0:00In Tableau 2020.1, Tableau have added the
0:06much requested ability to add dynamic
0:09parameters
0:10to your dashboard.
0:12This is a much, much, much asked for
0:13feature for the last, I don't know, five
0:15years of
0:16Tableau.
0:17So let's get stuck in and see how this
0:20feature is implemented.
0:22In order to show you this, I've actually
0:24got two workbooks open.
0:25I've got one in 2019.4 and another one in
0:282020.1.
0:30But first, I'm going to start in 2019.4
0:33just to show you how the old behavior works
0:36.
0:36What you can do in any Tableau workbook is
0:39you can essentially add a parameter to the
0:41dashboard.
0:42And if I show you this one here, if I click
0:44edit, you'll see that I've actually got a
0:46string parameter which has been pre-loaded
0:49with the values from my segment field.
0:52If I clear these options and I add from
0:55field, you can see exactly how this is done
0:57.
0:58And it simply just adds all the values from
1:00that field.
1:01Now one of the big problems has always been
1:03that now once you've done this, when you
1:05open
1:06the workbook again, let's say the data has
1:08been updated.
1:09These values haven't updated.
1:10And so what you've had to do is either get
1:13someone to go in and manually update this
1:15field or rely on a filter to do the same
1:19thing.
1:20And so if I click OK here and we actually
1:23go and update the data source, let's go to
1:26this Excel file which is what we're
1:28connected to.
1:29Let's change this top value to new
1:31corporate and we'll maybe just change the
1:33date to 2020.
1:35Let's do that here.
1:39Let's hit save.
1:41And then if we go to the file where this
1:44particular data source is held, what I need
1:47to do is
1:48overwrite this file over here.
1:50So I'm just simply going to, first I need
1:52to close it before I move it otherwise the
1:53computer will complain.
1:55And then I just need to drag this file over
1:58here and that will have the ability to
2:00basically
2:01simulate us updating the data source.
2:05Now if I go back to Tableau and I right
2:07click refresh this data source, you'll see
2:11a couple
2:11of things happen.
2:14First of all, nothing will change but if I
2:17go into this order date field, you'll see
2:20that the maximum value has actually updated
2:22here.
2:23So I need to come in here and hit max on
2:25that and then you can see my new corporate
2:28column
2:28over here.
2:29So we know the column has made it, the row
2:32has made it into the data set but our
2:34parameter
2:34hasn't updated.
2:36And so what I have to do manually is I have
2:39to go back into my parameter, edit that,
2:42add
2:42from field, select segment and this time
2:44you'll see that new corporate makes it in.
2:47The reason I'm getting these red items is
2:49because I've already got some fields
2:51previously
2:51so if I clear all and do that again, hit
2:54segment, you'll see that the new item makes
2:56it into
2:57my data set.
2:58And now I'm actually able to see that in
3:01the filter.
3:02Now if we go to 2020.1, this behavior works
3:06in a slightly different way.
3:08The first thing to bear in mind is that
3:09there's actually a new interface for
3:11parameters here
3:12and it uses this notation over here.
3:14So let's just clear this so I can show you
3:16how to set this up.
3:17We're going to call this parameter segment.
3:20It's going to be text based so we'll choose
3:23string.
3:23I'm going to leave it selected on the
3:25current value and in order to load up this
3:27list, I'm
3:28going to select fixed, add from values and
3:31then select segment from that list.
3:34Okay?
3:35And so you'll see here I get these three
3:37items.
3:37Now this is a little bit tricky because
3:40what you now have to do is switch this
3:43interface
3:43over here to the next option and you have
3:45to tell Tableau that when the workbook
3:48opens,
3:48you wanted to update this list using values
3:51from the segment column.
3:53And so if you click okay, that's now
3:55applied.
3:56And so if I go on this list, you'll see
3:59here consumer, corporate and home office.
4:01But now when I update the workbook, notice
4:04that this is an extract so all I now need
4:06to do is refresh the extract and this will
4:11wholesale change the data.
4:14The work will update and you'll see here
4:17that the date filter changes.
4:19So if I expand that, you'll see that I get
4:22my new segment.
4:24But the key thing here is this parameter.
4:27Now what I have to do is I have to close
4:30the workbook and open it again for it to
4:32appear.
4:33So let's close this workbook.
4:38Tableau will ask me if I want to save it so
4:41I will.
4:42And what I've done is I've saved this work
4:44book on my desktop.
4:45Now the reason you have to do this as an
4:47author is because fundamentally when the
4:50workbook
4:50is opened and closed on Tableau's server,
4:53it's essentially the same as someone just
4:55visiting the workbook.
4:56So let's go over to our desktop and let's
4:59open the 2020.1 version.
5:02So let's open that up.
5:07Okay so now you can see here the workbook
5:10has opened again but now if I go to my
5:12parameters,
5:13you'll see that it's actually dynamically
5:16loaded the new item into my list.
5:18So it's a little bit unintuitive because as
5:21an author, to see this change, you've
5:23actually got to close and open the workbook
5:25again.
5:25But for the typical user on Tableau server
5:27or on Tableau Online, that happens every
5:30time
5:30they open the visualization.
5:32And so what happens there is the workbook
5:34dynamically loads this new list from an
5:36updated
5:37data source.
5:38And so now your parameter can actually add
5:41in new values dynamically as your data
5:43source
5:44updates.
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