot appears next to the setting in the Format Workbook pane. You can quickly switch back to default settings using the Reset to Defaults button.

1) On the Format menu, select Workbook.

2) In the Format Workbook pane, click Reset to Defaults.

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To add totals to a view using the Analytics pane:

Also, you can add totals from the Analytics tab in the Menu above:

We know that continuous fields will always create an axis, so options stating 'header' are automatically eliminated. For our question, see below:

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Had the question asked us to place this pill on the Rows shelf instead, we would've gotten a different answer:

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Explanation

Tableau displays data source connections and data fields for the workbook in the Data pane on the left side of the workspace.

The Data pane includes:

Dimension fields – Fields that contain qualitative values (such as names, dates, or geographical data). You can use dimensions to categorize, segment, and reveal the details in your data. Dimensions affect the level of detail in the view. Examples of dimensions include dates, customer names, and customer segments.

Measure fields – Fields that contain numeric, quantitative values can be measured. You can apply calculations to them and aggregate them. When you drag a measure into the view, Tableau applies an aggregation to that measure (by default). Examples of measures: sales, profit, number of employees, temperature, frequency.

For more information on what dimensions and measures are, see Dimensions and Measures, Blue and Green.

Calculated fields – If your underlying data doesn't include all of the fields you need to answer your questions, you can create new fields in Tableau using calculations and then save them as part of your data source. These fields are called calculated fields.

For more information on calculated fields, see Create Custom Fields with Calculations.

Sets – Subsets of data that you define. Sets are custom fields based on existing dimensions and criteria that you specify. For more information, see Create Sets.

Named sets from an MS Analysis Services server or from a Teradata OLAP connector also appear in Tableau in this area of the Data pane. You can interact with these named sets in the same way you interact with other custom sets in Tableau.

Parameters – Values that can be used as placeholders in formulas, or replace constant values in calculated fields and filters. For more information, see Create Parameters.

The icon shown is used to add a new Dashboard! From the official documentation:

You can use a story to present a data narrative to lead your audience to your conclusions, or to assemble a sequenced analysis to share with collaborators. A story is a sequence of visualizations that work together to convey information. You can create stories to tell a data story, provide context, demonstrate how decisions relate to outcomes, or to simply make a compelling case4

An Individual Axis in Tableau is obtained by adding a continuous into Rows or Columns Shelf.

Example:

In order to show Individual Axis in Tableau First, we drag and drop the Color from Dimension shelf to Column Shelf. Next, we drag and drop the Sales Amount from measures shelf to Rows Shelf. Since it is a continuous value, the Sales Amount will be aggregated to default Sum. Once you drag them, following Chart report will be generated.

Next, we drag and Drop one more measure value, i.e., Total Product Cost from Measures Region to Rows Shelf. Because it is a Measure value, Total Product Cost is aggregated to default Sum. From the below screenshot, you can observe that Tableau has created an individual axis for each measure (continuous field).

Upon clicking on a filter, we see the following options:

Clearly, Regex Match is not one of these options!

You can assign an alias to a field member before creating a visualization. An alias is an alternative name that you can assign to a value in a dimension field. You can use aliases to rename specific values within a dimension to make them more relevant or descriptive in your view than what the original data provides. For example, you can use aliases to shorten long names, correct spelling errors, or replace codes with meaningful labels6 You can create aliases for the members of discrete dimensions only. They cannot be created for continuous dimensions, dates, or measures. To create an alias for a dimension member, you can right-click the dimension in the Data pane and select Aliases, then enter a new name for each member under Value (Alias). You can also create an alias by right-clicking a dimension member in the view and selecting Edit Alias. You can do this before or after creating a visualization6 The other options are not accurate statements about aliases. You cannot create an alias for a discrete measure, because measures are not discrete fields. You cannot create an alias for a continuous dimension, because aliases are only available for discrete dimensions. When you assign an alias, the name does not change in the database, only in Tableau. Aliases are stored as part of the workbook or data source, and do not affect the original data6

Explanation

We can perform filter, URL and highlight actions out of the above given choices on a dashboard. Please refer to the image below:

