# Source row number in Tableau Prep | New in Tableau 2023.1

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2023-03-22
- **Format:** Video · 2 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data prep, Community
- **Tools:** Tableau (prep)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/source-row-number-in-tableau-prep-new-in-tableau-2023-1
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubmkcMx2QZ0

I walk through a new feature in Tableau Prep 2023.1 that preserves the source row number when you load an Excel or CSV file. I show how to include that field in your data set and explain why the original sort order can be meaningful.

## Key takeaways

- In Tableau Prep 2023.1, loading an Excel or CSV file adds a source row number field that remembers the file's original sort order
- The source row number is crossed out by default, but right-clicking lets you include it as a usable column in later steps
- The original sort order matters when data is entered manually or generated by a tool in a meaningful sequence
- This feature only applies to flat files, not databases, since databases can be sorted as needed and don't carry the same row context
- The feature came from a community suggestion by Jonathan Drame almost five years ago, which spawned several Tableau features

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/source-row-number-in-tableau-prep-new-in-tableau-2023-1

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena