Documentation and naming conventions in Tableau - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

Sample sales data by region for a quarter

Cell	Value
A1	Sales
A2	1000
A3	1500
A4	1200
B1	Region
B2	North
B3	South
B4	East

Formula Trace

SUM([Sales])

Step 1: SUM([Sales])

Cell Reference Map

   A       B   
1 Sales   Region
2 1000    North 
3 1500    South 
4 1200    East  

The formula references the Sales column (A2:A4) to sum all sales values.

Result

   A       B       C
1 Sales   Region  Total Sales
2 1000    North   3700
3 1500    South  
4 1200    East   

The Total Sales column shows the sum of all sales values, 3700, calculated by the formula.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula SUM([Sales]) calculate?

A The average sales value

B The total of all sales values

C The maximum sales value

D The number of sales entries

Key Result

SUM aggregates all values in a named column or field.