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You can change the scope of a reference line by choosing one of the following options: Per Pane, Entire Table, or Per Cell. The scope determines how many reference lines are added to the view and how they are calculated. Per Pane adds one reference line for each pane in the view. Entire Table adds one reference line for the entire table in the view. Per Cell adds one reference line for each cell in the view

According to the official Tableau documentation:

Tableau data source files have the .tds file extension. Data source files are shortcuts for quickly connecting to the original data that you use often. Data source files do not contain the actual data but rather the information necessary to connect to the actual data as well as any modifications you've made on top of the actual data such as changing default properties, creating calculated fields, adding groups, and so on. For more information, see Save Data Sources.

Explanation

Tableau SERVER enables us to create workbooks and views, dashboards, and data sources in Tableau Desktop, and then publish this content to our own server.

Moreover, as a Tableau Server administrator you will control who has access to server content to help protect sensitive data. Administrators can set user permissions on projects, workbooks, views, and data sources.

Explanation

VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR THE EXAM, PAY ATTENTION

1) To find the number of days between order date and shipping date, we will make use of a calculated field:

In the data pane, click on the dropdown arrow, and choose create calculated field.

Let's name this calculated field "ShippingDelay" (you can name it anything you want :) )

2) Use the DATEDIFF() function, and pass it the arguments as follows:

'day' depicts that we want to calculate the number of DAYS between the two dates. The first argument is 'start_date' which is the ORDER_DATE (day the order was placed), the second argument is 'end_date', which is the SHIP_DATE (date the order was shipped). So by subtracting as follows: SHIP_DATE - ORDER_DATE, we can find the delay in shipping.

Click OK.

3) You should now have a new measure as follows:

4) Phew! The hard part is done! Now let's filter by Market to include only LATAM:

5) Drag Country to the view, and the new calculated field 'ShippingDelay' to SIZE on the Marks Shelf as follows:

*You can also click on Show Text Labels to be sure that you're choosing the Largest value*

Clearly, Mexico has the highest Shipping Delay!

When you click Salt Lake City in the view, the URL action will direct you to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt+Lake+City+Car+Dropoff+City. A URL action is a hyperlink that points to a web page or other web-based resource outside of Tableau. You can use URL actions to create an email or link to additional information about your data.  To customize links based on your data, you can automatically enter field values as parameters in URLs3 In this case, the URL action uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ as the URL target, where is a field value from the view. When you click Salt Lake City in the view, Tableau will replace with Salt Lake City in the URL target. However, since spaces are not allowed in URLs, Tableau will encode them as + signs instead. Therefore, the final URL will be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt+Lake+City+Car+Dropoff+City 3 The other options are not correct because they do not reflect how Tableau encodes field values in URL actions.

The Shape option is available for scatter plots and packed bubbles views. The Shape option allows you to change the shape of marks in the view by selecting from a predefined set of shapes or adding custom shapes. You can access the Shape option by placing any field on Shape on the Marks card4 Scatter plots are views that show the relationship between two numerical variables by plotting them as coordinates on a Cartesian plane. You can create a scatter plot by placing at least one measure on Columns and at least one measure on Rows on the Marks card. You can then use Shape to assign different shapes to different categories or segments in your data5 Packed bubbles are views that show hierarchical data as a set of nested circles. Each circle represents a dimension member and its size is proportional to a measure value. You can create a packed bubble chart by placing one or more dimensions on Detail and one measure on Size on the Marks card. You can then use Shape to change the shape of circles to other shapes such as squares or stars6 The other options are not valid views for using the Shape option. Side-by-side circles are views that show proportions of a whole by using circles with different angles and sizes arranged horizontally or vertically. You can create a side-by-side circle chart by placing one dimension on Columns or Rows and one measure on Angle and Size on the Marks card. You cannot use Shape to change the shape of circles in this view7 Heat maps are views that show the distribution of two or more measures by using a color gradient and size. You can create a heat map by placing one or more dimensions on Columns and Rows and two measures on Color and Size on the Marks card. You cannot use Shape to change the shape of marks in this view8

