Bernard K

Feb 29

Quick way to rename ad-hoc calculations in Tableau

Introduction

What are ad-hoc calculations? Ad-hoc calculations are calculations that you can create and update as you work with a field on a shelf in the view. They are also known as type-in or in-line calculations.

A good example of ad-hoc calculation is in the example below computing the Profit Ratio.

(Note, the above ad-hoc calculation computes the Profit Ratio, without the need of creating a new field in the data pane)

Note, executing this assigns the functions used in the calculation as the name of the calculation, see below.

Quick way to rename ad-hoc calculations.

A quick way to rename ad-hoc calculations is by using multi-line ad-hoc calculations.

Multi-line ad-hoc calculations are created by typing the first part of your calculation, in this case the name assigned to the calculation e.g., //Profit Ratio then press SHIFT+ENTER to open a new line where you can type the calculation itself e.g., SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales])

How do you do it?

Double-click on an empty shelf to create your ad-hoc calculation.

Use double forward slashes “//” followed by your desired name e.g., //Profit Ratio

Press SHIFT+ENTER to open a new line.

On the new line, type your calculation e.g., SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales]), and press enter to commit the calculation.

Note, the ad-hoc calculation is automatically renamed as ‘Profit Ratio’ as you can see in the view below.

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