This presentation "Tableau interview questions and answers" will help you to get prepared for Tableau job interviews. Tableau has become a mission-critical data visualization tool that helps people quickly understand data. The usefulness and popularity of Tableau make it a necessary skill for anyone working with data. As a reflection of the growing importance of data and tools for understanding it, the number of jobs requiring Tableau skills has increased dramatically since 2014.If you’re moving into the field of data analytics or you’re moving up the ladder and need Tableau skills, you’ll probably be interviewing for a job someday soon. We’re here to help, with the key Tableau job interview questions along with their best answers for you to think about ahead of time. Some of the Tableau interview questions discussed in this presentation are mentioned below. Click on the time stamps to directly jump to that particular question. 1. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau? 2. What do you understand by dimensions and measures? 3. What do you understand by Discrete and Continuous in Tableau? 4. What are filters? Name the different filters in Tableau. 5. There are three customer segments in the Superstore dataset. What percent of the total profits is associated with the Corporate segment? 6. What are the different joins in Tableau? Give example 7. What is the difference between Join and Blending? 8. What is the difference b/w Live and Extract? 9. What is a Calculated Field? How will you create one? 10. How can you display top five and last five sales in the same view ? 11. Is there any difference between Sets and Groups, in Tableau? 12. What is a Parameter in Tableau? Give an example. 13. What is the difference between Tree maps and Heat maps? 14. What is the difference b/w .twbx and .twb? 15. Explain the difference b/w Tableau worksheet, dashboard, story, and workbook? 16. What do you understand by Blended Axis? 17. What is the use of dual axis? How do you create one? 18. What will the following function return? - Left(3, “Tableau”) 19. How do you handle Null and other special values? 20. Find the top product subcategories by Sales within each delivery method. Which sub-category is ranked #2 for first class ship mode? 21. Find the customer with the lowest overall profit. What is his/her profit ratio? 22. What is the Rank function in Tableau? 23. How can you embed a webpage in a dashboard? 24. Design a view to show region wise profit and sales? 25. How can you optimize the performance of a dashboard? 26. Which visualization will be used in the given scenarios: 27. What will you do if some country/province (any geographical entity) is missing and displaying a null when you use map view? 28. What is LOD expression? 29. How can you calculate daily profit measure using LOD? 30. How can you schedule a workbook in Tableau after publishing it? Learn more at: https://www.simplilearn.com/

2. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What are the datatypes supported in
Tableau?
01

3. 1 What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?
Text (String) values
Date Values
Date & Time Values
Numerical Values
Boolean Values(relational only)
Geographical Values (used with maps)

4. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What do you understand by
Dimensions and Measures?
02

5. 2 What do you understand by Dimensions and Measures?
• Dimensions 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 & Measures
• Measures contain numeric, quantitative values that you can
measure (such as Sales, Profit)
• Measures can be aggregated

6. What do you understand from Measures and Dimensions?
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but you
can always change the default aggregation in the settings
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but
you can always change the default aggregation in the
settings
DID YOU
KNOW?

7. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What do you understand by Discrete and
Continuous in Tableau?
03

8. 3 What do you understand by Discrete and Continuous in Tableau?
Continuous = "forming an unbroken whole, without interruption"
Tableau represents data depending on whether the field is discrete (blue), or continuous (green)
Discrete = "individually separate and distinct"
Discrete Dimensions
Continuous Dimensions
Discrete Measures
Continuous Measures

9. What do you understand from Measures and Dimensions?
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but you
can always change the default aggregation in the settings
Continuous fields are treated as an infinite range & discrete
values are treated as finite
DID YOU
KNOW?

10. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What are filters? Name the different
filters in Tableau.
04

11. 4 What are filters? Name the different filters in Tableau.
Tableau filters change/ restrict the content of the data that may enter a Tableau workbook,
dashboard or view
Extract Filters
Table Calculation FilterData source Filters
TABLEAU FILTERS
Context Filters Filters on Dimensions
Filters on Measures

12. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1
There are three customer segments in the
Superstore dataset. What percent of the total
profits is associated with the Corporate
segment?
05

13. 5 There are three customer segments in the Superstore data set. What percent of the total profits is
associated with the Corporate segment?

14. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What are the different joins in Tableau?
Give example
06

15. 6 What are the different joins in Tableau? Give example
Join Type Description Result
Inner
The resultant table contains values that have
matches in both tables
Left
The resultant table contains all values from the left
table and corresponding matches from the right table
Right
The resultant table contains all values from the right
table and corresponding matches from the left table
Joining is a method for combining related data on a common key

16. 6 What are the different joins in Tableau? Give example
Joining is a method for combining related data on a common key
Join Type Description Result
Outer
The resultant table contains all values from both
tables
Union
Union is another method for combining two or more
tables by appending rows of data from one table to
another

17. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the difference between Join and
Blending?
07

