Tableau Tutorial - Top 1-5 LOD Expressions - Practical Examples (Part 1 LOD calculations)

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This is the first of a series covering the Top 15 Level of Detail (LOD) Examples, based on the Tableau Whitepaper written by Bethany Lyons.
Each use case is explained in detail, with additional discussion on how LODs compare against regular calculated fields and table calculations, and things to watch out for. Some examples will use combinations of these types of calculations.
A variety of other topics and tidbits/tips and tricks will also be covered - applications of blue vs green, creating bins, drop field window, and many more
Sections:
0:00 - Intro
1:36 - Use Case #1: Customer Order Frequency
8:14 - Use Case #2: Cohort Analysis
13:38 - Use Case #3: Daily Profit KPI
21:33 - Use Case #4: Percent of Total
27:44 - Use Case #5: New Customer Acquisition
31:27 - Preview of Part 2 of LOD Examples series
Accompanying Workbook to this Video:
public.tableau.com/app/profil...
Whitepaper: Top 15 LOD Expressions (Practical Examples)
www.tableau.com/about/blog/LO...
Need an LOD Refresher? Here is a complete and comprehensive tutorial
• Tableau LOD (Level of ...
LOD Series:
Part 1 - Top 1-5 LOD Expressions - Practical Examples
• Tableau Tutorial - Top...
Part 2 - Top 6-10 LOD Expressions - Practical Examples
• Tableau Tutorial - Top...
Additional Related Videos:
Tableau Calculations Series in sqlbelle channel:
Part 1 - Basic and Aggregate Calculations
• Learn Tableau Basic Ca...
Part 2 - Level of Detail Expressions - FIXED, INCLUDE, EXCLUDE - Complete Tutorial
• Tableau LOD (Level of ...
Part 3 - Table Calculations
• Tableau Table Calculat...
10 Tableau tricks you should know
• 10 Tableau tricks you ...
10 Use Cases for Parameters
• Tableau Tutorial - Par...

[@PatrickBateman12420]

Absolutely amazing Donabel! Thank you for sharing. You're 10X better at explaining than most paid video courses on LOD's.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Franco :) Glad to hear you found it helpful!

[@Nina20157]

i agree . she is best at explaining tha others..

[@Leo-pentos]

Your work for the tableau community is invaluable! Thank you.

[@manalrassas1566]

Amazing video, this video is a proof that you were born to be a data techniques teacher and also, the information flow in the presentation and screenshots (especially the one putting the Dimension filters in between the FIXED and INCLUDE/EXCLUDE) make the trainee memorize what is the difference between the different types in terms of filter effect and answer any LOD-related question in interviews. Thank you so much

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Manal, for this very kind and thoughtful note. I appreciate it, and am happy to hear you found the video helpful!

[@michafabich4372]

I've been waiting impatiently for something new from you :)

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Michal! 😅 yea I had a little bit of a break; semester was wrapping up so it's been hectic with marking 😇

[@Neutronumusprime]

Best Tableau training videos I’ve come across so far! Well done and thank you.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Jim! Glad to hear you found it helpful :)

[@vijayarjunwadkar]

Happy to see a video after gap, and the wait was worth it! Very nice explanation of LOD with practical examples, liked it! Awaiting next ones eagerly! Thank you Donabel! 😊👍

[@sqlbelle]

Vijay! Thank you, yes there was a little bit of a break 😅 I am trying to plan out the next videos now. Will be calculations heavy for the next little while. Thank you, as always, for your support! 😊

[@AmitGrg_Rakhali]

Very clear and crisp explanation with great examples. Totally relatable. Thank you so much for this tutorial!

[@fabianobiserra1210]

Thank you for keep teaching us Donabel! Loved you classes and more recently your youtube channel as well! Take care!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Fabiano! Hope all is well :)

[@ytpariss309]

your way of teaching is simple yet deep, love it.. please do post more videos. I am preparing for my Tableau exam and your videos have been a great source for me to master. Thank you.

[@sqlbelle]

So happy to hear, Ytpari! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@agermoune]

Respect Donabell 👏 Just finished the first part and can't wait to finish this series. I will save them in my favorites for reference. Way simplified compared to Britney's original video. Again, I know how much time you put to make hard easy and hope that you can get more lucrative rewards than ‘likes and thank you’, So THANK YOU!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Abderrahim :) Always appreciate your thoughtful and kind feedback. Glad to hear you found it helpful :) Thank you, thank you, for your support and encouragement. Your comments, along with many other supportive positive ones, really motivate me. Take care!

