Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2-9. Changing a field from a Measure to a Dimension
Notice how the color of the
#
symbol next to the field name changes from green (for continu-
ous) to blue (for discrete). This is another important distinction between data types. Tableau
draws axes when continuous data types are used in visualizations (resulting in lines and scat-
terplots), and it creates headers when discrete data types are used (resulting in bars, columns,
and tables).
For example, consider the two visualizations in
Figure 2-10
, which show Area on the
Columns shelf (the horizontal or x-axis) and Population on the Rows shelf (the vertical or y-
axis).
