String functions (LEFT, RIGHT, CONTAINS) in Tableau - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to extract the first 3 characters from the field 'ProductName'.

Tableau

LEFT([ProductName], [1])

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

A3

B5

C1

D0

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 0 returns an empty string.

Using 5 extracts too many characters.

The LEFT function extracts characters from the start of a string. Using 3 extracts the first three characters.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to extract the last 4 characters from the field 'OrderID'.

Tableau

RIGHT([OrderID], [1])

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

A4

B2

C6

D1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 2 extracts too few characters.

Using 6 extracts too many characters.

The RIGHT function extracts characters from the end of a string. Using 4 extracts the last four characters.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to check if 'CustomerName' contains the substring 'Smith'.

Tableau

CONTAINS([CustomerName], [1])

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

ASmith

C'Smith'

D"Smith"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Not using quotes causes syntax errors.

Using single quotes is invalid in Tableau.

In Tableau, string literals must be enclosed in double quotes. So "Smith" is correct.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to extract the first 2 characters from 'Category' and check if it contains 'El'.

Tableau

CONTAINS(LEFT([Category], [1]), [2])

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

A2

B3

C"El"

D"Ele"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 3 extracts too many characters.

Not quoting the substring causes errors.

LEFT with 2 extracts first two characters. CONTAINS needs the substring "El" in quotes.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to check if the last 3 characters of 'Region' contain 'USA'.

Tableau

CONTAINS(RIGHT([Region], [1]), [2])

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

A2

B"USA"

C3

D"US"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 2 extracts too few characters.

Not quoting the substring causes errors.

RIGHT with 3 extracts last three characters. CONTAINS needs the substring "USA" in quotes.

Practice

1. What does the Tableau function LEFT('Tableau', 3) return?

easy

A. 'Tab'

B. 'bleau'

C. 'Table'

D. 'au'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand LEFT function

   The LEFT function extracts characters from the start of a string. Here, it extracts 3 characters from 'Tableau'.

2. Step 2: Extract first 3 characters

   The first 3 characters of 'Tableau' are 'Tab'.

3. Final Answer:

   'Tab' -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   LEFT('Tableau', 3) = 'Tab' [OK]

Hint: LEFT gets characters from the start of text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing LEFT with RIGHT function
• Extracting more or fewer characters than specified
• Assuming it extracts from the end

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to check if the string 'Data' contains the letter 'a' in Tableau?

easy

A. LEFT('Data', 'a')

B. CONTAINS('Data', 'a')

C. CONTAINS('a', 'Data')

D. RIGHT('Data', 'a')

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand CONTAINS syntax

   CONTAINS(text, substring) checks if substring exists in text. The first argument is the main text, second is what to find.

2. Step 2: Apply to given strings

   To check if 'Data' contains 'a', use CONTAINS('Data', 'a').

3. Final Answer:

   CONTAINS('Data', 'a') -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   CONTAINS('Data', 'a') = TRUE [OK]

Hint: CONTAINS(text, substring) order matters: text first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping the order of arguments in CONTAINS
• Using LEFT or RIGHT instead of CONTAINS
• Passing characters as numbers

3. What is the result of RIGHT('Analytics', 4) in Tableau?

medium

A. 'tics'

B. 'Anal'

C. 'ytic'

D. 'naly'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand RIGHT function

   RIGHT extracts characters from the end of a string. Here, it extracts 4 characters from 'Analytics'.

2. Step 2: Extract last 4 characters

   The last 4 characters of 'Analytics' are 'tics'.

3. Final Answer:

   'tics' -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   RIGHT('Analytics', 4) = 'tics' [OK]

Hint: RIGHT gets characters from the end of text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Extracting characters from the start instead of end
• Counting wrong number of characters
• Confusing with LEFT function

4. You wrote the formula CONTAINS('Business', Business) in Tableau but it gives an error. What is the problem?

medium

A. The first argument should be a number

B. CONTAINS cannot be used with text

C. LEFT function should be used instead

D. Missing quotes around 'Business' in second argument

Solution

1. Step 1: Check CONTAINS argument types

   CONTAINS requires both arguments to be text strings or fields. Here, second argument is missing quotes, so Tableau treats it as a field name.

2. Step 2: Fix by adding quotes

   Adding quotes around 'Business' in second argument makes it a string literal, fixing the error.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing quotes around 'Business' in second argument -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   CONTAINS('Business', 'Business') works [OK]

Hint: Always quote text strings inside CONTAINS [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using unquoted text instead of string literals
• Confusing CONTAINS with LEFT or RIGHT
• Passing numbers instead of text

5. You want to create a calculated field in Tableau that returns TRUE if the first 2 letters of a product code are 'AB' and the code contains '123'. Which formula is correct?

hard

A. CONTAINS([Product Code], 'AB') AND LEFT([Product Code], 3) = '123'

B. RIGHT([Product Code], 2) = 'AB' OR CONTAINS('123', [Product Code])

C. LEFT([Product Code], 2) = 'AB' AND CONTAINS([Product Code], '123')

D. LEFT([Product Code], 2) = 'AB' AND CONTAINS('123', [Product Code])

Solution

1. Step 1: Check LEFT function usage

   LEFT([Product Code], 2) extracts first 2 letters. We compare it to 'AB' to check the start.

2. Step 2: Check CONTAINS usage

   CONTAINS([Product Code], '123') checks if '123' is anywhere in the code. The order is correct: main text first, substring second.

3. Step 3: Combine conditions with AND

   Both conditions must be true, so use AND.

4. Final Answer:

   LEFT([Product Code], 2) = 'AB' AND CONTAINS([Product Code], '123') -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   Correct syntax and logic = LEFT([Product Code], 2) = 'AB' AND CONTAINS([Product Code], '123') [OK]

Hint: Use LEFT for start, CONTAINS for anywhere, combine with AND [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping LEFT and RIGHT functions
• Reversing arguments in CONTAINS
• Using OR instead of AND