[@anujtomar19]

Proper organized detailed video !! Thanks a lot !!

[@chao-chienchen4393]

This is the best "practical" Tableau usage example by far!

[@jeffersonmazurdasilva2728]

Hi, I have been working in analytics for quite some time. I have worked both as a business analyst and as a BI developer. Also, I had the opportunity to work with the most know BI tools in the market. I have to say this is gold for two reasons: 1) with these analysis a business analysis a analyst can keep a sales or marketing team busy for a very long time. 😁 2) the way you present I am pretty convinced Tableau is (after Excel - 😅) the best tool for those working in the business side. Thank you for sharing

[@prashantgupta6850]

I just can't tell how beautifully she has explained everything my all doubts related to LOD are cleared.

[@sqlbelle]

I am so glad to hear that @prashantgupta6850

[@Aynaras_Life]

Your explanations are very clear and on point. Thank you 😊

[@jilanikashif]

This is one of the best tutorial, simply loved it, also explaining pattern is simple, Thanks for sharing.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you so much for your kind comment, Kashif! Glad you found the video helpful!

[@nallelybalderasacatitla9102]

wow I really love your videos. Your explanations are so easy to understand. In the past i did those exercises but i didn't understand some things but now i get it. Thank you so much for share.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you so much for your comment Nallely - happy to hear you found the video helpful :)

[@Yatish90]

This was brilliant! Kudos to you for making such comprehensive video's!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Yatish!

[@lavaforce-overwatchmoments9848]

Very deep and clear explanation, thanks a lot!!!

[@Guna_cocktail]

Another great presentation. thank you so much. awaiting for the next part.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Guna!

[@sooryaprakashverma6044]

Perfectly described the LOD...I request you to bring the video on hierarchies in tableau. I really love your playlist.

[@sqlbelle]

So happy to hear that, thank you Soorya!

[@charlesabboud1613]

What an extraordinary video following on from your wonderful introductory LOD video...Many thanks for sharing this. All the best Charles Abboud

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you so much for your kind comment Charles! So happy to hear you found this follow up video a complementary one to the introductory LOD :) Very much appreciate your time (watching and leaving a thoughtful comment :))

[@Nick-xu2hh]

You are very quickly becoming my number one go to for help 😃. Really really good content and explanations

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Nick :)

[@I_Follow_Jesus]

I'm new to Tableau. Your videos have great content. I've learned so much from following you.

[@sqlbelle]

So happy to hear you are finding the videos helpful Phillip! Thank you for sharing it :)

[@rajeshtukdeo]

Absolutely informative and easy to understand !!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Rajesh!

[@kranthikumar9231]

You are always the best in explaining. Waiting for more videos.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Kranthi!

[@kanikaarora368]

Great explanation! Please release second part soon

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Kanika!

[@SwethaNandyala-sf9lt]

Hi Donabel. I have a small question. at 26.21 when you toggle the segment the Grand Total and SUbtotal by region are not supposed to change but the Sales , % of Region total , % of Grand Total can change because the % of Region total , % of Grand Total depend on sum(sales) which is in turn affected by the "segment" dimension filter.

[@chukkeycheese]

You know tableau very well. Great video. Subscribed. Looking forward to learning more from you

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Projesh!

[@AliTwaij]

This is amazing. Really impressive. Thankyou v much

[@vdn5716]

Great work As always..

[@saurabhkhare3315]

Amazing Donabel! Your lectures are really helpful to get crystal clear understanding of Tableau Concepts. Your simple amd effective approach of explaining concepts are really cool. Will be waiting for new upcoming videos on SQL & Power BI. Love from Indian BI Developers & Happy New Year

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Saurabh!

[@oluremiabayomi5924]

Thank you for your videos. I am very very grateful!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Oluremi, I hope you found them helpful

[@swathikilaru]

Very well explained ,Thank you so much mam

[@garyv2500]

Excellent video, honestly

[@sagarmano8858]

Great video.Waiting for the Next part

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Sagar!

