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Tableau · Module 3 of 10

Dimensions, measures and the interface

Understand fields and how Tableau draws views.

📖 Key ideas

  1. Dimensions are categories (City, Product); measures are numbers (Sales, Profit).
  2. Discrete fields (blue) create headers; continuous (green) create axes.
  3. Shelves: Columns, Rows, Filters, Pages, Marks.
  4. Marks card controls colour, size, label, detail, tooltip.
  5. Show Me suggests chart types.
💡 Real-life example: Dimensions are the labels on drawers; measures are what you count inside them.
DimensionCategorical field
MeasureNumeric field you aggregate
Discrete (blue)Creates headers
Continuous (green)Creates axes