Custom date formats in Tableau - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to format the date as 'Month Day, Year' in Tableau.

Tableau

FORMAT([Order Date], '[1]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ayyyy/MM/dd

BMM-dd-yyyy

Cdd/MM/yyyy

DMMMM dd, yyyy

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'MM' instead of 'MMMM' shows month as number, not name.

Forgetting the comma after the day.

The format string 'MMMM dd, yyyy' displays the full month name, day with two digits, and four-digit year, e.g., 'January 05, 2023'.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to display the date as 'Day-Month-Year' with two-digit day and month.

Tableau

FORMAT([Ship Date], '[1]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ayyyy-dd-MM

BMM-dd-yyyy

Cdd-MM-yyyy

Ddd/MM/yyyy

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Swapping day and month positions.

Using slashes instead of dashes.

The format 'dd-MM-yyyy' shows day and month as two digits separated by dashes, e.g., '05-01-2023'.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to format the date as 'Year.Month.Day'.

Tableau

FORMAT([Delivery Date], '[1]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ayyyy-mm-dd

Byyyy.MM.dd

Cyy.MM.dd

Dyyyy.MM.DD

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'mm' instead of 'MM' for month shows minutes instead.

Using uppercase 'DD' for day causes errors.

The correct format uses lowercase 'dd' for day and uppercase 'MM' for month. 'yyyy.MM.dd' shows the full year, month, and day separated by dots.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to format the date as 'Abbreviated Month Day, Year' and time as 'Hour:Minute AM/PM'.

Tableau

FORMAT([Timestamp], '[1]') + ' ' + FORMAT([Timestamp], '[2]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AMMM dd, yyyy

BHH:mm

Chh:mm a

DMMMM dd, yyyy

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'HH:mm' with AM/PM causes confusion.

Using full month name instead of abbreviated.

'MMM dd, yyyy' shows abbreviated month name, day, and year, e.g., 'Jan 05, 2023'. 'hh:mm a' shows 12-hour clock with minutes and AM/PM.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a custom format showing 'Weekday, Month Day, Year' and 24-hour time 'Hour:Minute:Second'.

Tableau

FORMAT([Event Date], '[1]') + ', ' + FORMAT([Event Date], '[2]') + ' ' + FORMAT([Event Date], '[3]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adddd

BMMMM dd, yyyy

CHH:mm:ss

Dddd

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'ddd' instead of 'dddd' for full weekday name.

Using 12-hour time format when 24-hour is requested.

'dddd' shows full weekday name, 'MMMM dd, yyyy' shows full month name, day, and year, and 'HH:mm:ss' shows 24-hour time with seconds.

Practice

1. What does the custom date format string yyyy-MM-dd display in Tableau?

easy

A. Month in four digits, day in two digits, year in two digits separated by slashes

B. Year in four digits, month in two digits, day in two digits separated by dashes

C. Day in four digits, month in two digits, year in two digits separated by dots

D. Year in two digits, month in two digits, day in two digits separated by spaces

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the format components

   yyyy means four-digit year, MM means two-digit month, and dd means two-digit day.

2. Step 2: Analyze the separators

   The dashes - separate year, month, and day in the output.

3. Final Answer:

   Year in four digits, month in two digits, day in two digits separated by dashes -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   yyyy-MM-dd = Year-Month-Day with dashes [OK]

Hint: Remember yyyy=year, MM=month, dd=day with separators [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing MM with minutes
• Mixing up order of year, month, day
• Ignoring separator characters

2. Which of the following is the correct Tableau custom date format to show the date as 31/12/2024?

easy

A. dd/MM/yyyy

B. yyyy/MM/dd

C. MM/dd/yyyy

D. dd-MM-yyyy

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the desired output format

   The date is shown as day/month/year with slashes: 31/12/2024.

2. Step 2: Match format string to output

   dd for day, MM for month, yyyy for year, separated by slashes /.

3. Final Answer:

   dd/MM/yyyy -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   dd/MM/yyyy matches 31/12/2024 [OK]

Hint: Use slashes for separators and order day/month/year [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using dashes instead of slashes
• Swapping month and day positions
• Using lowercase 'mm' which means minutes

3. Given the Tableau custom date format string MMM dd, yyyy, what would the date 2024-07-04 display as?

medium

A. 04 Jul, 2024

B. July 04, 2024

C. 07 04, 2024

D. Jul 04, 2024

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand format tokens

   MMM shows abbreviated month name (e.g., Jul), dd is two-digit day, yyyy is four-digit year.

2. Step 2: Apply to date 2024-07-04

   Month is July abbreviated as 'Jul', day is '04', year is '2024', combined as 'Jul 04, 2024'.

3. Final Answer:

   Jul 04, 2024 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   MMM dd, yyyy = Jul 04, 2024 [OK]

Hint: MMM means short month name like Jan, Feb, Mar [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using full month name with MMM
• Confusing MMM with MM (month number)
• Swapping day and month order

4. You wrote the custom date format yyyy/dd/MM in Tableau but the dates look wrong. What is the likely error?

medium

A. Using lowercase 'dd' instead of uppercase 'DD' causes error

B. Missing separators like dashes or slashes between parts

C. Day and month positions are swapped, causing incorrect display

D. Year should be lowercase 'yyyy' to work correctly

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the format string

   yyyy/dd/MM places day before month, which is unusual and likely not intended.

2. Step 2: Understand correct order

   Typically, month comes before day in many formats, so swapping causes wrong date display.

3. Final Answer:

   Day and month positions are swapped, causing incorrect display -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Swapped dd and MM cause wrong date order [OK]

Hint: Check order: month usually before day, not after [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing uppercase and lowercase tokens
• Ignoring separators between date parts
• Assuming lowercase yyyy is invalid

5. You want to create a Tableau custom date format that shows the full month name, day without leading zero, and two-digit year, like January 5, 24. Which format string should you use?

hard

A. MMMM d, yy

B. MMM dd, yyyy

C. MM/dd/yy

D. MMMM dd, yyyy

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify required parts

   Full month name = MMMM, day without leading zero = d, two-digit year = yy.

2. Step 2: Match format string

   MMMM d, yy matches exactly: full month, day no leading zero, comma, space, two-digit year.

3. Final Answer:

   MMMM d, yy -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   MMMM d, yy = January 5, 24 [OK]

Hint: Use MMMM for full month, d for day no zero, yy for two-digit year [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using dd for day adds leading zero
• Using yyyy for four-digit year instead of two-digit
• Using MMM for short month name instead of full