[@Neutrino-xw6jl]

This is so useful!! Thank you so much

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you :)

[@cococnk388]

LOD is very suitable for visuals and analytic questions.... great channel.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you :)

[@anai3187]

This is so helpful omg thank u

[@paulocarapinheiro8739]

Excellent, thank you!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Paulo!

[@Vikasgadre]

Simply fantastic. very very useful video

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Vikas!

[@nadeemraja655]

thx for the series of LOD much needed.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Nadeem, hope you will find it helpful

[@nadeemraja655]

@@sqlbelle I could not find 6-10 or 2nd part. thx

[@shwetabharti5389]

I must tell you, through your videos i'm learning actual tableau

[@sqlbelle]

I am so glad to hear, thank you for sharing Shweta!

[@TheElementFive]

Great tutorial, but to me, viz software should be abstracted away as much as possible from the data wrangling aspect of things. That is more efficiently achieved with SQL, pandas, etc..

[@FazlayElahi]

Ma'am, I don't know how to thank u. Best Wishes to u. God Bless u. Love from Bangladesh.

[@sqlbelle]

Aww. Thank you Fazlay, I hope this video was helpful for you. And your note is more than enough - thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it very much.

[@FazlayElahi]

@@sqlbelle My Pleasure Ma'am, u r so much sincere. It's hard to learn a intuitive software like Tableau only from online resources. I am just a High School Graduate in Bangladesh, recently I got a lot of curiosity to Data Analysis that's why I started to learn Tableau. Thank u so much for your tremendous videos on Tableau. Your contents are just 10/10... Hopefully I will watch all of your videos and thus have a good ability on Tableau. Thanks again...!!! Best Regards.....!

[@peterparker4358]

Thanks Mam I was eagerly waiting for this really nicely explained as always ❤️❤️❤️

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Peter! :)

[@youmunna6452]

Thanks to this...mam I vl learn easy 👌

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you You!

[@sandrahu7122]

Thank you so much. I have been learning it on my own to build these 15 examples, and when i had questions, I didn't know where to ask, and I was so frustrated, i wish I had seen these videos before. But i will go over the series videos as going over LOD again.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you for sharing Sandra. Happy to hear that. I haven't published Part 2 and Part 3 yet, but they're coming :) Hope you will find them helpful!

[@PawanKumar-bt7vo]

Easy to understand...please make more videos...Could you Please one video on Tableau Bridge

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Pawan! And thank you for the suggestion!

[@sayandas1826]

Best tutorial available on the web regarding LOD. I have subscribed to your channel for future guidance. But a little upgradation may help visualization of videos. Your channel logo overlaps several times which is an obstacle to visualization.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Sayan! And thank you for the suggestion! I just realized that as well too, and will make sure to make adjustments next time. Thank you :)

[@GFXHDTV]

thank you for this amazing video, is there any way you could share the data so that i could practice along ?

[@srt5806]

Wonderful Video! Please make videos on Use Cases of Parameter Actions

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you!

[@anduamlaktadesse9284]

Well done and can you drop the link for downloading the dataset.

[@sushmithac5110]

Hey hi I wanted to make a cohort for employee retention how do I do that I used the same logic what you have used here i am getting diagonal matrix but not getting upper matrix. Can you please help me

[@ajaykulkarni576]

Great contents, best explanation. BTW, is there a way I can get the PPT's? What microphone do you use to record the audio?

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Ajay! I use a Blue Yeti mic 🙂

[@Ab_Jannadi]

Amazing as always, thanks for your efforts. I just want to say in this exact time 26:23 It's not working as you said

[@ajaykulkarni576]

how are you writing FIXED and other TEXT with your mouse for annotation? i use presentity as well, but not sure how you write with it. do you use any digital tablet and a pen to write it ? (time at 16:03 where you write FIXED)

[@sqlbelle]

Thanks Ajay. I use a free tool called ZoomIt from Microsoft.

[@black-yn1cz]

Can you please create a video about YoY comparison or YTD vs PY_YTD. Thank you for your time. You helped me a lot

[@sqlbelle]

Yes, for sure. Thank you for the suggestion! Will definitely look at including that in future videos.

[@youmunna6452]

i am very glad to say thanks mam...and can u explain to me LOD functions where ,when and why should we use please mam....

