Dimension and Measure in Tableau

Tableau supports seven different data types and it tableau automatically assigns a data type and role to each column.
In this article, we will discuss one of the important concepts of Tableau: Dimension and Measure (blue vs green) in complete detail.

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss Dimension and Measure in Tableau.

Tableau support 7 distinct data types: string, number, dates, date and time, geographical, Boolean and mixed.

It is smart enough to look at your data and automatically classify them either into Dimension or Measure in the data pane.

Tableau dimensions are typically text fields and dates while tableau measures are typically numerical.

Must Check: Tableau Tutorial

Must Check: Tableau Online Course and Certifications

Table of Content

• Tableau Dimension vs Tableau Measures
• Blue vs Green
  • Continuous Data
  • Discrete Data

Tableau Dimension vs Tableau Measures

Data fields are made from the columns in the data source.

Tableau automatically assigns a data type ( string, number, dates, date and time, geographical, Boolean and mixed) and role: Discrete dimension or continuous measurement or vice versa to all the data fields.

Must Read: Introduction to Tableau

Must Read: Products of Tableau

Dimension

• Contain qualitative values (names, dates etc.)
• Use to categorize, segment, and reveal data in the dataset

Must Check: Free Tableau Online Course and Certification

Measure

• Contain numeric values that can be measured
• Measures can be aggregated such as sum, average
• When the field is dragged into the view, tableau applies aggregation to that field

Note: We can switch from dimension to measure or measure to a dimension but both processes have a distinct effect on data visualization.

Must Read: Groups in Tableau

Must Read: LOD Expression in Tableau

Let’s understand dimension and measure by an example on the Tableau

This is a sample dataset (sample superstore) provided by the tableau which has different fields.

Tableau automatically arranges the data fields into dimensions and measures.

Must Read: Sort Data in Tableau

Must Read: Tableau Sets

Blue vs Green

Tableau represents the data differently in the View depending upon whether the data is discrete or continuous.

1. Measures areas will initially be continuous when you will add them to view with a green background.

2. Dimension areas will initially be discrete when you will add them to view with a blue background.

Must Read: Data Aggregation in Tableau

Must Read: Date Function in Tableau

Continuous Data:

It is numerical data that refers to the unspecified number of possible measurements between two points.

It typically involves fluctuating numbers between two predefined values.

Example:

• The temperature of a freezer
• Daily wind speed

Must Read: Filters in Tableau

Must Read: Tableau Show

Discrete Data:

Data that can only take certain values are discrete data. It only contains finite values.

Discrete data typically involves counting rather than measuring.

Example:

• Number of the computer systems in Shiksha Online team
• Gender of Person

Must Read: Types of Charts in Tableau

Must Read: Joins in Tableau

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed one of the important concepts of Tableau: Dimension and Measures.

Hope this article will help you in your data analyst journey.

This article is a part of a complete tutorial of Tableau, focusing on Tableau certified data analysts and tableau desktop specialists. 

Through a series of articles, we will cover all the topics in-depth with examples.

Must Read: Tableau Forecasting

Must Read: Extract and Data Source Filter in Tableau