Visual Cues and Icons in Tableau Desktop - Tableau

Visual Cues and Icons in Tableau Desktop

Data Sources in the Data Pane

• Visual Cues for Data Sources:

  • Icons indicate the type of data source.

  • Primary Data Source: Blue check mark.

  • Secondary Data Source: Orange check mark.

  • Connected Data Sources:

    • Relational data source or file.

    • Extract that references underlying data.

    • Cube (multidimensional) data source (Windows only).

    • Excel table, sub-table, named range.

    • Published data source to Tableau Server.

Fields in the Data Pane

• Field Icons:

  • Discrete Fields: Blue icons.

  • Continuous Fields: Green icons.

  • User-defined Calculations: Icons preceded by "=".

• Field Types:

  • Text or string values.

  • Numeric values.

  • Date values.

  • Date and time values.

  • Boolean values (true/false).

  • Geographical data.

    • Indicates geographic role for building map views.

    • From custom geocoding file.

    • URL set to Image Role.

  • Calculations defined on server or database.

  • User-defined sets, groups, clusters.

  • Relational and multidimensional hierarchy levels.

  • Fields for blending, stitching, and hidden fields.

Fields on Shelves

• Field Icons on Shelves:

  • Blue Field: Indicates a discrete field (creates headers).

  • Green Field: Indicates a continuous field (creates axis).

  • Sort Icon: Indicates computed/manual sort.

  • Slicing Filter: Sigma icon for cube data source.

  • Set Icon: Venn diagram icon.

  • Unrelated/Related Icons: Show field relationships.

Fields on the Marks Card

• Marks Card Icons:

  • Color: Field applied to color.

  • Size: Field applied to size.

  • Label: Field applied to label.

  • Shape: Field applied to shape.

  • Detail: Field applied to detail.

  • Tooltip: Field applied to tooltip.

  • Path: Field applied to path (line/polygon type).

Sheets in Dashboards and Worksheets Pane

• Sheet Icons:

  • Worksheet: Sheet is a worksheet.

  • Dashboard: Sheet is a dashboard.

Fields in the Calculation Editor

• Text Color Coding:

  • Orange Text: Field is a dimension, measure, or set.

  • Purple Text: Field is a parameter (prefixed with [Parameters]).

  • Secondary Data Source: Orange text with prefix [Data source].

  • Calculation Function: Blue text.