18. 7 What is the difference between Join and Blending?
Data source 1
(Oracle table)
Data source 2
(Excel)
Combined
dataset
Combining the data from two or more
different sources is Data Blending such as
Oracle, Excel, SQL Server and other
In Data Blending, each data source contains
its own set of Dimensions and Measures
Data source 1
(worksheet 1)
Data source 2
(worksheet 2)
Combined
dataset
Combining the data between two or more
tables or sheets within the same data source
is Data Joining
All the combined tables or sheets
contains common set of Dimensions and
Measures

19. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the difference b/w Live and
Extract?
08

20. 8 What is the difference b/w Live and Extract?
Tableau Data Extracts are snapshots of data
optimized for aggregation and loaded into system
memory to be quickly recalled for visualization
Live connections offer the convenience of real-time
updates, with any changes in the data source reflected
in Tableau
Example: Hospitals that monitor incoming patient data
need to make real-time decisions
Example: Hospitals need to monitor patient’s weekly
or monthly trends require data extracts

21. What do you understand from Measures and Dimensions?
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but you
can always change the default aggregation in the settings
When you create an extract of the data, Tableau doesn’t
need access to the database to build visualization, so
processing is faster
If you have Tableau Server, the Extract option can be set to a
refresh schedule to be updated
DID YOU
KNOW?

22. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is a Calculated Field? How will you
create one?
09

23. 9 What is a Calculated Field? How will you create one?
• Calculated field is used to create new (modified) fields from already existing
data in the data source
• It can be used to create more robust visualizations
• Doesn’t affect the original dataset
For example: To calculate “Average Delay to ship” Existing fields in the
data source

24. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How can you display top five and last five
sales in the same view ?
10

25. 1
0
How can you display top five and last five sales in the same view ?
We can display using the In/Out functionality of sets

26. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Is there any difference between Sets and
Groups, in Tableau?
11

27. 1
1
Is there any difference between Sets and Groups, in Tableau?
A Tableau group is one dimensional, it is used to create a higher level category by using
lower level category members
while Tableau sets can have conditions and can be grouped across multiple dimensions/
measures
Example: Sub-category can be grouped by category
Top Sales and profit can be clubbed together for different categories by
creating a set

28. 1
1
Is there any difference between Sets and Group, in Tableau?
Grouping Sets

29. What do you understand from Measures and Dimensions?
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but you
can always change the default aggregation in the settings
We can’t use groups in calculated fields but we can use sets
DID YOU
KNOW?

30. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is a Parameter in Tableau? Give an
example.
12

31. 1
2
What is a Parameter in Tableau? Give an example.
Parameters are dynamic values that can replace constant values in calculations, filters, and reference lines
For example, when creating a filter to show the Top 10 products based on total profit instead of the
fixed “10” value, you can update the filter to show the top 10, 20, or 30 products using a parameter

32. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the difference between Tree
maps and Heat maps?
13

33. 1
3
What is the difference between Tree maps and Heat maps?
A Heat map is used to compare categories using color and size. In this, we can compare two measures
Scenario: To show sales and profit in all regions for different product category and sub-category
Analysis: Profit is represented by color and ranges from orange for loss to blue for profit, total sales are represented
by size

34. 1
3
What is the difference between Tree maps and Heat maps?
A Tree map is used to represent hierarchical data. The space in the view is divided into rectangles that are sized and ordered by
a measure
Scenario: To show sales and profit in all regions for different product category and sub-category
Analysis : Bigger the size of the node, greater is the profit in that category. Similarly, the darker the node, more is the sales in
that category

35. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the difference b/w .twbx and
.twb?
14

36. 1
4
What is the difference b/w .twbx and .twb?
TWBX TWB
VS
Tableau Packaged workbook
(Package of files “compressed”
together)
XML document, contains the instructions
to interact with data source
Contains all information
necessary to work in Tableau
along with the data source
It is linked to the data source
Can’t be shared alone because it
contains only instructions
data source needs to be attached
separately

37. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Explain the difference b/w Tableau
worksheet, dashboard, story, and
workbook?
15

38. 1
5
Explain the difference b/w Tableau worksheet, dashboard, story, and workbook?
Tableau uses a WORKBOOK and SHEET file structure, much like Microsoft Excel.
 A WORKBOOK contains SHEETS, which can be a WORKSHEET, a DASHBOARD, or a STORY.
 A WORKSHEET contains a single view along with shelves, legends, and the Data pane.
 A DASHBOARD is a collection of views from multiple worksheets.
 A STORY contains a sequence of worksheets or dashboards that work together to convey information.

39. What do you understand from Measures and Dimensions?
Each field from the data source is automatically assigned a
datatype (such as string, integer) and a role (dimension or
measure)
Aggregation applied on measures is ‘Sum’ by default but you
can always change the default aggregation in the settings
From Worksheet, we can access Source Data Dimensions,
Measures, Custom Fields
From Dashboard, we can access Worksheet but we can not
access dimensions measures directly
From Story, we can access Dashboard and Worksheets but
we can not access dimensions measures directly
DID YOU
KNOW?

40. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What do you understand by Blended
Axis?
16

41. 1
6
What do you understand by Blended Axis?
Blended Axis is used to blend two measures to share an axis when they have same scale
Scenario: Show Min and Max profit in the same pane and have a unified axis for both, so that it is quicker and easier to
interpret the chart

42. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the use of dual axis? How do you
create one?
17

43. 1
7
What is the use of dual axis? How do you create one?
Dual Axis allows you to compare measures, it is useful when you want to compare two
measures that have different scales.
Scenario: We want to show Sales by year and Profit Ratio by year in the same
view

44. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What will the following function return?
Left(3, “Tableau”)
18

45. 1
8
What will the following function return?
Left(3, “Tableau”)
Tab
Eau
Error
None of the above

46. 1
8
What will the following function return?
Left(3, “Tableau”)
It will return an error because of the correct syntax is : left(string, num_chars)
So it should be : Left(“Tableau”, 3)

47. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How do you handle Null and other
special values?
19

48. 1
9
How do you handle Null and other special values?
If the field contains null values or if there are zeroes or negative values on a logarithmic axis, Tableau cannot plot
them. Tableau displays an indicator in the lower right corner of the view. Click the indicator and choose from the
following options:
•Filter Data - exclude the null values from the view using a filter. In
that case, the null values are also excluded from any calculations
used in the view.
•Show Data at Default Position - show the data at a default location
on the axis.

49. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Find the top product subcategories by Sales
within each delivery method. Which sub-
category is ranked #2 for first class ship mode?
20

50. 20 Find the top product subcategories by Sales within each delivery method. Which sub-category is ranked #2 for
first class ship mode?

51. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Find the customer with the lowest overall
profit. What is his/her profit ratio?21

52. 21 Find the customer with the lowest overall profit. What is his/her profit ratio?

53. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is the Rank function in Tableau?22

54. 22 What is the Rank function in Tableau?
Let’s consider a small dataset to understand different rank functions in Tableau:
Store Sales
A 10
B 20
c 20
d 30
e 40

55. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How can you embed a webpage in a
dashboard?
23

56. 23 How can you embed a webpage in a dashboard?

57. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Design a view to show region wise profit
and sales?
24

58. 24 Design a view to show region wise profit and sales?

59. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How can you optimize the performance
of a dashboard?
25

60. 25 How can you optimize the performance of a dashboard?
Exclude unused fields or use extract filters to keep only
the data you need
Minimize the number of fields and records
Average function requires more processing than Min/Max
functions
Parameters & Action filters reduce query loads
Computers can process integers and Booleans (t/f) much
faster than strings.
Boolean>Int>Float>Date>DateTime>String
Parameters & Action filters
Use Min/Max instead of Average
Use Booleans or numerical calculations more than
string calculations

61. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 Which visualization will be used in the
given scenarios:
26

62. 26 Which visualization will be used in the following scenarios:
3. To show quarter wise profit
growth
1. To show aggregated sales
totals across a range of
product categories
2. To show the duration of events
or activities
? ? ?

63. 26 Which visualization will be used in the following scenarios:
3. To show quarter wise profit
growth
1. To show aggregated sales
totals across a range of
product categories
2. To show the duration of events
or activities
Tree Map Gantt Chart Waterfall Chart

64. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What will you do if some country/province (any
geographical entity) is missing and displaying
a null when you use map view?
27

65. 27 What will you do if some country/province (any geographical entity) is missing and
displaying a null when you use map view.
When working with maps and geographic fields, unknown or ambiguous locations are identified by the
indicator in the lower right corner of the view.
Click the indicator and choose from the following options:
•Edit Locations - correct the locations by mapping your data to known locations
•Filter Data - exclude the unknown locations from the view using a filter. The locations will not be
included in calculations
•Show Data at Default Position - show the values at the default position of (0, 0) on the map.

66. 27 What will you do if some country/province (any geographical entity) is missing and
displaying a null when you use map view.

67. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 What is LOD expression?28

68. 28 What is LOD expression?
These expressions are used to run complex queries involving many dimensions at the data source level
instead of bringing all the data to Tableau interface
Example: Adding dimension to an already calculated aggregate value

69. 28 What is LOD expression?

70. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How can you calculate daily profit
measure using LOD?
29

71. 29 How can you calculate daily profit measure using LOD?
Scenario: We want to measure our success by the total profit per business day
LOD Expressions allow us to easily create bins on aggregated data such as profit per day

72. What are the datatypes supported in Tableau?1 How can you schedule a workbook in
Tableau after publishing it?
30

73. 30 How can you schedule a workbook in Tableau after publishing it?
1.When you’re signed in to Tableau Server, go to Content > data sources or Content > Workbooks,
depending on the type of content you want to refresh.
2.Select the check box for the data source or workbook you want to refresh, and then
select Actions > Extract Refresh.
3.In the Refresh Extracts dialog, select Schedule a Refresh, and complete the following steps:
• Select the schedule you want.
• If available, specify whether you want a full or incremental refresh.

74. 30 How can you schedule a workbook in Tableau after publishing it?