Filter shelf vs filter card in Tableau - Business Scenario Comparison

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a data analyst working with Tableau to create interactive dashboards.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to explain the difference between using the filter shelf and the filter card in Tableau, and show how each affects the dashboard filtering experience.

📊 Data: You have a sample sales dataset with columns: Region, Category, Sales, and Date.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a simple Tableau dashboard showing sales by region and category, demonstrating filtering using both the filter shelf and the filter card. Provide a clear explanation of their differences.

Sample Data

Region	Category	Sales	Date
East	Furniture	500	2024-01-15
West	Technology	700	2024-01-20
North	Office Supplies	300	2024-02-10
South	Furniture	450	2024-02-15
East	Technology	600	2024-03-05
West	Office Supplies	350	2024-03-10
North	Furniture	400	2024-04-01
South	Technology	550	2024-04-05

1

Step 1: Connect to the sample sales data in Tableau and create a new worksheet.

Load the data with columns: Region, Category, Sales, Date.

Expected Result

Data is loaded and visible in Tableau's data pane.

2

Step 2: Create a bar chart showing total Sales by Region.

Drag 'Region' to Rows, drag 'Sales' to Columns, set aggregation to SUM.

Expected Result

Bar chart displays total sales for each region.

3

Step 3: Add a filter on 'Category' using the filter shelf.

Drag 'Category' to the Filters shelf, select all categories, then keep only 'Furniture' and 'Technology'.

Expected Result

The chart updates to show sales only for Furniture and Technology categories.

4

Step 4: Show the filter card for 'Category' on the worksheet.

Right-click 'Category' on the Filters shelf and select 'Show Filter'.

Expected Result

A filter card appears on the right side allowing interactive filtering by category.

5

Step 5: Explain the difference: The filter shelf controls which data is included in the view and is not visible by default, while the filter card is a visible control on the dashboard that users can interact with to change filters.

No formula needed.

Expected Result

Learner understands that filter shelf is for setting filters behind the scenes, filter card is for user interaction.

6

Step 6: Create a dashboard and add the worksheet with the filter card visible.

Drag the worksheet to the dashboard, ensure the filter card is visible and usable.

Expected Result

Dashboard shows the sales bar chart with a visible filter card for Category.

7

Step 7: Test filtering by selecting different categories on the filter card and observe the chart updating.

Click on 'Furniture' or 'Technology' in the filter card to filter the data.

Expected Result

Chart updates dynamically based on selected categories.

Final Result

Bar Chart

↓

Filter Card: Category

↓

x

↓

x

↓

✓Filter shelf sets filters that control data behind the scenes and are not visible by default.

✓Filter card is a visible filter control on the dashboard that users can interact with.

✓Using filter cards improves user experience by allowing dynamic filtering.

✓Filter shelf filters apply before visualization rendering, filter cards expose these filters to users.

Bonus Challenge

Create a filter action on the dashboard that filters sales by Region when a user clicks on a region in another chart.

Show Hint

Use Dashboard > Actions > Add Filter Action, set source and target sheets, and configure filtering on click.