How to Get Rid of Asterisk in Tableau

Seeing an asterisk (*) in your Tableau view can be a real head-scratcher, especially when you're expecting to see a specific name, category, or value. Instead of being an error, this asterisk is Tableau’s way of telling you that there's more than one value trying to fit into a single space. This guide will walk you through why this happens and several straightforward methods to fix it for good.

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What Does the Asterisk in Tableau Actually Mean?

At its core, the asterisk is a symbol for "multiple possible values." It appears when you've placed a field on a shelf like Text, Label, or Tooltip, but the level of detail in your visualization is not specific enough to show a single, unique value for that field.

Imagine you have a chart showing total sales for the "Technology" category. If you then try to add a label for "Sub-Category," Tableau gets stuck. Why? Because the "Technology" category contains several sub-categories - 'Phones,' 'Copiers,' 'Accessories,' and 'Machines.' Since Tableau can't display all of those sub-categories in a single label meant for the entire "Technology" category, it displays an asterisk (*) as a placeholder.

This situation most commonly arises in a few key scenarios:

• Mismatched Levels of Detail: The most frequent cause. Your view is aggregated at a high level (e.g., by Region), but the field you want to display is at a lower, more detailed level (e.g., City).
• The ATTR() Aggregation: You'll often see the field on your Marks card wrapped in the ATTR() function, like ATTR(Sub-Category). The Attribute (ATTR) aggregation checks if all the values for a dimension within a given partition are identical. If they are, it returns that value. If they are not identical, it returns an asterisk.
• Data Blending Issues: When using data blending, an asterisk can appear if a single record in your primary data source matches multiple records in your secondary data source. Tableau doesn't know which of the multiple records to show, so it defaults to the asterisk.

How to Get Rid of Asterisks in Tableau (4 Methods)

Now that you know why the asterisk appears, let's look at several effective ways to resolve it. The best method depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your visualization.

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Method 1: Adjust the Level of Detail in Your View

The most fundamental and common solution is to make the level of detail of your visualization match the level of detail of the field causing the asterisk. You do this by adding the dimension that's on your Text or Label shelf to the Detail part of the Marks card.

Let's use the Category vs. Sub-Category example from the Sample - Superstore dataset.

1. You have a bar chart showing SUM(Sales) by Category.
2. You drag the Sub-Category field to the Label shelf on the Marks card. Asterisks appear on your bars because each category bar represents multiple sub-categories.
3. To fix this, simply drag the Sub-Category field and drop it onto the Detail shelf on the Marks card.

What does this do? By adding Sub-Category to Detail, you are telling Tableau to partition the marks (the bars, in this case) for each sub-category. Your visualization now has marks for "Technology - Phones," "Technology - Copiers," etc., instead of one big mark for "Technology." Since each of these smaller marks corresponds to only one sub-category, Tableau can now display the correct label without ambiguity.

Your bar chart will now appear segmented, with each segment representing a sub-category and correctly labeled.

Method 2: Use MIN(), MAX(), or another Aggregation

Sometimes, you don't need to break down your visualization into more detail. You simply want to display one representative value instead of the asterisk, even if multiple values exist.

This approach works when you know that slight differences in the data don't matter, or when you just need to pick one value to fill the space. In these cases, you can change the aggregation from ATTR() to an aggregation like MIN() (Minimum) or MAX() (Maximum).

When to Use This:

This is useful if you have duplicate records and want to display a name that you know is consistent across them. For example, if you have multiple sales records for the "Apple iPhone 14" but your view is aggregated higher, MAX(Product Name) will still correctly return "Apple iPhone 14".

How to Do It:

1. Locate the pill on the Marks card that shows the asterisk (e.g., ATTR(Sub-Category)).
2. Right-click on the pill.
3. Go to Measure.
4. Select either Minimum or Maximum.

A Quick Warning: Be cautious with this method. If the underlying values are genuinely different and important — like 'Phones' and 'Copiers' — using MIN() would show 'Accessories' (because "A" comes before "C" and "P" alphabetically) and MAX() would show 'Phones'. This can hide important detail and misrepresent your data, so only use it when you're confident that any single value is an acceptable label.

