Tableau Filters
There are 2 main ways of filtering data in Tableau, action filters and quick filters. This tutorial will
demonstrate how to implement them and the different ways you can customise them.
Quick Filters
Quick filters are available on every sheet you create based upon the cells you have on the current
sheet. You can drag a cell onto the rows, columns or marks card to use it as a filter.
To create a filter right click on the desired cell and select “show filter” you will then see a filter pop
up on the right hand side of the window. (the filter may vary depending on the type of data e.g. a
slider or checkbox.)
You can change the type of filter by clicking the downward arrow at the top right of the filter, it will
display a series of options. You will see options such as list, dropdown and slider and whether
multiple values can be selected.
You can apply the filter to multiple sheets (as long as there is a common value) by clicking the
downward arrow on the top right of the page.)
Removing a value from a quick filter
To remove an unwanted value from a filter you will need to create a set. In order to do this you need
to follow these steps:
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Find the pill you are using for the filter on the left hand side in either the dimensions or
measures section
Right click and go to create>set
Click the text box for “exclude” and then select the items from the list you would like to
remove
Click okay and the set will appear as a pill at the bottom left of the page. Drag this onto the
filter box on the sheet you wish for it to be applied to
Quick filters appearing on dashboards
When adding a sheet to the dashboard generally quick filters and legends will appear as a default on
the right hand side of the visual. However, if this were not to be the case or if they were removed for
any reason you are able to easily retrieve them. Click on the area of the dashboard that should have
a filter (for example a line graph) in the top right corner of the box you will then see an arrow point
downwards, click this and a menu will appear.
Then hover over “filter” and a submenu will appear where you are able to add any filter based upon
what pills have been combined to create the sheet.
Grouping the values on quick filters
You may find that a filter provides too much detail, drilling down further than required. Rather
than making any amendments to the data source you can create a group which will combine
several values together.
An example of this can be seen on the Victim Feedback dashboard, where
Action filters
Action filters allow you to use elements of any sheet as a filter to influence other areas. For example,
clicking on a map can then bring up relevant data for that area with suitable visuals.
You can also use action filters to create sub filters, giving you more control to drill down than what
you have with quick filters. For example, selecting an LPT that then displays neighbourhood level
with a sub filter.
Here is a step by step guide of how you can set up an action filter:
1 - Select dashboard>actions in the toolbar at the top of the page
2 - A box will appear where you will need to fill in the following details:
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Source sheet – This area focuses on the sheet that initiates the filter, you are able to select
singular or multiple options. The drop down allows you to choose the source of the data,
whether that is a singular sheet, dashboard or data source itself.
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Run action on – Next you need to select what action will run the filter, a majority of the time
“select” will be the best option.
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Target sheet – Now select the sheet that you wish to influence with the filter. Once again
you can select multiple options which can help reduce the number of filters required.
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Clearing the selection – Next you then need to decide what happens once you have cleared
the selection. This requires some thought in terms of the user journey to ensure the end
result doesn’t end up as confusing.