Tableau Desktop Foundations Practice Test

The correct action is to assign the 'State/Province' geographic role to the field. When a field containing location data is assigned a geographic role, Tableau generates the necessary latitude and longitude coordinates to plot the data on a map. Renaming the field or changing its data type will not enable Tableau to recognize it as geographic data. While a calculated field might sometimes be used for data cleaning or to resolve ambiguities, it is not the essential first step to enable mapping functionality.

Mapping data requires telling Tableau what kind of geographic entities the field contains. Choosing Geographic Role > State/Province assigns the correct role to the string values, displays the globe icon, and unlocks map capabilities. Merely renaming the field does not guarantee recognition, converting to a number removes the needed text values, and Data Interpreter does not set geographic roles.

The correct method for creating a static set from visually selected marks in a view is to interact with the marks themselves. After selecting the desired marks, hovering over them will bring up a tooltip that includes a 'Create Set' icon (resembling a Venn diagram). Right-clicking the selected marks also provides the 'Create Set' option. Using the 'Keep Only' option creates a filter, not a reusable set. Creating a set from the Data pane is a different workflow used for creating dynamic or fixed sets based on lists or conditions, not from a visual selection in the view. Grouping members is a separate function used to combine dimension members into higher-level categories.

The correct answer is that extracts provide improved dashboard performance. A Tableau data extract is a snapshot of data stored as an optimized .hyper file, which uses Tableau's high-performance, in-memory data engine. This allows for much faster query processing compared to sending queries to a potentially slow live database, directly addressing the performance issue described in the scenario.

• Access to real-time data is an advantage of a live connection, not an extract. Extracts are static snapshots and must be manually or scheduled to be refreshed to get updated data.
• The ability to work offline is a benefit of using an extract, but in the context of a slow database causing performance issues, the most significant advantage is the improvement in query speed.
• Reducing the query load on the source database is a secondary benefit of using an extract, but the primary advantage for the end-user and dashboard developer is the enhanced performance and responsiveness of the dashboard itself.

The correct answer is .twbx. A Tableau Packaged Workbook (.twbx) is a single zip file that contains the workbook (.twb) along with any supporting local data sources, such as data extracts (.hyper), Excel files, or background images. This format is the best way to share work with others who do not have access to the original live data source.

A .twb file only contains the structure of the workbook, its sheets, and dashboards, along with the connection information for the data source; it does not contain the data itself. A .tds file is a Tableau Data Source file, which is a shortcut for connecting to data and contains connection information and modifications, but not the actual data or the workbook's visualizations. A .hyper file is a Tableau data extract, which is a local, compressed copy of a dataset, but it does not include the workbook's visualizations or dashboards.

Dragging the Segment dimension to the Color shelf tells Tableau to break each bar into separate colored marks for every Segment value. Because the bars share the same axis and chart type, Tableau automatically stacks those marks on top of one another, producing a single bar per Region subdivided by Segment. Placing Segment on Size, Label, or Detail would add separate visual encodings or extra marks but would not instruct Tableau to stack the bars by category.

The correct answer is that dimensions contain qualitative and categorical values. In Tableau, dimensions are fields that contain qualitative data, such as names, dates, or geographical information. These fields are used to categorize, segment, and slice the data to reveal greater detail in a view. Measures, on the other hand, contain numeric, quantitative values that you can measure and aggregate, like sales or profit. While dimensions are typically discrete, and measures are typically continuous, these are characteristics of the pills in the view rather than the fundamental role of the field itself.

An extract is a snapshot of the data stored in a highly-compressed .hyper file. Because the data are packaged inside the workbook or a separate extract file, users can open and query the dashboard without needing a direct network path back to the source system. This is particularly useful when the source database sits behind a corporate VPN that travelling or offline users cannot reach. By contrast, requirements for real-time data, preservation of database-enforced row-level security, or use of a local Excel file that is already accessible do not, by themselves, mandate an extract.

The Format menu's Workbook option opens the Format Workbook pane, where you can set default fonts for titles, panes, headers, and other text across every sheet. Choosing Format > Worksheet, a header's context menu, or the Marks card only changes text in the current sheet or specific elements.

Choosing the Histogram chart type from Show Me is the only one-click method that (1) places the selected continuous measure on Columns as a binned dimension, (2) creates a new bins field in the Data pane that you can reopen to modify bin size, and (3) puts CNT(Measure) on Rows to complete the histogram. Right-clicking and choosing Create > Bins makes the field but does not build the view. Converting the measure to a dimension or grouping its values does not generate bins or a histogram automatically.

The correct answer is a dual-axis chart. A dual-axis chart is the ideal choice for comparing two measures with different scales, such as sales in currency and quantity sold in integers, against a common dimension like time. It uses two separate axes, one on each side of the chart, allowing each measure to have its own scale while being displayed on the same visualization.