Two correct methods for creating a visual group are selecting marks in the view and right-clicking a dimension in the Data pane. A visual group is a way of combining related members in a dimension field to create categories or segments in your data. For example, you can create a visual group by selecting several states in a map view and grouping them into regions. You can create a visual group by selecting one or more marks in the view and then clicking the group icon on the tooltip or on the toolbar. This will create a new group field in the Data pane with default names for each group based on their members. You can also create a visual group by right-clicking a dimension in the Data pane and selecting Create > Group. This will open the Create Group dialog box where you can select several members and drag them into groups with custom names8 The other options are not correct methods for creating a visual group. Clicking the drop-down arrow from the top of the Data pane will open a menu with options for creating new fields, folders, sets, bins, etc., but not groups. Dragging a dimension onto another dimension in the Data pane will create a hierarchy, which is a way of organizing data into different levels of detail, not groups9

You can add reference lines, bands, distributions, or (in Tableau Desktop but not on the web) box plots to any continuous axis in the view.

Reference Lines - You can add a reference line at a constant or computed value on the axis. Computed values can be based on a specified field. You can also include confidence intervals with a reference line.

Dashboard actions in Tableau are interactive elements that can be used to create a more dynamic experience. These actions can be set to filter data on the dashboard, highlight specific elements, or even direct the user to a URL when interacting with a visualization. They can be triggered by user interaction such as hover, selection, or accessing a context menu. Moreover, dashboard actions can have multiple source sheets (where the action originates) and target sheets (where the action takes effect), allowing for a complex interactivity between different parts of the dashboard.

Scaled is NOT a valid size options when creating Dashboards in Tableau!

After you create a dashboard, you might need to resize and reorganize it to work better for your users.

Explanation

GDP / Population = GDP Per Capita

Here Sum is a function, / and + are operators. On the bottom there are comments.

Exporting the visualisation gives us a static view of the visualisation.

It is NOT possible to interact with it, use filters, or dynamically enter anything in a visualisation exported PDF.

In Tableau Desktop, you can save views as PDF files rather than printing them as hard copies. You do not need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer.

When you print an individual sheet to PDF, filters in the view are not included. To show filters, create a dashboard containing the sheet and export the dashboard to PDF. (IMPORTANT)

a calculated field that has a formula of SUM(Sales)/SUM(Profit) is a measure, because it returns a numeric value that can be aggregated and used for analysis. A parameter is a user-defined variable that can be used in calculations or filters. A dimension is a categorical field that can be used to group or slice data. A set is a subset of data based on some condition.

According to the Tableau Help, a highlight table is “a cross-tabulation that uses color to encode values”. The help also states that “Highlight tables use the Square mark type” (page 1).

Explanation

You can create aliases (alternate names) for members in a dimension so that their labels appear differently in the view.

Aliases can be created for the members of discrete dimensions only. They cannot be created for continuous dimensions, dates, or measures.

To create an alias:

1) In the Data pane, right-click a dimension and select Aliases.

2) In the Edit Aliases dialog box, under Value (Alias), select a member and enter a new name.

• To submit your changes: In Tableau Desktop, click OK.

On Tableau Server or Tableau Online, click the X icon in the top-right corner of the dialog box.

When you add the field to the view, the alias names appear as labels in the view. For example:

Explanation

Follow along to reach the correct answer:

1) First, drag Date to the Column shelf and Profit to the Rows shelf. We need to see the 2 consecutive months over this two year period (2012-2013) so this tells us we need to work with continuous dates:

Click on Date in the Column shelf and convert it to continuous month :

2) Now, click on the Profit pill in the Rows shelf, go to quick table calculation and choose Percent difference:

3) Finally, click on the Show mark Labels icon:

4) We finally have our view, and clearly, 10 Months have a NEGATIVE percent difference:

To access bolding options for the text in a tooltip in Tableau, you can:

• Select Tooltip on the Marks card, which allows you to edit the tooltip for the specific marks.
• Select Worksheet on the menu, and then Tooltip, to open the tooltip editor for the worksheet.
• Right-click on the Field and select Format, which lets you format the text including bolding options in the tooltip.

