Custom table calculation scope in Tableau - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Custom table calculation scope

Business Question

How do sales trends change over months within each region, and how does the calculation scope affect the results?

Sample Data

Region	Month	Sales
East	Jan	100
East	Feb	150
East	Mar	200
West	Jan	120
West	Feb	180
West	Mar	160
Central	Jan	130
Central	Feb	170

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: SUM([Sales])
  Result: 1210
• Line Chart: Sales by Month (Scope: Table Across)
  Calculation: Running Total(SUM([Sales])) with scope set to Table Across (months across all regions)
  Shows cumulative sales month by month across all regions combined.
• Line Chart: Sales by Month per Region (Scope: Pane Across)
  Calculation: Running Total(SUM([Sales])) with scope set to Pane Across (months within each region)
  Shows cumulative sales month by month separately for each region.
• Table: Sales and Running Total per Region and Month
  Columns: Region, Month, Sales, Running Total (Pane Across)
  Running Total formula: RUNNING_SUM(SUM([Sales])) scoped to months within each region.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-----------------------------+
|      KPI Card        |      Line Chart: Table Across|
|   Total Sales =1210  |  (Running Total all regions) |
+----------------------+-----------------------------+
|      Line Chart: Pane Across (per region)             |
|  (Running Total by month within each region)           |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
|      Table: Sales and Running Total per Region & Month |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
    

Interactivity

Filter by Region: Updates the line charts and table to show only selected regions. The KPI card updates total sales accordingly.

Filter by Month: Limits data shown in charts and table to selected months, updating running totals accordingly.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Region = East, which components update and how?

• KPI Card: Shows total sales for East region only (100 + 150 + 200 = 450).
• Line Chart (Table Across): Shows running total for East region months only (Jan:100, Feb:250, Mar:450).
• Line Chart (Pane Across): Shows running total by month for East region only.
• Table: Displays only East region rows with running totals recalculated for East.

Key Result

Dashboard showing total sales and running totals with different calculation scopes by region and month.