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you You! Please do check out my first LOD video (the link is in the description). It goes into detail as to what LODs are, and why and when we would use them. Hope you will find that video helpful!

[@user-ou7db4ef6n]

hey can you help me how to show that drop feild bcz in my tabluae its not showing

[@agelee89]

Is there something new introduced by Tableau like LOD editor (where you don't need to remember the syntax for LOD)? I saw it somewhere mentioned but cannot find any video presenting it.

[@sqlbelle]

You may be referring to the Quick LOD? It is a new feature, but has limited use at this point. Here is a reference: help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/calculations_calculatedfields_lod.htm#use-a-quick-lod-expression

[@oren2010T]

Great video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Avi!

[@oren2010T]

@@sqlbelle Noo !! Thank you !!!!! :-) , can you do a video about how to mix an aggregate argument e.g. sum(Sales), avg(Profit), Profit Ratio with non-aggregate arguments e.g. Discount ? please :-)

[@anujtomar19]

I have one query , when you drag and drop [Order date] , tableau ask for continuous and discrete column value, but not in my case when i work on my machine, Do i need to enable any setting??? Please suggest....

[@fajarryanto1577]

Fixed its able if we use some filter to exclude non sales performance? or some product with non sales item?

[@sqlbelle]

Thanks Fajar. You can embed logic statements in the FIXED LODs, so you can technically address these cases.

[@PratikVora-ts7xn]

where is the link for dataset? can you please post it here?

[@pradeepp9126]

Hi sqlbelle, I tried the other way before checking the video Just by understanding the question , the calculation for checking profitable and non profitable days as follows : Profitable : COUNT({fixed [Order Date] : IF SUM([Profit]) > 0 THEN SUM([Profit]) END}) Not Profitable : COUNT({fixed [Order Date] : IF SUM([Profit])

[@sqlbelle]

Thanks for trying this out. You are absolutely correctly, there are multiple ways to achieve something similar in Tableau. But each could have their own nuances.

[@laythkal-shblawi7101]

Excellent , how I can download the dataSets

[@onambhanot7088]

Can you please provide data sets for the same?

[@ameliawang8619]

Can you please share the data so we can build these charts ourselves by following along with your tutorial? Thanks!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Amelia, I am planning to release the data sets in the videos. I will provide details once the page is ready.

[@shashankworldpeace]

As usual good explanation. I have one point here regarding Case 3 i.e. profitable vs unprofitable. Instead of creating 2 calculated fields - one for LOD and other for conditional grouping based on LOD, we can directly create single field where LOD and condition for profit can be used. IF { FIXED [Order Date]: SUM([Profit]) > 0 } THEN 'Profitable' ELSE 'Not Profitable' END I have checked the result and got the same viz as u created. Are there any problems or drawbacks with my approach? pls highlight.

[@sqlbelle]

Thanks Shashank. Some of the questions around nested calculations are around clarity, reusability and manageability. If you ever need to use the total profit per order date again in another view, it's better to put it in a different calculation. Otherwise you will have to embed this expression every time you need it. It will make it harder to update as well, in case it needs to change. For clarity and for teaching, and especially for folks who are new to LODs, it is easier to explain and understand if we break up the logic into simpler expressions first, rather than using a nested expression right away. For clarity when you are working with other members in your team, having separate expressions may be easier to understand as well. As with anything, everything is relative. There is no one right answer, and you have to go with what works with you and your team.

[@shashankworldpeace]

@@sqlbelle Perfect! Makes sense. Also do you have any course where tableau is taught by you from the start to advance level? If not, what course do you recommend where uses cases are also taught well.

[@gthxyz780]

Can u help vth currency conversion???

[@ashisharora9649]

Hey, great work. I have one doubt. When you talk about the acquisition of customers, why did you consider those customers which we already had on that day, why did we not exclude them? I mean old customers should be deducted first and then the running total should be calculated such that we can know how much have we gained each day cumulatively to get the trend. If there is a problem in my understanding or there is no need for it then plss correct me. okay okay, you have also done the same by using the fixed level of details where you have only selected the customer's first purchase only hence only new customers are getting captured. great got it now thanks!

