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What is the difference between using measures in Tableau and measures in Power BI?
3 min readAug 7, 2024
Tutoring a Student on Measures in Tableau and one in Power BI, I came upon these differences.
1. Creation and Usage:
- Tableau Calculations: Measures in Tableau are often created using calculated fields. These fields use Tableau’s calculation language, which is quite versatile and allows for a range of functions including mathematical, logical, and date functions.
- Data Pane: Measures are displayed in the Data pane, typically under the “Measures” section, and can be dragged onto rows, columns, or marks.
- Types of Calculations:
- Row-level calculations: Perform operations on each row individually.
- Aggregate calculations: Work on aggregated data, like sums or averages.
- Table calculations: Execute after the data is aggregated, allowing for running totals, moving averages, etc.
- Parameter Integration: Measures can interact with parameters for dynamic updates based on user input.
2. Visualizations:
- Drag-and-Drop Interface: Users can easily drag measures to different parts of the visualization, such as axes, labels, colors, etc.
- Shelf and Card System: Measures are placed on various shelves and cards (Rows, Columns, Marks, etc.) to build visualizations.