Tableau Filter Operations
Any data analysis and visualization work involve the use of extensive filtering of data. Tableau has a variety of filtrations to address these needs.
Tableau has many inbuilt functions for applying filters on the data using both measures and dimensions.
For the measures, the filter option offers numeric calculations. The filter option for dimension offers using a custom list of values or choosing string values from a menu.
Creating Filters
- Filters are designed by dragging the required field to the Filters shelf.
- Then, create a horizontal bar chart by dragging the dimension (Sub-Category) to the Rows shelf and the measure (sales) to the Columns shelf.
- Again, drag the Sales into the Filters shelf, select sum option among all options, and click on the Next button.
- Once this filter is created, right-click and choose the Edit Filter option from the pop-up menu.
- Select one option among these options and click on OK button to apply the filter as shown in below screenshot.
- The final view after applying filter looks like below screenshot:
Create Filters for Measures
Measures are numeric fields. So, the filter options for such fields involve choosing values. There are following types of filters for measures in Tableau:
- Range of values: It specifies the minimum and maximum values of the range to include in the view.
- At Least: It includes all values that are greater than or equal to a specified minimum value.
- At Most: It includes all values that are less than or equal to a specified maximum value.
- Special: It helps you filter on Null values. It includes Null values, Non-null values, or All Values.
Below screenshot shows all these filters for Measures:
Create Filters for Dimensions
Dimensions are descriptive fields having string values. There are following types of filters for dimensions in Tableau:
- General Filter: It allows to select specific values from a list.
- Wildcard Filter: It allows to mention wildcards like cha* to filter all string values starting with cha.
- Condition Filter: It applies conditions such as sum of sales.
- Top Filter: It chooses the records representing a range of high values.
Below screenshot shows all these filters for Dimensions:
How to Clear Filters
Filters can be easily removed after selecting the filter Remove options as shown in the below screenshot.
