Live vs extract connections in Tableau - Formula Comparison Trace

Sample Data

This table compares two Tableau connection types: Live and Extract, showing their data source, refresh speed in seconds, and data freshness.

Cell	Value
A1	Connection Type
B1	Data Source
C1	Refresh Speed (sec)
D1	Data Freshness
A2	Live
B2	Sales DB
C2	5
D2	Real-time
A3	Extract
B3	Sales DB
C3	3600
D3	Hourly snapshot

Formula Trace

IF([Connection Type] = "Live", "Real-time", "Snapshot")

Step 1: Evaluate [Connection Type] in row 2

Step 2: IF("Live" = "Live", "Real-time", "Snapshot")

Step 3: Evaluate [Connection Type] in row 3

Step 4: IF("Extract" = "Live", "Real-time", "Snapshot")

Cell Reference Map

    A          B          C          D
1 |Connection|Data Source|Refresh   |Data
  |Type      |          |Speed (s) |Freshness
2 |Live      |Sales DB  |5         |Real-time
3 |Extract   |Sales DB  |3600      |Hourly snapshot

Arrows: Formula reads cells A2 and A3 for Connection Type

The formula references the 'Connection Type' column in cells A2 and A3 to decide the output.

Result

    A          B          C          D          E
1 |Connection|Data Source|Refresh   |Data       |Status
  |Type      |          |Speed (s) |Freshness  |
2 |Live      |Sales DB  |5         |Real-time  |Real-time
3 |Extract   |Sales DB  |3600      |Hourly snapshot|Snapshot

The new 'Status' column (E) shows 'Real-time' for Live connection and 'Snapshot' for Extract connection based on the formula.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula return for a 'Live' connection?

A Real-time

B Snapshot

C Hourly snapshot

D 5 seconds

Key Result

IF connection type equals 'Live' then return 'Real-time' else return 'Snapshot'