This blog post is Human-Centered Content: Written by humans for humans.

As a seasoned user and regular trainer of Tableau, I’ve learned that if there’s one way to do something in Tableau, there are probably two or three ways. So this week, I’m sharing five of the best time-saving things I’ve learned to do in Tableau!

1. Drop Fields with Keyboard Shortcuts.

kI love a drag and drop interface as much as the next person, but sometimes a keyboard shortcut is just that little bit easier.

To drop a selected field onto rows, you can use (Alt + Shift + R) for Windows or (Option + Shift + R) or Mac users.

To drop a field onto columns, it’s (Alt + Shift + C) for Windows or (Option + Shift + C) or Mac users.

2. Drag to Chart for Color

You’ve got a chart and it needs a little… something. Color is a great option to make charts a bit more interesting and useful.

For a visualization that is NOT a crosstab, so has marks like bars, lines, shapes, etc., you can drag and drop a field from your columns or rows shelf to add quick color to your viz.

Also, if you hold CTRL and click on two blue fields in your data pane to drag onto color, you can get two blue fields onto color. Use discretion with this one though, color can get out of hand quickly.

3. Ctrl+F to Quickly Search Field Names

We’ve all had those data sets where the fields are plentiful and similarly named, or maybe sequestered inside folders and hierarchies that just make them hard to find. Yeah, you can go all the way over to the search bar and click, but there is a faster way!

Click Ctrl+F from anywhere in your worksheet and you can just start typing to search for that field you want to find. Even entering the first letter or three of a field name can quickly narrow things down for you.

Even quicker, you can double-click an empty spot on the Rows or Columns shelves, Marks Card, or Measure Values card to bring up a text-box outline. From there you can start typing the field you want to put in that spot, and Tableau will filter and show you the available field names right there. Find the one you’re after, select it, and voila!

4. Create Calculated Fields from Ad-hoc Calculations

You can create ad-hoc calculations by double-clicking in an empty space on the columns or rows shelf, marks card, or Measure Values card. Ad-hoc calculations can be a great way to get some quick information, validation or behavior out of your visualizations. But what if that ad-hoc calculation is useful enough you want to put it more places? You can drag and drop that calculation onto your Data Pane and a calculated field you can use in multiple visualizations is created automatically!

5. Drag and Drop Dates – With Fewer Clicks

This one I’m sure isn’t a surprise, but it is something that even the most seasoned user of Tableau can overlook from time to time. Tableau’s default (what happens when you just click and drag) for a Date field is to give you the date part (blue discrete) and aggregate up to the year. From there, you can right-click and make a few selections to get the date formatting and information you actually want.

If you instead right-click and drag that date field, you get a glorious little Drop Field dialog box that pops up and you can select the exact configuration you need from your date field then and there. No need to open up the field menu, break things temporarily or click into the same menu multiple times to get something like an exact date.

As a bonus, you can use the right-click and drag trick with any field where you don’t necessarily want Tableau’s default aggregation or view. That Drop Field box will open when you drop your field onto the shelf (columns, rows, marks, etc.) and save you a click or two there as well!

Now I know I said my top five tips, but I’ve always been a little extra. So here’s one more of my favorites:

BONUS: Peekaboo Calculations (Names by Autumn Battani)

When you’re neck deep in calculations and you’ve got more calculated fields in your data than you can remember, you can “peek” at a calculation without having to open up the whole thing. Pull your target calculated field into the calculation, open up the handy calculation assistant on the right side, and click on the calculated field in question for a peek at the calculation without having to close the one you’re in and come back to it.

If you found any of these to be helpful, or if you need any help with your day-to-day Tableau needs, feel free to drop us a line!