Summary

You now have several techniques to turn to when you need to relate tables of data together. The data model, a new feature in the latest versions of Tableau, gives a new paradigm for relating logical tables of data together. It introduces a few new behaviors when it comes to showing the full and partial domains of dimensional values, but it also greatly simplifies aggregations by taking into account the natural level of detail for the aggregation. In the physical layer, you have the option of joining together physical tables.

We covered the various types of joins and discussed possibilities for using join calculations and cross-database joins for ultimate flexibility. We briefly discussed how data blending works and saw a practical example. Finally, you examined a broad outline of when to turn to each approach. You now have a broad toolset to tackle data in different tables or even in different databases or files.

We'll expand that toolset quite a bit more in the...