Reference bands in Tableau - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

Monthly sales data for 5 months.

Cell	Value
A1	Month
B1	Sales
A2	Jan
B2	100
A3	Feb
B3	150
A4	Mar
B4	120
A5	Apr
B5	130
A6	May
B6	170

Formula Trace

AVG([Sales])

Step 1: SUM([Sales])

Step 2: COUNT([Sales])

Step 3: AVG([Sales]) = SUM([Sales]) / COUNT([Sales])

Cell Reference Map

    A       B
1 | Month | Sales |
2 |  Jan  | 100  |
3 |  Feb  | 150  |
4 |  Mar  | 120  |
5 |  Apr  | 130  |
6 |  May  | 170  |

References: [Sales] column (B2:B6) used to calculate average.

The formula uses the Sales values from cells B2 to B6.

Result

    A       B       C
1 | Month | Sales | Avg |
2 |  Jan  | 100   |     |
3 |  Feb  | 150   |     |
4 |  Mar  | 120   |     |
5 |  Apr  | 130   |     |
6 |  May  | 170   | 134 |

Cell C6 shows the average sales as a reference band value.

The average sales value 134 is shown as a reference band on the chart, representing the average line across months.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What is the total sum of sales used to calculate the average?

A 5

B 670

C 134

D 150

Key Result

Reference bands use aggregate calculations like AVG([Measure]) to draw lines or bands on charts.