Type conversion functions in Tableau - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Type conversion functions

Business Question

How can we convert data types in Tableau to analyze sales data correctly and display meaningful KPIs and charts?

Sample Data

Order ID	Customer	Order Date	Sales (Text)	Quantity (Text)	Region
1001	Alice	2024-01-15	"100.50"	"2"	East
1002	Bob	2024-02-20	"200"	"3"	West
1003	Charlie	2024-03-05	"150.75"	"1"	East
1004	Diana	2024-04-10	"300"	"4"	South
1005	Eva	2024-05-18	"250.25"	"2"	West

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: FLOAT([Sales (Text)]) converted and summed
  Calculation: SUM(FLOAT([Sales (Text)])) = 100.50 + 200 + 150.75 + 300 + 250.25 = 1001.5
  Shows total sales as a number
• KPI Card: Total Quantity
  Formula: INT([Quantity (Text)]) converted and summed
  Calculation: SUM(INT([Quantity (Text)])) = 2 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 12
  Shows total quantity sold
• Bar Chart: Sales by Region
  Uses FLOAT([Sales (Text)]) for numeric sales values
  Aggregates sales per region:
  East: 100.50 + 150.75 = 251.25
  West: 200 + 250.25 = 450.25
  South: 300
  Shows bars representing these totals
• Table: Orders with Converted Types
  Columns:
  - Order ID
  - Customer
  - Order Date (Date type)
  - Sales (converted to number)
  - Quantity (converted to number)
  - Region
  Shows raw and converted data side by side

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|   Total Sales KPI    |  Total Quantity KPI  |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Bar Chart: Sales by Region                      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                      Table: Orders with Converted Types             |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

A filter on Region allows users to select one or more regions. When a region is selected:

• The Total Sales and Total Quantity KPIs update to show sums only for the selected regions.
• The Bar Chart updates to show sales bars only for the selected regions.
• The Orders Table filters to show only orders from the selected regions.

This helps users focus on specific areas and see how sales and quantities change.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Region = East, which components update and what are their new values?

• Total Sales KPI: 100.50 + 150.75 = 251.25
• Total Quantity KPI: 2 + 1 = 3
• Bar Chart: Shows only one bar for East with value 251.25
• Orders Table: Shows only orders 1001 and 1003

Key Result

Dashboard showing total sales and quantity with type conversion, sales by region bar chart, and detailed orders table.