LOD vs table calculations in Tableau - Dashboard Approaches Compared

Dashboard Mode - LOD vs table calculations

Business Question

How can we compare sales performance by category and region using Level of Detail (LOD) expressions versus Table Calculations in Tableau?

Sample Data

Order ID	Category	Region	Sales
1001	Furniture	East	200
1002	Furniture	West	150
1003	Technology	East	300
1004	Technology	West	250
1005	Office Supplies	East	100
1006	Office Supplies	West	120
1007	Furniture	East	180
1008	Technology	West	220

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Sales
  Formula: SUM([Sales])
  Result: 1720
• Bar Chart: Sales by Category
  Formula: SUM([Sales]) grouped by [Category]
  Results:
  • Furniture: 530
  • Technology: 770
  • Office Supplies: 220
• LOD Calculation Table: Fixed Sales by Category
  Formula: {FIXED [Category]: SUM([Sales])}
  Shows total sales per category ignoring other filters or dimensions
• Table Calculation: Running Total of Sales by Region
  Formula: RUNNING_SUM(SUM([Sales])) computed across [Region]
  Results:
  • East: 780
  • West: 1720
• Cross-tab Table: Sales by Category and Region
  Shows raw sales data summed by both dimensions

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+-----------------------+
|      KPI Card        |     Bar Chart          |
|  Total Sales: 1720   | Sales by Category     |
+----------------------+-----------------------+
|  LOD Calculation     |  Table Calculation     |
|  Sales by Category   | Running Total by Region|
+----------------------+-----------------------+
|          Cross-tab Table (Sales by Category and Region)          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

Filters on Region and Category apply to all components except the LOD calculation, which always shows total sales by category regardless of filters.

When a user selects a region filter, the Bar Chart, Table Calculation, KPI Card, and Cross-tab Table update to show sales only for that region. The LOD calculation remains fixed.

Self Check

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

• KPI Card: Updates to show total sales for East region (680)
• Bar Chart: Updates to show sales by category only for East region
  • Furniture: 380
  • Technology: 300
  • Office Supplies: 100
• LOD Calculation: Does NOT update; still shows total sales by category ignoring region filter
• Table Calculation: Updates running total for East region only (680)
• Cross-tab Table: Updates to show sales by category and East region only

Key Result

Dashboard compares sales by category and region using LOD expressions and table calculations in Tableau.