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Dynamically Filtering Views with String Parameters


Published: 27 Sep 2013
Last Modified Date: 25 Mar 2024

Question

How to use a parameter to search a field for a string value.

Environment

Tableau Desktop

Answer

Filters allow you to easily remove data from the view and focus on just the information you need. When you are building a more complicated view or dashboard, you may find that you have added lots of filters to help people narrow down a large view to a specific set of data such as a single region or product. In that case, the filter controls can sometimes take up a lot of space and take attention away from the data in the view. To avoid that, you can create a sort of Type In parameter that accepts values for multiple fields and then filters based on what you typed in.

The following examples will show different methods to achieve this goal. 

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Example 1: Filter Option - single field (view interaction)
To view the steps showed in the below video, please expand the above section.
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Example 2: Filter Option - multiple fields (view interaction)
To view the steps showed in the below video, please expand the above section.
Note: the video has no sound.
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Example 3: Display a specific string (no view interaction)
To view the steps showed in the below video, please expand the above section.
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Additional Information

Learn more about this topic by watching the On-Demand free training video: String Calculations.

When dragging the calculated field on the Filter shelf, you may only see a check box for "Hide" depending on what you made your initial value for your parameter.

  • For example, if you made it "None", there are no records where Region or Department or States match the word, "None."
  • If you do not see a check box for "Hide", select the "Custom Value List" radio button. Then manually type in the word "Show" and click the plus button to add it to the list.
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