3 Tableau Time Savers: Keyboard Shortcuts and More

Here are some insider Tableau tips that will save you lots of time: control and drag, quick field property selection, and keyboard shortcuts.

1. Control and Drag: Making Copying Easy

When in a worksheet you will find that you are constantly dragging and dropping from the:

• Dimensions list
• Measures list
• Sets list

Once you drop one of these into a dashboard, normally we will go about creating table calculations or using the same measure but running an average on that measure to provide a more detailed dashboard. To save you the time of going back to the sidebar lists, try clicking on a measure or dimension that is already in a display that you wish to copy and hold control (CTRL) and drag it to where you need it to go.

2. Right Click Drag: Quick Field Property Selection

Normally when you select a field you need to drop the Dimension, Measure or Set in first then apply the SUM, Average or alteration of Field Property. However if you want to save yourself a click you can right click drag a field onto a worksheet by using a right click drag once you let go you will be prompted with a window showing all the possible field dimensional properties or measure calculations.

3. Tableau Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL + B	Decrease Cell/Row Size
CTRL + D	Connect to Data
CTRL + E	Sheet Description
CTRL + H	Presentation Mode
CTRL + M	New Worksheet
CTRL + N	New Workbook
CTRL + SHIFT + B	Increase Cell/Row size
CTRL + W	Swap Column to Rows or vice versa
CTRL + ↓	Make rows shorter
CTRL + ←	Make columns narrower
CTRL + →	Make columns wider
CTRL + ↑	Make rows taller
CTRL + F4	Delete the current worksheet or hide the worksheet if it is used in a dashboard
CTRL + Tab	Cycle forward through open worksheets