Summary

In this chapter, we learned about the foundational capabilities of Tableau Prep Builder. The main function is to create flows, which refer to the way data moves through a data preparation process. Every flow begins with connecting to data. In addition to the connection pane, flows have three key panes to help us with data preparation: the flow pane, which gives us a visual representation of the stages of our flow; the profile pane to profile the shape and contents of our data; and data details to get samples of what is in our data sources and the impact of our changes.

We also learned how to group, filter, and clean data. We learned about the impact of creating row-level calculations in our model and created string and date calculations. In the final section of the chapter, we learned how the recommendations and the changes pane can drive our efficiency, ensuring we don’t miss steps and giving us an easy way to modify or delete steps that we later realize weren’...