Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations – Complete Winter '26 Guide

Connecting to Data and Data Source Basics

Tableau Desktop connects to hundreds of data sources: files (Excel, CSV, JSON), databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, BigQuery), and cloud services. Data Source page: connect, join or union tables, preview data, rename fields, hide unused fields, change data types. Live connection queries the database each time; Extract (.hyper) snapshots the data for performance. Field types: Dimensions (qualitative, blue), Measures (quantitative, green). Discrete fields create headers; Continuous fields create axes. Understanding pills (fields), shelves (rows, columns, marks card) and how they map to the view is the foundation of the Foundations exam.

Building Basic Visualisations

Tableau's Show Me panel suggests chart types based on selected fields. Common charts: Bar (compare categories), Line (trend over time), Scatter (correlation between two measures), Map (geographic data), Pie (part-to-whole — use sparingly). Shelves: Columns shelf = X axis, Rows shelf = Y axis, Marks card controls colour, size, shape, label, detail, tooltip. Sorting: by field value (ascending/descending), by manual drag, or by nested sort. The Foundations exam tests how to build each chart type and which is most appropriate for a given question.

Filtering, Sorting, and Groups

Filter types: Dimension filters (categorical), Measure filters (range/conditional), Date filters (relative, range, discrete). Filter order of operations: Extract → Data Source → Context → Dimension → Measure. Context filters improve performance by reducing the data set before other filters apply. Sets are named subsets of dimension members — In/Out members can be used in calculations. Groups combine dimension members into named categories directly on the field (e.g., combining East and West into 'Combined'). Quick filters show filter controls in the view for user interactivity.

Calculated Fields: Basic Formulas

Calculated fields create new data from existing fields. Basic functions: String (LEFT, RIGHT, MID, CONTAINS, LEN), Date (DATEPART, DATEDIFF, DATEADD, TODAY), Logical (IF/ELSEIF/END, IIF, CASE), Aggregate (SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, COUNTD). Table calculations reference values relative to other rows in the view (RUNNING_SUM, WINDOW_SUM, RANK, PREVIOUS_VALUE). The Foundations exam tests writing basic calculated fields to answer common business questions — e.g., profit margin (SUM([Profit])/SUM([Sales])), year-over-year growth, conditional categorisation.

Dashboards and Stories

Dashboards combine multiple sheets into a single view. Layout: Tiled vs Floating objects. Containers (Horizontal, Vertical) control how objects resize together. Device preview shows how the dashboard looks on desktop, tablet, and phone. Dashboard Actions enable interactivity — Filter Action (click to filter), Highlight Action (click to highlight), URL Action (open a link). Stories are a presentation format — a sequence of Story Points, each showing a sheet or dashboard with a caption, for guided data narration. The Foundations exam tests how to create a dashboard, add interactivity, and build a basic story.

Connecting to Data

Know how to connect to file-based sources (Excel, CSV, JSON), database sources, and how to configure joins and unions in the Data Source pane. Understand the difference between live and extract connections.

Building Basic Visualizations

Know the Show Me panel chart types and when Tableau recommends each. Understand how to use Rows/Columns shelf, Marks card (color, size, label, detail, tooltip), and filters pane.

Sorting & Grouping

Know how to sort data (field sort, manual sort, nested sort) and how to create groups (custom groups from dimension members) and sets (dynamic or fixed subsets of dimension members).

Basic Calculations

Know how to create simple calculated fields: string functions (LEFT, MID, CONTAINS), date functions (DATEDIFF, DATEPART), and aggregate functions (SUM, AVG, COUNT, COUNTD) applied to measures.

Sharing & Publishing

Know how to publish workbooks and data sources to Tableau Server or Cloud, export views to images/PDFs/PowerPoint, and use Tableau Reader for offline sharing.