Date calculations (DATEDIFF, DATEADD) in Tableau - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the DATEDIFF function do in Tableau?

DATEDIFF calculates the difference between two dates in a specified unit like days, months, or years.

beginner

How do you use DATEADD in Tableau?

DATEADD adds a specified number of units (days, months, years) to a date and returns the new date.

beginner

Example: What is the result of DATEDIFF('month', #2023-01-01#, #2023-04-01#)?

The result is 3 because there are 3 full months between January 1, 2023, and April 1, 2023.

beginner

If you want to find the date 10 days after March 5, 2024, which function and parameters do you use?

Use DATEADD('day', 10, #2024-03-05#) to get March 15, 2024.

intermediate

Why is it useful to use DATEDIFF and DATEADD in business reports?

They help compare dates, calculate durations, and create dynamic date ranges for better insights.

What does DATEDIFF('day', #2024-01-01#, #2024-01-10#) return?

A 9

B 10

C 11

D 1

DATEDIFF counts the number of day boundaries crossed, so from Jan 1 to Jan 10 is 9 days difference.

Which function adds months to a date in Tableau?

A DATEDIFF

B NOW

C DATENAME

D DATEADD

DATEADD adds a specified number of units like months to a date.

What will DATEADD('year', -1, #2023-06-15#) return?

A #2024-06-15#

B #2022-06-15#

C #2023-05-15#

D #2023-07-15#

It subtracts 1 year from June 15, 2023, resulting in June 15, 2022.

If you want to find how many months between two dates, which function do you use?

A DATEDIFF

B NOW

C DATEADD

D MAKEDATE

DATEDIFF calculates the difference between two dates in the specified unit, such as months.

What is the result of DATEDIFF('week', #2024-01-01#, #2024-01-15#)?

A 1

B 0

C 2

D 3

There are 2 full week boundaries between Jan 1 and Jan 15.

Explain how you would calculate the number of days between two dates using Tableau functions.

Think about which function measures difference and what unit to use.

Describe how to add 3 months to a given date in Tableau and why this might be useful in reports.

Focus on the function that changes dates by adding time.