Most Commonly Used Formulas in Tableau (With Sample Sheet and Examples)

Unlock the Power of Tableau with Ready-to-Use Formulas! Explore a comprehensive collection of Tableau formulas categorized for quick reference – including Numeric, String, Date, Logical, Aggregate, and Type Conversion functions. Whether you’re just starting out or already working on dashboards, this guide will help you master Tableau calculations faster with real examples and syntax-ready code.

Number Functions

SUM()

SUM([Sales])

What it does: Adds all values of a numeric field across rows.

Example: 100 + 200 + 300 = 600

ROUND()

ROUND([Profit]/[Sales], 2)

What it does: Rounds to a specific number of decimal places.

Example: 0.416 → 0.42

CEILING()

CEILING([Sales]/1000)

What it does: Rounds number up to the nearest integer.

Example: 50.2 → 51

POWER()

POWER([Quantity], 2)

What it does: Raises a number to a power.

Example: 3^2 = 9

ABS()

ABS([Profit])

What it does: Converts negative numbers to positive.

Example: ABS(-500) → 500

String Functions

CONCAT()

[Customer] + ” from ” + [Region]

What it does: Joins two or more strings together.

Example: “Priya” + ” from West” → Priya from West

LEFT()

LEFT([Product], 3)

What it does: Extracts characters from the left of a string.

Example: Laptop → Lap

FIND()

FIND([Product], “top”)

What it does: Finds the starting position of a substring.

Example: “Laptop” → 4

UPPER()

UPPER([Region])

What it does: Converts text to uppercase.

Example: west → WEST

TRIM()

TRIM([Customer])

What it does: Removes extra spaces from start/end of text.

Example: ” Tableau ” → “Tableau”

Logical Functions

IF…THEN

IF [Profit] > 0 THEN “Profit” ELSE “Loss” END

What it does: Returns a value based on a condition.

Example: Profit = -1000 → Loss

IIF()

IIF([Sales] > 30000, “High”, “Low”)

What it does: Inline IF function that returns TRUE/FALSE output.

Example: Sales = 32000 → High

ISNULL()

ISNULL([Discount])

What it does: Checks if value is NULL.

Example: Discount = NULL → TRUE

AND / OR

[Profit] > 0 AND [Sales] > 5000

What it does: Combines two or more conditions.

Example: TRUE AND FALSE → FALSE

CASE

CASE [Region] WHEN “East” THEN “Zone A” ELSE “Other” END

What it does: Evaluates multiple conditions like a switch-case.

Example: Region = East → Zone A

Date Functions

TODAY()

TODAY()

What it does: Returns current date.

Example: TODAY() = 2025-06-27

DATEDIFF()

DATEDIFF(‘day’, [Order Date], TODAY())

What it does: Returns difference between two dates.

Example: 2025-06-20 → 7 days

DATEADD()

DATEADD(‘month’, 1, [Order Date])

What it does: Adds units to date.

Example: 2025-06-01 + 1 month → 2025-07-01

YEAR()

YEAR([Order Date])

What it does: Extracts year from date.

Example: 2025-06-27 → 2025

DATETRUNC()

DATETRUNC(‘month’, [Order Date])

What it does: Truncates date to first of month.

Example: 2025-06-15 → 2025-06-01

LOD Expressions

FIXED

{FIXED [Customer] : SUM([Sales])}

What it does: Calculates at fixed granularity regardless of filters.

Example: Fixed sales for each customer

INCLUDE

{INCLUDE [Product] : AVG([Profit])}

What it does: Adds detail to view level aggregation.

Example: Include Product → AVG by Product

EXCLUDE

{EXCLUDE [Region] : SUM([Sales])}

What it does: Ignores dimension from current view.

Example: Exclude Region → National sales total

Table Calculations

RUNNING_SUM()

RUNNING_SUM([Sales])

What it does: Calculates cumulative running total.

Example: 100, 200, 300 → 100, 300, 600

RANK()

RANK([Profit])

What it does: Ranks data based on value.

Example: 600, 400, 200 → 1, 2, 3

LOOKUP()

LOOKUP([Sales], -1)

What it does: Returns value from previous row.

Example: Today’s sales compared to yesterday

INDEX()

INDEX()

What it does: Returns row position in partition.

Example: First row = 1, second = 2

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