Connecting & Preparing Data Flashcards

Which data role does Tableau assign to a field shown with a globe icon?

Answer: Geographic role

A globe icon indicates Tableau has assigned a geographic role to the field.

How does Tableau distinguish dimensions from measures in the Data pane by default?

Answer: Dimensions are blue, measures are green

By default Tableau colors discrete dimensions blue and continuous measures green.

What does changing a field's data type from string to date enable?

Answer: Date-based functions, hierarchies, and continuous axes

Setting a date type unlocks date hierarchies, date math, and time-based axes.

What is the role of the primary key when joining tables to avoid duplicated rows?

Answer: It uniquely identifies each row to prevent unintended row multiplication

Joining on a unique key avoids fan-out duplication that occurs with many-to-many matches.

Which approach lets you connect to data without writing custom SQL, using a visual canvas?

Answer: Drag tables onto the data source canvas

The data source canvas lets you drag tables to build joins and relationships visually.

What does Custom SQL allow in a Tableau connection?

Answer: Defining a specific query to shape the data at the source

Custom SQL lets you write a tailored query that Tableau treats as a virtual table.

Why should null values be addressed during data preparation?

Answer: They can distort aggregations and joins if left unhandled

Unhandled nulls can skew sums, averages, and cause unmatched join rows.