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 |
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