How To Remove Abc Column In Tableau

8/xiv/2020
The ABCs of Removing ABCs in Tableau Text Tables

When creating text tables in Tableau without measures, one of the about common questions that comes up is how to remove the ABCs that show up in the text table. By default, Tableau will employ the "Abc" placeholders to limited whatever values that could be potentially displayed. For example, if you only use dimensions and/or discrete values in a text table, the empty cavalcade will automatically fill up "Abc" as a placeholder. Yous may detect yourself needing only dimension and discrete values without measures and therefore wanting to remove these "Abc" placeholders. In this blog postal service, I accept tried to write up a comprehensive listing of solutions. I will outline the traditional ways I've seen people use to remove the placeholders and offer what I experience are the iii best solutions.

NOTE - If you are simply looking for the all-time solutions, so experience free to jump to #ane-three below (and be certain to check out #3). I prefer these methods considering they solve the event without creating other issues. Also, I've included a summary at the end of this mail service for comparison.

For these examples I am going to employ the classic Sample Superstore dataset. Specifically, I employ two dimensions, Last Proper noun and Start Proper noun that are separate fields from Client Name. These field are created past right-clicking on Customer Name and selecting Split. Then I rename them to Final Name and First Proper name. Feel complimentary to use whatsoever dimensions, for instance, Category and Subcategory volition work the same.

Hither is the default view when placing Dimensions or Discrete values on the Rows without any Measures. Find the Abc placeholders.

Change the Mark to Polygon

On the Marks Card, select the dropdown box and change the marks type to Polygon. Polygons (and lines) use the Path in order to connect multiple points into a polygon. Since Polygons do non allow Text labels, the Abc placeholder is gone.

CONS - in that location are two bug with using Polygons. First, the column is still there and there are marks on that column. While a user tin't select a single marking or hover over them for tooltips, it is possilbe to select multiple marks using the selection tools. This can be solved past calculation a Blank Text on Path. The bigger consequence is that the Polygon marks can crusade problems with the animated transitions (Tableau'southward "animation") when you publish workbooks.

Use Blank Text on Text

Double-click on the empty area on the Marks Carte du jour to type an inline formula. Blazon 2 unmarried or double quotes to create an empty text pill. (Ex. ''). Elevate this blank pill to Text on the Marks Carte du jour. The Abc placeholder is now replaced past the blank text.

CONS - at that place are several issues with using blank text to remove the Abc placeholder. The mouseover tooltip is still visible(which y'all can turn off under tooltip), the user tin select single marks and multiple marks using the option tools and there is row highlighting on selection.

Change Color to White

Another choice is to change the text color. On Mark card, select Color and modify the color to match the groundwork color. In this instance, I changed it to white.

CONS - there are several issues with this approach. The mouseover tooltip is still visible (which you can plough off under tooltip), the user tin can select single marks and multiple marks using the pick tools and at that place is row highlighting on selection. As well, the Abc placeholder is however visible when the user selects or highlights the cell.

Alter the Opacity to 0%

Instead of changing text color, you tin can also change the opacity to 0%. On the Marks bill of fare, select Color and slide the Opacity to 0%. The text will be transparent regardless of background color.

CONS - there are several issues with this arroyo. The mouseover tooltip is notwithstanding visible(which you can turn off nether tooltip), the user can select single marks and multiple marks using the selection tools and at that place is row highlighting on selection. Also, the Abc placeholder is withal visible when the user selects or highlights the cell.

Resize the Column as Thin as Possible

This is the least fancy one out of 7 tricks withal quick and unproblematic. Just click and drag the placeholder cavalcade to the left to make information technology as sparse as possible. If the column is narrow enough then the Abcs are no longer visible.

CONS - there are several issues with this arroyo, simply these problems are minimized due to the narrow width of the column. The mouseover tooltip is still visible (which you can turn off nether tooltip), the user can select single marks and multiple marks using the pick tools and at that place is row highlighting on choice.

Note - Solution #iii below does the same things, but in a better mode because it removes the column entirely.

Change the Mark Type, Size and Opacity

Changing the Marking type to anything will actually piece of work for this ane. Combine with #4 and reduce to Opacity to 100% and select Size on the Marks Bill of fare and reduce size to the smallest possible.

CONS - there are several issues with this approach. The mouseover tooltip is still visible (which you can turn off under tooltip), the user can select single marks and multiple marks using the selection tools and in that location is row highlighting on choice. If the Mark type is Text so the Abc placeholder is withal visible when the user selects or highlights the prison cell. If the Marking type is circumvolve or something else, so the marks are nonetheless visible on selection. Oftentimes times people volition have the Size to equally small as possible, but the marks and other issues are still there.

Formatting the Column

One of the other downsides to all of the solutions above (and #1 below) is that you lot volition likely desire to resize the column to the thinnest possible and remove the Column Divider Pane Lines under Border Formatting. Without this additional formatting yous volition have extra edge lines in your table.