When we create a reference line, we get the following 3 options for the scope:

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Explanation

When you connect to a data source, Tableau automatically separates date fields into hierarchies so you can easily break down the viz. You can also create your own custom hierarchies. For example, if you have a set of fields named Region, State, and County, you can create a hierarchy from these fields so that you can quickly drill down between levels in the viz.

The calculated field formula LEFT("Sales Data", 5) will correctly produce the output "Sales" from the string value "Sales Data". The LEFT function in Tableau returns the specified number of characters from the start of the string. Here, the first 5 characters of "Sales Data" are "Sales".

Lot of students have been seeing this question in the exam lately, and wanted me to include this question so here it is. Follow along -

1) Click on Worksheet in the Menu bar, followed by Tooltip and select the bold option

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2) Click on Tooltip in the Marks card, and select bold.

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3) Right click, click format and then under the default worksheet formatting, choose Tooltip and make it bold.

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There exists no option to Bold the tooltip contents by clicking Analysis. Hence, it is an incorrect choice.

When you double-click a continuous numeric measure named Sales in Tableau, it automatically creates a bar chart. Tableau's default behavior for a single measure is to display it as a bar chart, with the measure values represented on the Y-axis and an automatic range on the X-axis.

According to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Readiness, to create a calculation that returns a customer name followed by a comma, a space, and then the customer’s age, you should use the formula [Customer Name] + “,” + STR([Age]). This is because you need to concatenate strings using the + operator, and convert the numeric field [Age] to a string using the STR() function.

Hierarchies in Tableau are used to define a drill-down path through your data. By creating a hierarchy, you can organize related fields together, which makes it easier to navigate complex data models. This also allows users to explore data at different levels of detail, from the highest level of the hierarchy to the most granular details, simply by clicking to expand and collapse levels of the hierarchy in the view.

Explanation

According to Tableau's official documentation -

According to the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide, city, country, and airport are three geographic roles that you can assign to a field. Address and time zone are not geographic roles in Tableau.

Your Tableau Desktop Specialist exam will be based on the 2020.1 version.

Set controls are a new feature introduced in the 2020.2 version, and hence is the correct answer - it is not a part of 2020.1

For the 2020.1 version the new features were:

1) Viz animations:

Viz animations help you see and understand your changing data. It’s easy to track the logical steps behind data’s evolution and tell powerful data stories. Sorting, filtering, adding fields, and other actions will now smoothly animate your visualizations. Choose whether to turn Viz Animations on or off, and decide how you’d best like to apply animations to your new workbooks.

2) Dynamic Parameters:

Say goodbye to republishing workbooks with parameters every time the underlying data changes. Set your parameter once, and Tableau will automatically update the parameter’s list of values every time someone opens the workbook.

3) Buffer Calculations:

Buffer calculations allow you to visualize the distance around point locations. Give Tableau three parameters—location, distance, and a unit of measure—and a buffer, or boundary is instantly created. Answering complex spatial questions becomes easier than ever before—visualize what properties are within 200 meters of a proposed transit site, or how many competitors’ stores are within 1 mile of their store, and more.

**IMPORTANT QUESTION AND EXPLANATION, PLEASE READ**

3 ways to group data -

1) Marks

2) Labels

3) Dimensions shelf.

*IMPORTANT*

If we Group the data by selecting the marks, then they remain separate marks in the view and then have the same colour. Also, a new group is created in the Dimensions shelf. Example -

Using the sample superstore dataset, first plot a bar chart showing sales for each sub-category:

Here, if we Select Phones, Chairs and Storage by selecting the MARKS (Bars), and then group them:

They remain seperate marks (BARS) but are grouped by the same colour.

Now, if we didn't do this, and rather grouped by selecting their Labels (Names):

Then they no longer remain separate Marks (bars) but are rather consolidated into a single Bar:

Finally, we can group directly from the Dimensions shelf as follows:

Now choose Phones, Chairs and Storage and Click Group:

You will now automatically have a new Dimension as follows:

By default, measures placed in a view are aggregated. Mostly you'll notice that the aggregation is SUM, but not ALWAYS.

The type of aggregation applied varies depending on the context of the view.