A combined axis chart is incorrect because it requires all measures to share a single axis and, therefore, a single scale, which would distort the view when measures have vastly different scales. A stacked bar chart is used to show part-to-whole relationships and is not suitable for comparing two distinct measures with different units. A scatter plot shows the relationship between two measures but does not typically plot them against a shared third dimension like a time series.

The correct answer is Relationships. Relationships are designed to be a flexible, dynamic way to combine data from multiple tables. They preserve the original tables and their levels of detail, querying data at the appropriate level of aggregation for the visualization without creating a fixed, flattened table. This approach prevents data duplication that can occur with joins when tables have different granularities. Joins merge tables into a single new logical table before analysis, which can cause data duplication if the levels of detail differ. Unions are used to append rows of data from one table to another and require the tables to have the same structure. Data blending combines aggregated data from separate data sources and is generally less flexible than relationships for tables within the same data source.

The Analysis menu contains built-in commands for grand totals. Choosing Totals > Show Column Grand Totals adds a new bottom row that aggregates the selected measure across all rows for every column. Show Row Grand Totals adds a right-hand column instead, the Worksheet menu has no Totals command, and dropping the Totals object on the Row Grand Totals target creates a right-side column, not a bottom row.

A .TDS file stores only the metadata of a data source-connection details plus customizations such as renamed fields, field aliases, default properties, and calculated fields. Because no visual or data-bearing content is saved, worksheet formatting (including custom color legends), individual worksheets, and any extracted rows are not included. Therefore, another user who connects to the .TDS will see the calculated field exactly as it was created, but none of the other listed items.

The correct answer is a Set. Sets in Tableau are custom fields used to define a subset of data based on specific conditions, such as the top 5 customers by sales. The key feature of a set is its ability to classify data as 'in' or 'out' of the set, which allows for comparison and analysis without removing data from the view.

• Group: This is incorrect. Groups are used to combine multiple dimension members into a single, higher-level category (e.g., combining 'Apples' and 'Oranges' into a 'Fruit' group). Groups are static and do not have the 'in'/'out' functionality.
• Hierarchy: This is incorrect. Hierarchies are used to create drill-down paths within the data (e.g., Country > State > City), allowing users to explore different levels of detail.
• Filter: This is incorrect. While filters do subset data, they typically remove data from the view. A set, however, can show both the 'in' and 'out' members simultaneously for comparative analysis.

The correct answer is a manual sort. A manual sort allows a user to arrange data in a fixed, user-defined order by dragging headers or labels. This method is used when a specific arrangement is needed that doesn't rely on data values or alphabetical order. A computed sort organizes data based on rules, such as sorting by the value of a field (e.g., profit) or alphabetically, which is not the desired outcome here. An alphabetical sort is a type of computed sort. A nested sort is used for sorting dimensions within other dimensions and is not the primary method for this scenario.

The correct method for creating equal-sized intervals from a continuous measure to build a histogram is to create bins. In the Data pane, you can right-click a measure and select 'Create' > 'Bins' to generate a new binned field, which groups the values into ranges. This new binned field is then used as a dimension to build the histogram. Groups are used to combine members of a dimension, not to segment a measure. Sets are used to create a subset of data with 'In' or 'Out' members based on certain conditions. Creating a hierarchy is for establishing drill-down paths in dimensional data.

The correct method to connect to a new data source from the Tableau start page is to use the Connect pane, which is visible when you first open the application. This pane lists common file types and servers. Selecting 'Microsoft Excel' opens a dialog to locate your file, and opening it establishes the connection on the Data Source page. The 'File' > 'Open' command is for opening existing Tableau workbook files (.twb, .twbx), not for creating connections to raw data files. The 'Data' menu is used to add or manage data sources once a workbook is already open, not from the start page. Dragging a file to a dashboard is not the standard primary method for creating a new connection.

The correct answer is Shape. On the Marks card in Tableau, dragging a dimension to the 'Shape' property assigns a unique shape to each member of that dimension, which is ideal for distinguishing between categories in a visualization. The 'Detail' property is used to separate marks based on a dimension's members without assigning specific formatting like color or shape. The 'Size' property is used to encode data by varying the size of the marks. The 'Label' property is used to display text marks or add data values as labels to the marks.

A relationship keeps the two tables separate in Tableau's logical layer. Each table is queried independently, aggregated to the appropriate level for the view, and then combined. Because of this late, aggregated join, duplicate order rows are not created, so measures such as number of transactions stay accurate. An inner or left join would physically merge the tables first; if a product appears repeatedly in Orders, those rows would multiply when matched to the single Product Attributes row, inflating counts. A union simply stacks rows and is not appropriate for combining different columns from two subject areas.