LOD in Tableau

LOD in Tableau

In today’s competitive market, having the appropriate Business Intelligence Tool is essential to one’s level of success. Tableau is one example of a great tool for the visualization of data. Tableau’s goal is to simplify things as much as possible while also presenting the data in a way that is as informative as possible, using charts and graphs.

Tableau’s top-of-the-line functionalities will enable it to simplify even the most complicated aspects of your data, regardless of how involved they are. Tableau is capable of converting your computations into graphical representations. In Tableau, the Level-of-Detail Expressions (often abbreviated as LOD Expressions) are located precisely in this area.

What Does Tableau Mean When It Refers to LOD Expressions?

You need to have an understanding of the challenges that are encountered while computing aggregations of data at various levels of detail in order to comprehend the LOD Expressions that Tableau offers. As the level of granularity (the number of minute details) in the data continually rises, it is typically considerably more difficult to obtain answers to the questions that are being asked.

For Instance:

Imagine that you run an OTT service that offers features that are comparable to those offered by Netflix. The Tableau software offers access to high-level explanations like these.

Popular Films in Various Categories, Movies with the Fewest Viewers, the Highest Ratings, the Lowest Ratings, and Many More

What would you do, though, if you were looking for material that included very minute details?

For example, certain days of the week or month saw the highest number of views for a given movie, and how many of those views they accounted for.

Tableau’s Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions are a helpful tool in resolving this issue. Tableau 9.0 marked the beginning of the application’s support for a new feature known as LOD Expressions. Tableau’s Level of Detail (LOD) expressions allow users to do aggregations that would otherwise be impossible at certain levels of data visualization.

The LOD Expression possesses a high level of precision and may be applied in any manner that is both discrete and irrational. You will become familiar with the syntax of LOD Expressions in Tableau as your knowledge advances.

Tableau’s Syntax for Level of Detail (LOD) Expressions

As a rule, when writing LOD Expressions in Tableau, you should stick to the syntax displayed below.

Tableau’s INCLUDE LOD Expressions can be written using this syntax:

{[ INCLUDE ] < declaration of the dimension > : <expression to aggregate>}

Tableau’s EXCLUDE LOD Expressions can be written using the following syntax:

{[ EXCLUDE ] < declaration of the dimension > : <expression to aggregate>}

Tableau’s FIXED LOD Expressions can be written using the following syntax:

{[ FIXED ] < declaration of the dimension > : <expression to aggregate>}

It’s time to go into the following section to have a much deeper and more hands-on understanding of the LOD Expressions that Tableau offers. You will gain an understanding of the many different forms of LOD expressions and be able to put that knowledge into practice.

Tableau’s Different Types of LOD Expressions

In Tableau, the LOD Expressions may be broken down into three distinct categories. They are as follows:

• INCLUDE
• EXCLUDE
• FIXED

INCLUDE LOD Expressions

It does this by putting into effect the INCLUDE Level of Detail Expression whenever there is a requirement to calculate more granular levels of detail inside the database, with the intention of subsequently re-aggregating the data and presenting it at a more general level. The fields that are based on the INCLUDE LOD expressions will change depending on whether the dimensions are added to or deleted from the view.

How to Create Expressions That Include LOD Data?

• For the sake of reference, please create a new sheet and label it “INCLUDE Sheet”
• You will need to generate a visualization in order to put the LOD Expressions into action.
• Move the regions into the columns, and the sales into the rows.
• A bar chart similar to the one seen below will be automatically generated by Tableau.

• Having done so, the next thing to do is to make a calculated field.
• Choose the analysis tab, then pick the “Create Calculated Field” option from the drop-down menu.
• It is time to add the formula to the calculated field.

{INCLUDE [Customer Name] : SUM([Sales])}

You may now add the calculated field you just made by dragging it from the measurements panel to the rows.

Tableau will automatically generate two bar charts for you, as illustrated in the following image:

• Now, the very last thing you need to do is switch the aggregation to average.
• To accomplish this, right-click the “sales per customer” pill on the spreadsheet.
• Choose the “Measure” option from the menu.
• Simply select the “average” option from the drop-down menu.

The resulting representation will look like what is presented below.

With that out of the way, you can go on to the next kind of Tableau LOD Expressions: EXCLUDE LOD Expressions.

EXCLUDE LOD Expressions

Expressions that use the EXCLUDE Level of Detail can be used to exclude the dimensions that pertain to lesser granularity levels, allowing one to place more emphasis on computing the dimensions that pertain to a higher level of granularity.

How to generate expressions using the EXCLUDE LOD command?

In order to generate the EXCLUDE LOD Expressions, the steps that are given below need to be followed.

• For your convenience, please create a new sheet and label it “EXCLUDE sheet.”
• Make a new calculated field for the report.
• Proceed to the Analysis.
• Make sure that the “Create Calculated Field” option is selected.

Replace the name Calculated with EXCLUDE Calculation in the field.

Enter the formula that is listed below in the field designated for calculations:

{ EXCLUDE [Region] : SUM([Sales])}

• Now you need to move the region and the sales to the rows where they belong.
• And arrange the dates in the columns (aggregate the date – month-wise)

• Tableau will produce a line graph on its own automatically.
• To make it more comprehensible for the audience, turn it into a bar graph.
• Proceed to the marks card and modify the choice so that it reads the bar chart rather than automated.
• This is what the most recent visualization looks like.

• Finally, on the scorecard, move the EXCLUDE calculation to the appropriate hues.

• You will be able to improve the readability of the visualization with the assistance of the previous stage.
• The completed visual depiction looks like this:

FIXED LOD Expressions

The FIXED Level of Detail Expression is built to do computations exclusively on the individual dimensions that have been specified. During the time when the FIXED LOD expressions are being applied, it makes no reference to the dimensions that are still visible.

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How to Create Expressions with a Fixed Level of Detail?

In Tableau, the creation of the FIXED LOD Expressions can be aided by the processes that are listed below.

In order to facilitate future reference, kindly generate a fresh sheet and label it “FIXED Sheet.”

Navigate to the Analysis menu and add a new calculated field to your report.

• The calculated field should now be renamed “Sales by Region.”
• In the area of the computed field labeled “FIXED [Region],” make a note of the formula that follows:

{ FIXED [Region] : SUM([Sales])}

• Now, drop the Region and States labels into their respective columns.
• Let us move the calculation field labeled “Sales by Region” to the rows.
• The final representation will resemble something like what is seen down below.

Limitations of LOD Expressions

The following is a list of the most important limitations that must be taken into consideration when making use of LOD Expressions in Tableau.

• When floating values are involved, the behavior of LOD Expressions becomes unreliable perspectives.
• There will be no indication of LOD Expressions in the Data Source.
• When making a reference to a dimensionality declaration parameter, it is imperative that you always use the parameter name rather than the parameter value.
• When using data blending, the linking field from the primary data source needs to be included in the view before a LOD expression taken from the secondary data source can be used.
• You have successfully completed this “Lod Expressions in Tableau – the All in One Guide” article now that you have reached this point.

Bottom Line

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