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Ashish

[@aniljhurani8289]

hey this is good example of Lod - Fixed , but one question i had at question 4 , mins 26 in the video , you mentioned that after adding all the calculations in the map , only the sales value should change with Segment , but , percentage of region total and percentage of grand total also changes , could you clarify please

[@jyothihosamani]

I am facing the same issue as well. Her contents are really good, but the only downside is , when you have doubts you cannot get it cleared. That's where probably structured courses / MOOC's might come in more handy. Nevertheless her courses are still a value add

[@ShubhamTiwari-bi8ox]

Wooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks and respect to you

[@mostafaeidemg]

This video is fantastic and I like the way you simplify the complex points however at 26:23 the numbers are changed in % of region total and % of Grand total despite you using fixed expression and as per my understanding Fixed overrides any dimension that encounter , can you please correct me if I am wrong or explain why its changed,, Thank you for your amazing effort

[@lalitpatil974]

The number of % is changed, The reason behind the formula contains the sum of sales, which is why the sum(sales) change affects on %, although ma'am spoke wrong there.

[@ambujrai7355]

Could you please help for custom SQL query implement in tableau environment..??

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you for the suggestion Ambuj!

[@rahul1994negi]

where can i find dataset?

[@deepakmr8248]

Can I have the data used for this as download? So that I can try this on my own

[@felipepinilla7306]

In use case 4 min 26:40 when the filters are added the % of region and % of total DO change. It sounds like you are saying that the percentages should NOT change. Any clarity on this would be appreciated.

[@nidhisingh4973]

As per my understanding, % of total country sale should be calculated as "sum of each country sale / Grand total sale" and % of total region sale = "sum of each region sale / Grand total sale" But here she has taken "sum of sale " which is at state level

[@shobanaranjan2408]

how to get the unique customer id and unique order id

[@ram_qr]

(11:43) Why we cannot use Cohort-Fixed = {FIXED [Customer ID]: MIN([Order Date])} ? The result is the same as shown in this video

[@sqlbelle]

Thanks. The result is slightly different, and may affect other use cases. MIN([Order Date]) returns an exact date field. May not be obvious when you drag this because Tableau rolls up to YEAR right away. MIN(YEAR([Order Date])) returns an integer. In the specific use case in the video - may not matter since we are just displaying. For other calculations, it will.

[@rnchueng6402]

8:10, why does each column and row add up not the equal to the grand total? I don't understand the quick explanation in the video. Thanks.

[@sqlbelle]

Hello. Because the number is not additive. For example, if you bought 5x in 2018, and in 2019, and in 2020 as well as 2021 ... you wont be counted as 4x in the grand total because you are still just one, unique, distinct customer.

[@rnchueng6402]

@@sqlbelle Hi Belle, than you, I got it!

[@MrAstonmartin78]

Adorable.

[@user-ri4ei2is6c]

Can you provide the dataset?

[@sheruns8579]

Its the sample superstore already in tableau

[@avinashdubey7941]

You said value should not change at 26:21 but % of grand total and % of subtotal are changing

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you for your feedback Avinash, I appreciate it. I just realized I had the filter I had in the video was for segment but it should have been region as per 22:07. I will make a note in the description.

[@avinashdubey7941]

@@sqlbelle Most welcome. I love the style of your teaching and I am learning from your video while giving interview. Today is my interview. Thanks a lot for giving so much valuable knowledge ☺️

[@16-hemalatha26]

How to show kpis and sparklines in a single sheet , make a vedio on it mam.

[@sqlbelle]

Thank you Hemalatha. I have another video that tackles it, and I also discuss some pros and cons of building it in single sheet vs separate sheet. I am curious to the reasons for needing it in a single sheet? kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2ncgnqagKxpmqs

[@lathbotti5497]

Hello, can I get your email please ? do you offer classes?

[@subhapandusubha2577]

ueuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuoueù €

[@alagesancaptain]

That man coming for power BI ad is most irritating face while we are involving the session.

[@xuantungnguyen9719]

Hi Donabell, how did you organize your use cases into Folder in the data tab, and how Tableau decide where a calculated field will be displayed (attached to a table of at the end below the Measure Names). I'm new to tableau and have trouble navigating these things. Thanks for your great lessons

[@sqlbelle]

Hello Xuân! You can click on the dropdown in your side bar (beside search and data grid) and select "Group by Folder". Once you have that you can create a folder on the side bar (right click on an empty space, or right click on a field > Folders). Hope this helps!