Tableau context filter

Normal filters in Tableau are independent of each other. T his means that each filter reads all rows from the source data and creates its own results. /b10> However, in some cases, we want the second filter to process only the records returned by the first filter. /b11> Therefore, in this case, the second filter is called a dependent filter because they only process data that passes through the context filter. /b12> Context filters have two main purposes.

• Improved performance - If you set up a large number of filters or have a large data source, queries can be slow. You can set one or more context filters to improve performance.
• Create dependent numbers or top N filters - You can set context filters to include only the data of interest, and then set numbers or top N filters.

Create a context filter

Using Thesample-superstore, let's find the top 10 subcategories for a product in a category called furniture. To achieve this, we follow these steps.

Step 1

Drag the dimension category to the row shelf and the measure sales to the column shelf. /b10> Select the horizontal bar chart as the chart type. /b11> Drag the Wiig element category again to the filter holder. /b12> We get the chart below.

Step 2

Right-click the field subcategory in the filter shelf, and then go to the fourth tab named Top. /b10> Select options based on the field. /b11> Select the top 10 options by sales from the next drop-down menu, as shown below.

Step 3

Drag the dimension category to the filter holder. /b10> Right-click it to edit and select the furniture from the list under the General tab. /b11> As you can see the results show three sub-classes of products.

Step 4

Right-click category - furniture filter and select options to add to context. /b10> This results in a final result that shows the product subcategories of the furniture category in the top 10 subcategories of all products.