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Tableau Set Actions: Compare selected dimension with remaining dimensions

This post was originally published on The Data School blog between 2018 and July 2025, before our program was renamed to MIP’s Analytics Career Accelerator. References throughout this article to “The Data School” or “DS” all refer to what is now MIP’s Analytics Career Accelerator. The program, its people, and its commitment to launching outstanding analytics careers remain the same – just under a new name.

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For this example, the data source used is Sample – Superstore data.

Creating the tableau dashboard below is broken down in to 4 main steps:

1 Creating the source sheet

2 Create the target sheet

3 Create dashboard and assign set

4 Add dashboard actions

(click on the image below to go to the example workbook)

1 Creating the source sheet

For the source sheet, Top 5 Sub-Categories by Sales has been considered.

  • Drop Sub-Category on Rows
  • Drop Sales in Columns
  • Filter top 5 Sub-Categories by Sum of Sales
  • Add Sum of Sales to Labels and left align
  • Order the Sub-Category by descending Sum of Sales

2 Create the target sheet

Open a new sheet, monthly profit ratio for the Top 5 Sub-Categories by Sales has been considered.

  • Apply the same filter which is in the source sheet (Top 5 Sub-Categories by Sales)
  • Drop Order date on Columns and select Continuous Month
  • Drop Profit ratio on rows (only one line will be seen at this moment)
  • Next, drop Sub-Categories on Detail (now we see multiple lines, same as the below image)

3 Create dashboard and assign set

  • Open a new Dashboard and drop both the sheets
  • Right click on any of the bars from source file and select Create Set ( I have named the set Top 5 Subcategory by Sales)

  • To link the target sheet to the Set, go back to the sheet and drop the set in colour.
  • Also, change the subcategory in Detail shelf from Dimension to Attribute

  • Create a new Calculated field to create dynamic label for the lines (I named it ‘Sub Category Label’). Formula reads, “IF [Top 5 Subcategory by Sales] then [Sub-Category] else “Other” END”
  • Drop this new field on to Label, and Profit ratio on to label.

4 Add dashboard actions

If we go back to the Dashboard, we will notice the updates on the target sheet. However, there is no interactivity yet. So, to add a dashboard action, go to dashboard and select Actions.

relative paths in alteryx

Next, select on Add Action and Change Set Values.

  • On the new pop up window, edit the name of the action (I named it ‘Subcategory Action’).
  • Select the source sheet as the dashboard we are currently on and only check the source sheet (‘Sum of Sales’)
  • Run action selected is ‘Select’
  • Target Set is our main Data source and select our set we have created previously (‘Top 5 Subcategory by Sales’)
  • Also selected is ‘Keep set values’ under ‘Clearing the selection will:’

 

 

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