Sorting and Filtering

Updated May 18, 2024 ·

Overview

Filtering helps focus on relevant data by removing unnecessary information.

• Types of Filters – Filter by category, date, location, or numeric values
• Filter Order – Filters apply in a specific sequence, affecting results
• Dimension Filters – Used for categories, like filtering by room type
• Measure Filters – Used for numerical values, like filtering price ranges

Types of Filters

Order of Operations

Tableau processes filters in a specific order, which affects how data will be displayed:

Filter Type	Description
Extract Filters	Filters data before extracting it from the source.
Data Source Filters	Filters data at the source level, applied to both live and extract connections.
Context Filters	Creates a temporary subset of data that other filters use.
Dimension Filters	Filters based on categorical fields like product type or region.
Measure Filters	Filters based on numerical values, such as sales or profit.
Table Calculation Filters	Applied last, after all other filters.

info

Extract and data source filters occur when you are connecting and loading data sources, which usually happens when you're opening a worksheet.

Extract Filters

Extract filters are used to limit the data when using an extract connection.

• Available only when using an extract instead of a live connection.
• Limits which rows get extracted from the data source.

Data Source Filters

Data source filters restrict data at the source level for both live and extract connections.

• Applied at the source level to restrict data in both live and extract connections.
• Useful for limiting what users can see when sharing workbooks.

Context Filters

Context filters set the stage for other filters by narrowing the data scope.

• Acts as a primary filter before other filters.
• Improves performance by reducing the data scope.

Dimension Filters (Blue)

Used for filtering categories.

• Include or exclude categories – Example: Filter by room type
• Wildcard filters – Find matches using characters
• Conditional filters – Filter based on other fields
• Top/Bottom filters – Show highest or lowest records

Measure Filters (Green)

Used for filtering numbers.

• Range filters – Set minimum and maximum values
• Null filters – Include or exclude missing values

Sorting

Sorting organizes data for better analysis.

• Default Sorting – Alphabetical order for categories
• Metric Sorting – Sort by numbers, like sorting products by profit
• Ascending/Descending – Arrange values from highest to lowest or vice versa

Filter Null Values

Null values can affect analysis, so filtering them out is useful.

• Exclude Nulls – Remove missing data from the view
• Show Only Nulls – Focus on incomplete data
• Replace Nulls – Fill missing values with a default value

Filter Top and Bottom Values

To filter just the top or bottom values, select the specific filter > Edit filter > Top > by field. Then specify the number and the dimension you want to filter.

Aggregation

Aggregation summarizes data for analysis, such as summing sales or averaging age.

• Aggregating Measures

  • Tableau automatically aggregates measures using sum

  • Other options include average, count, and variance.

    

• Aggregating Dimensions

  • Less common, but possible

  • Options like minimum, maximum, count, and distinct count.

    

Standard Deviation

Standard deviation measures how spread out data is from the average. It helps identify variability in datasets.

• Low standard deviation – Data points are close to the average.
• High standard deviation – Data points are more spread out.