Data Types In Tableau
The Tableau Data Types provide information about the type of data stored in the data source. There can be a text value, a data value, a time value, a Boolean value, etc. Tableau supports a number of data types, including Boolean, String, Date & Datetime, and Number. Tableau automatically assigns data types once the data is loaded from the source.On the other hand, some data types can also be changed if they comply with the data conversion rules. Here is a brief explanation of each of them.
Tableau has seven basic types of data: Text, Numeric, Boolean, Date, Date & Time, Geographic, and Mixed. In this section, we discussed the five main types of Tableau data.
Listed below are the Data Types and their icons:
Tableau data types are explained as follows;
1.Text (String) Data Types
A string is an arrangement of zero or more characters enclosed in an inverted comma or double inverted comma. Inverted commas can be incorporated into strings by placing them twice. A string can consist of a single word or a group of words.
String examples include “Hello World” and “Hello”.
Strings can be divided into two types:
a. Char Data Type
String Data Types have a predetermined length, and fixed memory allocations. In the event that the user enters a string that exceeds the fixed length, an error will be generated. This type of data type can be used to store alphanumeric data.
b. Varchar2 Data Type
This type of Data Type does not have a predefined or fixed string length. The number of characters in this type of string is not restricted by the amount of memory allocated. Depending on the string length entered, this data type adjusts itself. This Data Type accepts alphanumeric data.
2. Date & Time Data Types
Dates and times are stored in this data type. Dates can be stored in Tableau in dd-mm-yy, dd-mm-yyyy, or mm-dd-yyyy formats. Date data types can be used for some fields that only include dates. Fields that contain both date and time (like timestamps) can be stored as date & time data types. Time values can be decade, year, quarter, month, day, hour, minute, or second.
When entering a date in “string” format, use “#” before the date. As an example, #14–01–2022 will be stored as a string.
3. Number Data Types
There are two types of data points that can be stored in this type of data such as floats and integers. Additionally, we can perform manual calculations on the data to gain more insight.
When using the float, we may not be able to accumulate the decimal points after a limit. As a result, integers are mostly used. Floats are often rounded up to integers using the Round function.
4. Boolean Data Types
Boolean data type in Tableau is a data type that represents only two possible values, which are “True” or “False”. This data type is used to store logical values, such as whether a condition is true or false. Boolean values can be used to control filtering, sorting, and other data analysis functions. For example, a Boolean value can be used to indicate whether a customer has made a purchase or not, or whether a product is in stock or out of stock.
5. Mixed Values
Mixed values in Tableau refer is a data type that occurs when a field in a dataset contains a combination of different data types or formats. For example, a single column in a dataset might contain both numeric and text values, or a mix of date and string values.
In Tableau, when a field contains mixed values, it is important to ensure that the field is correctly identified as the appropriate data type. This can be done by using the “Data Interpreter” feature, which can automatically detect and correct issues with mixed values. It is also possible to manually adjust the data type of a field using the “Data Type” option in the “Data Source” tab.
Handling mixed values in Tableau is important for accurate analysis and visualization of data. By ensuring that fields are properly classified, Tableau can accurately perform calculations, sorting, filtering, and other data analysis functions.
6.Geographic
The geographic data type in Tableau represents location-based data, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, addresses, or geographic regions. Tableau’s geographic data type allows users to create visualizations that are based on geographic location, such as maps or heatmaps. When geographic data is added to a visualization, Tableau can automatically identify the data and generate the appropriate map visualization.
In addition to the basic geographic data types, Tableau also supports additional geospatial data features, such as the ability to join geographic data to other data sources, custom geocoding to add new geographic regions, and spatial calculations to perform spatial analysis on data. Overall, the geographic data type in Tableau is a powerful tool for visualizing and analyzing location-based data, and can be used to gain insights into patterns, trends, and relationships across geographic regions.
7.Object
In Tableau, the Object data type represents data that cannot be classified into any of the other categories, such as images, PDFs, or sound files.
The Object data type allows users to include non-traditional data types in their visualizations, such as product images, company logos, or scanned documents. Object data can be added to a Tableau worksheet by dragging and dropping the object onto the sheet, or by using the “Insert” option in the toolbar.
When an Object data type is added to a visualization, Tableau creates a thumbnail image of the object that can be used to display the object in the visualization. Users can click on the thumbnail to view the full object in a separate window. This is a useful feature for including a wide range of non-traditional data types in visualizations, and can be used to create more engaging and informative visualizations. However, it is important to ensure that objects added to visualizations are appropriate and relevant to the analysis being conducted.