Building practical applications with LODs

The first portion of this chapter was designed to demonstrate how LOD calculations work. The remainder will be dedicated to practical applications. Specifically, we will consider three typical challenges that previously were solved using other Tableau capabilities, such as table calculations and data blending.

This exercise will look at a problem that occurs when mixing a table calculation that calculates the percentage of the total with a dimension filter. We will consider the problem, a solution using a LOD calculation, and finish with a commentary section on the germane points of the solution.

Using the LOD calculation FIXED

First, we will start off with a common problem many Tableau users come across when working with the FIXED LOD. The following steps will guide you through the exercise:

1. Open the workbook associated with this chapter and navigate to the worksheet entitled The Problem.
2. Select the 2012_World_Pop...