Aggregate vs row-level calculations in Tableau - Formula Comparison Trace

Sample Data

This data shows sales orders with order ID, product name, quantity sold, and price per unit.

Cell	Value
A1	Order ID
B1	Product
C1	Quantity
D1	Price
A2	1001
B2	Pen
C2	10
D2	1.5
A3	1002
B3	Notebook
C3	5
D3	3.0
A4	1003
B4	Pen
C4	7
D4	1.5
A5	1004
B5	Pencil
C5	20
D5	0.5

Formula Trace

SUM([Quantity] * [Price])

Step 1: [Quantity] * [Price] for each row

Step 2: SUM of all row results

Cell Reference Map

     A       B         C       D
1 | Order ID | Product | Quantity | Price
2 | 1001    | Pen     | 10       | 1.5
3 | 1002    | Notebook| 5        | 3.0
4 | 1003    | Pen     | 7        | 1.5
5 | 1004    | Pencil  | 20       | 0.5

Arrows: Quantity and Price columns feed into the calculation for each row.

The formula uses Quantity (column C) and Price (column D) from each row to calculate row-level sales, then sums all rows.

Result

     A       B         C       D       E
1 | Order ID | Product | Quantity | Price | Total Sales
2 | 1001    | Pen     | 10       | 1.5   | 15
3 | 1002    | Notebook| 5        | 3.0   | 15
4 | 1003    | Pen     | 7        | 1.5   | 10.5
5 | 1004    | Pencil  | 20       | 0.5   | 10

Summary Total Sales: 50.5

Each row shows total sales (Quantity * Price). The final total sales is the sum of all rows: 50.5.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the expression [Quantity] * [Price] calculate in the formula?

A The average price of products

B The total sales for each individual order

C The sum of all quantities

D The total number of products sold

Key Result

Multiply row-level fields first, then aggregate the results with SUM.