As a data analysis tool, Tableau classifies every piece of data into one of the four categories namely – String, Number, Boolean and datetime. Once data is loaded from the source, Tableau automatically assigns the data types. Contrarily, you can also change some of the data types if it satisfies the data conversion rule. The user has to specify the data type for calculated fields.
Following table lists the description of data types supported by Tableau.
| Data Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| STRING | Any sequence of zero or more characters. They are enclosed within single quotes. The quote itself can be included in a string by writing it twice. | ‘Hello’ ‘Quoted’ ‘quote’ |
| NUMBER | These are either integers or floating points. It is advised to round the floating point numbers while using them in calculations. | 3142.58 |
| BOOLEAN | They are logical values. | TRUEFALSE |
| DATE & DATETIME | Tableau recognizes dates in almost all formats. But in case we need to force Tableau to recognize a string as date, then we put a # sign before the data. | “02/01/2015″”#3 March 1982” |