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Method 3: Concatenate a List of All Values

What if you want to see all the different values in your tooltip or label instead of just one? You can use a table calculation to create a comma-separated list of all relevant values, such as "Phones, Copiers, Accessories, Machines."

This technique is more advanced but provides a clean and comprehensive way to display multiple values without segmenting your primary chart.

Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Create a Calculated Field for Concatenation

1. Go to Analysis > Create Calculated Field.
2. Name the field something like "Concatenated Sub-Categories".
3. Enter the following formula:

PREVIOUS_VALUE("") + IIF(INDEX() = 1, "", ", ") + MIN([Sub-Category])

This formula works by grabbing the value from the previous row in the partition and adding the current row's value to it (preceded by a comma). MIN([Sub-Category]) is used to get the string value for the current row. 4. Click OK.

Step 2: Add Fields to Your View

1. Start with your original chart (e.g., SUM(Sales) by Category).
2. Drag the dimension causing the asterisk (Sub-Category in our example) to the Detail shelf on the Marks card. This is essential for the table calculation to work.
3. Drag your new calculated field ("Concatenated Sub-Categories") to the Tooltip shelf.

Step 3: Edit the Table Calculation

1. Right-click the "Concatenated Sub-Categories" pill on the Marks card and select Edit Table Calculation.
2. Under "Compute Using," select Specific Dimensions.
3. Make sure both Category and Sub-Category are checked. The calculation needs to be set up to restart for every new Category.
4. Set it to restart every Category. This ensures the list building starts over for each new category bar.

Now when you hover over a category bar, the tooltip will show an incomplete list. To fix this so it only shows the final, complete list, create one more calculated field:

IF LAST() = 0 THEN [Concatenated Sub-Categories] END

Name this "Final Concatenated List," drag it to the Tooltip shelf instead, and configure its table calculation the same way as before. This field will only display a value on the very last mark in the partition, giving you the complete, final list in your tooltip.

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Method 4: Fix Asterisks in Data Blends

If your asterisk is a result of data blending, it indicates that a single mark from your primary data source is linked to multiple values in your secondary source.

For example, if your primary source is 'Regional Sales' (linked by State) and your secondary source is 'Store Locations' (also with a State field), blending will cause problems if a state has more than one store. When you try to pull in Store ID from the secondary source, Tableau doesn't know which of the Illinois stores to display, so you get an asterisk.

You have a couple of options:

1. Refine Your Blending Fields: The best solution is to adjust the relationship in your data sources. If possible, add another linking field to make the connection more specific. For instance, blending on both State and City might create a unique one-to-one match.
2. Use a Level of Detail Fix: If you can't change the blend, you can treat it like a regular level of detail problem. Add the problematic dimension from the secondary source (e.g., Store ID) to the Detail shelf on the Marks card. This will work just like in Method 1.
3. Consider Tableau Relationships: Modern versions of Tableau favor Relationships (the "noodle") over data blending. If you can, connect your tables using the Relationship canvas in the Data Source pane instead of using a blend. Relationships are more flexible and often handle these one-to-many scenarios more gracefully without producing asterisks in the first place.

Final Thoughts

The asterisk in Tableau shouldn't be a source of frustration. Think of it as a helpful signpost indicating that there’s a mismatch between your view’s design and the data you’re trying to show. By understanding its cause - usually a conflict in the level of detail - you can easily resolve it by adjusting your viz, changing the field’s aggregation, or crafting a smart calculation.

We know that digging into table calculations and level of detail settings can take you out of the flow of your analysis. At Graphed, we aim to eliminate this friction. By directly connecting to your data sources, we let you ask questions in simple, natural language. Instead of manually fixing asterisks, you can just ask, "Show me a breakdown of sales by category and sub-category," and we will build the exact real-time dashboard you need in seconds, making complex analysis straightforward and accessible to your entire team.