Filters Video Lecture Transcript
This transcript was automatically generated by Zoom, so there may be discrepancies between the video and the text.

13:27:12 Hi! Everybody! Welcome back in this video. We're going to talk a little bit more about filters and tableau.
13:27:19 So we've seen silk filters before to subset the data.
13:27:22 That's precisely what they are. But there are different types of filters, and each sort of is applied in a different order according to the tableau order of operations.
13:27:32 So again filtering the data is a way for you to subset the data it can be done at multiple levels in the process of creating a tableau visualization.
13:27:41 The first type of filter is actually one that you cannot use in tableau, public.
13:27:46 But it's good that you know about it before moving on with your tableau career.
13:27:50 So these are, you know, as extract features. These are saved subsets of the data that you can use to improve the performance or take advantage of tableau functionality, not available or subported in your original data.
13:28:03 So in tableau, typically, you may be working with databases or a tableau server.
13:28:09 So before you load the data from a database, you can perform a filter that will probably give you a smaller subset of the entire data set, which will load more quickly and render your visualizations more quickly as well.
13:28:21 So these are applied at the extract, creation, step, this is something that we can't show in the tablo, app the public one, at least, because it's not available.
13:28:31 So in tableau public, you are only working with extracts.
13:28:33 So these are like data files, whereas in regards tableau, you have the option to create an extract which loads the data into tableau and work with it. There.
13:28:43 So some a lot of times you'll want to make some sort of sub setting of the data rather than loading all of the data into the tableau.
13:28:52 Graphic user interface. The next level of filter is a data source filter.
13:28:57 So let's go ahead and go over to the tableau app.
13:29:00 So we're gonna again work with this super store data, although it doesn't necessarily matter.
13:29:07 For this example, so I'm gonna open the super store data.
13:29:10 And so now that I've opened the super store data, let me see if I can find what I'm looking for, I need to create a table, or I need to move a table over so let's move the table over.
13:29:23 And so now that I have a table loaded, I have this option in the upper right hand corner to apply a filter before I even start working with the data within a worksheet, so I can add this.
13:29:35 And once I click the add button, you can see I can edit data source filters.
13:29:39 So if I click, add here, it will not give me the option to apply a filter to any of the columns of this table.
13:29:46 So, for instance, I could make it so that I only have observations where the filter is at least or the profit is at least like let's say 0, for instance, if I could get to, I could just type it in 0.
13:30:03 Okay, so this would apply that. And it would cut my data so I could, you know, click, this.
13:30:10 And now I have a filter on the data, so that these are only the you know the things that at least broke.
13:30:15 Even so, at a profit of 0 or more.
13:30:17 Okay. So now, once you have this, the next level of filter is a filter in the workspace.
13:30:25 So this is a filter that I can apply by dragging something into the little little filter box, or I could so let's give it an example.
13:30:36 Where is the region? Here's region? I could bring this over into the filters, and now I can say, I only want observations from the east region.
13:30:47 Okay. So now, that's a filter. That's been applied.
13:30:50 This is a dimension for so it's the filter that's applied to a dimension.
13:30:57 So you can do this by dressing it over there. I could also click this little arrow and do show filter, and then I didn't seem to do anything.
13:31:09 Well, I think show filter, and then it didn't seem to do anything. Well, I think show filter. Let's go back.
13:31:13 Maybe cause the show me was blocking it. So show filter allows me to now interact with the filter which would be changing the data as it's mapped out. But I don't currently have anything maps. So we could maybe show this if I added country region and.
13:31:30 State Province, and then did like a map.
13:31:40 And then maybe.
13:31:44 That doesn't seem to be doing anything. I don't know.
13:31:47 Like, let's just let's stop playing around with that.
13:31:52 Okay, so this would allow us, probably because we had all these checked.
13:31:57 So what if we tried again?
13:32:03 And then.
13:32:09 Not country region. Maybe I wanna color by regular. That's what I wanna call it by regular region.
13:32:15 Okay, well, I'm wasting time. You can add a filter.
13:32:19 This is a dimension filter. The next type of filter is a measure filter.
13:32:23 So, for instance, we could put in a measure of quantity into our filters, and we could make it so that the, for instance, like you, put a quantity on the sum, or you put a quantity on all the values, and you're only looking at a place where the quantity is at least one or something
13:32:41 like this. Okay, so same kind of filter that we applied at the beginning.
13:32:43 But now it's being applied within the view, etc.
13:32:49 So again you can do this by dragging it over there, or you could click on this and do show filter.
13:32:54 Or at, you know. Add to sheet and then bring it over to the filter that is called a measure filter.
13:33:02 I think we're good, and then the last one would be if you have a table calculation a calculated field, you couldn't use that as a filter as well.
13:33:11 So those are the different types of filters I know. I went through them fast, but once you get past like the first one, these 3 are basically the same.
13:33:17 It's just what am I applying it to? So the last thing I want to end on is something known as the table.
13:33:23 The tableau, or order of operations. So this is the order in which tableau executes things.
13:33:30 So the first thing that gets executed is a filter.
13:33:34 On creating, your extract. We're not doing that tableau public, but that would be the first thing if we are in regular tableauublau.
13:33:41 After that it will apply furtherters at the data source level.
13:33:43 So that was the first thing we actually learned and did in tableau, public.
13:33:47 In this video, then there are no what are known as context filters which are the types of filters that we made within the workspace.
13:33:56 And so what happens first with those filters, though, are dimension filters, are applied, then measure filters, then table calculation filters.
13:34:06 So basically, they'll first do the subsetting for the dimensions.
13:34:09 Then they'll perform the measures, and then, after they're filtering from that, they'll perform the calculations with what's left over all interspersed in that.
13:34:17 Are these different steps you can do in tableau that are done first.
13:34:22 So, for instance, you've got these types of filters level of domain.
13:34:27 The fixed level of domain happens before a dimension filter.
13:34:31 The include, exclude level of detail happens between dimension and measure filters, forecast, which we haven't done.
13:34:40 Table calculations are done after that, and then finally, the last step is, after all, the data is filtered.
13:34:45 If you want to include like a trend line or a reference line that is done at the very end.
13:34:49 So it's important to keep this in mind. If something's not rendering the way you think it should be based on the selections you've made.
13:34:56 Maybe what's going on is your a misunderstanding of the order of operations.
13:35:00 Okay, so that's it for this video we talked to briefly of a more in-depth about it's a little bit of an oxymoron.
13:35:08 We talked more in depth about the filtering within tableau, and importantly, we mentioned this order of operations, which determines the order in which things are executed.
13:35:19 When you're creating a tableau visualization. So this is useful to have in mind.
13:35:23 So please keep in mind as you're creating your own tableau visualizations on your own time, or for work I hope you enjoyed this video.
13:35:31 I enjoyed having you watch it, and I hope to see you next time.