At present for the three best methods.

ane. Use a Transparent Shape

This solution requires loading a blank transparent shape into the Shapes folder in your Tableau Repository. In general, having this shape handy can be useful for many different things (encounter note below for more than information). Once you've created 1, alter the dropdown box on the Marks Card to Shape and select the blank shape.

Note - Kevin Flerlage wrote 14 Apply Cases for Transparent Shapes and offers this download file of custom transparent shapes. Luke Stanke wrote Vi Tips for Transparent Shapes in Tableau.

CONS - this is actually a very good solution. This method does require the steps for creating a blank transparent shape and saving information technology into your Tableau Repository. It will as well require the additional formatting steps discussed above.

2. Apply Dimension on Text to make the ABCs Disappear

This method replaces the Abc placeholder text with the text of the terminal dimension.

   1.) Duplicate the last dimension on Rows to Text (CTRL-drag from Rows to Text on the Marks Card)
2.) Add Measure out Names to Columns
3.) Right-Click on that last dimension on Rows and uncheck Show Header.
4.) Right-Click on Column proper noun "No Measure" and select Edit Alias... to rename the column name.

3. Remove the Unabridged Column past Resizing (my personal favorite)

1.) Use CTRL-Right-ARROW three times to make the Abc placeholder column wider.
2.) Manually size the column every bit pocket-size as it will go by dragging the edge to the left (making it as thin as possible).
three.) Use CTRL-LEFT Arrow five times and the cavalcade will disappear.

Notation - If you need to go far reappear so use Format -> Cell Size -> Text Cell to reset.

Technical Info on Removing Column by Resizing:

For those of y'all who like to know what's going on inside Tableau, hither are the technical notes. When you manually resize a column, there is a <Way> tag added to the Tableau workbook in the XML. When manually setting the prison cell width to as modest as possible the XML looks like this.

    <style-rule chemical element='cell'>
<format attr='width' value='5' />
</style-rule>

Irresolute the value in the XML from v to 0 hides the cavalcade completely. Unfortunately, the Tableau Desktop interface doesn't allow you lot to go downward to nil. Therefore, we trick Tableau by using the CTRL-ARROW method of widening and narrowing the columns.
After using the CTRL-Correct-Pointer three times the XML changes again, and includes a number of additional values. The important ane hither is the 'cell-w' value. The default is 60 and each CTRL-RIGHT-Pointer adds 20, taking it from threescore to 120.

    <style-rule element='cell'>
<format attr='cell-westward' value='120' />
<format attr='prison cell-h' value='xx' />
<format attr='cell' value='20' />
<format attr='cell-q' value='100' />
<format attr='width' value='119' />
</style-rule>

At present when we drag the border to equally thin as possible, only the 'width' changes (down to value = v). The 'cell-w' value stays the aforementioned at 120.

    <manner-rule element='cell'>
<format attr='cell-westward' value='120' />
<format attr='cell-h' value='20' />
<format attr='jail cell' value='20' />
<format attr='jail cell-q' value='100' />
<format attr='width' value='5' />
</manner-rule>

In the concluding stride, we use CTRL-LEFT-Arrow five times. Each one of these decreases the 'cell-w' value past 20 and the 'width' value by ane. Since nosotros have the 'cell-w' value set to 120 we have enough room to decrease it 5 times. This takes the 'jail cell-west' value downward to twenty and the 'width' value to zero, and the cavalcade is gone.

    <mode-rule element='cell'>
<format attr='cell-w' value='20' />
<format attr='cell-h' value='twenty' />
<format attr='cell' value='20' />
<format attr='jail cell-q' value='100' />
<format attr='width' value='0' />
</style-rule>

Once the column is gone there is aught to resize, so you have to reset it from the tiptop bill of fare using Format -> Cell Size -> Text Cell.

Summary of Methods

Below is a table outlining the methods mentioned above and some of the issues.

Mouseover Tooltip - the tooltip on mouseover is a default in Tableau, but can be turned off by selecting Tooltip on the Marks card and unchecking Show Tooltips. Polygons will not have this option and if you lot remove the column (#iii above) and then there won't be a cavalcade to take the tooltip.
No Marks on Single Select - when y'all click a mark in Tableau information technology will select. When yous apply Blank text or Change the Opacity (and/or size) the mark is still in that location, so it can exist selected.
No Marks on Multi-Select - marks can likewise be selected in Tableau with a choice tool. Note, the Polygon method will allow a multi-select past default, merely this tin be solved byadding a Blank Text pill on Path.
No Highlighting - past default, Tableau will highlight a row on select (or multiple rows on mutil-select).
Works with Animation - this is simply an issue with the Polygon method. Polygon marks in text tables have been known to cause issue with the Tableau Animated Transitions (aka Animation) when the workbook is published.

Beneath is a Tableau Public Visualization that you lot can download to explore these options more than.

Source: https://dataplusscience.com/RemoveABCs.html

Share this post