Tableau 2021.1 & 2021.2 Highlighted Features
Tableau 2021.1 Version
Tableau Desktop
- Einstein Discovery
After the acquisition of Tableau by Salesforce, all users started to wonder about the integrations and new features that will bring these products working together. With the release of Tableau 2021.1, we could use Einstein models which were built by your CRM data that’s contained within Salesforce. Tableau users now can build machine learning-based predictive models without writing code with this feature.
- Quick LODs
Level of Detail expressions (also known as LOD expressions) allows you to compute values at the data source level and the visualization level. With Quick LODs feature we could create LOD expressions more easily. The new LOD Calculation option is now available on the context menu and you could also drag-and-drop a measure onto a dimension to automatically create a Level of Detail expression with the default aggregation.
Tableau Server
- Web Authoring Improvements
Tableau Server Web Authoring features getting more close to Tableau Desktop with each update. Now we can also format filters, parameters, and legends directly in the browser. In the addition, we could now design device-specific dashboards within the browser via device designer.
Tableau Prep
- Write to Excel
Tableau Prep expands its output capabilities to include ability to write to MS Excel. In addition to writing your data to CSV and Hyper files, you will be able to create new excel files, or add/replace data in existing ones. You could check out the new output type option for .xlsx.
Tableau Public
- Web Authoring (Beta)
Now we could create new visualizations on Tableau Public right from a browser. With web authoring in beta on Tableau Public, you can connect to data in Excel and text-based files including CSV, JSON, PDF, Spatial files, Statistical files, Tableau Data Extracts, and Hyper Extracts. This feature can be a great advantage for beginners as it is free and does not require installing a desktop application.
Tableau 2021.2 Version
Tableau Desktop
- Area Spatial Calculation
With the area spatial calculations, you can now measure the square area of your selection on a map in units (meters, kilometers, feet, or miles) that you specify. Combined with the power of spatial joins, answering location-based questions is easier than ever. For example, you can now easily calculate the total acres of multiple parks you’ve selected on a map. Or, a business could use this to calculate population densities to inform about where to place a store.
- Map Layer Control
When viewing a worksheet or dashboard that includes a map, consumers now have the flexibility to control the visibility and interactivity of the marks layers without editing the workbook. When enabled by the author, users can simply use the new toggle settings to customize the map view to best answer their own location questions and analysis.
- Show/Hide Buttons for Tiled Elements
You can now add the Show/Hide Button to tiled elements on a Dashboard. This feature is available for both elements that are inside a container or not. Show/Hide Button could allow you to have a lot more control over the layout. Also, in the previous versions, you may need to create a parameter for similar functionality but with Tableau 2021.2 this option could be provided more easily.
Tableau Server
- Collections
This new feature gives you more fine-grained control over how you structure content in your Tableau Server or Online site. Users can create their own dedicated spaces on the server to add content. This content can come from various projects and workbooks. You could compare these collections with Apple Music or Spotify ‘playlists’ — they don’t take up any extra space but point to the original location of where these assets are stored.
- Web Authoring Improvements
Further customize your dashboards with the ability to format worksheet backgrounds, titles, and captions on the web. You can now create parameter actions and set actions within web authoring. You can now define and edit Top N and Condition for discrete filters, unlocking more advanced filtering for data source and on-sheet filters.
Tableau Prep
- Write to Google BigQuery
With 2021.2, Tableau Prep expands its output capabilities to include Google BigQuery, in addition to the existing databases outlined here. This enables you to add or update data in Google BigQuery with clean, prepped data from your flow each time the flow is run.
