How to Hide Selected Sheets in Tableau Dashboard

Creating a beautiful Tableau dashboard is one thing, but creating one that’s intuitive and interactive is what separates a good analysis from a great one. A key part of that user experience is controlling what your audience sees, guiding them through the data without overwhelming them with dozens of charts at once. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to hide and show specific sheets on your dashboard based on user selections.

We’ll cover the most reliable method using parameters and calculated fields to build clean, collapsible sections, custom drill-downs, and a more streamlined interface for your end-users.

Why Bother Hiding Sheets?

Before we jump into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." Dynamically showing and hiding worksheets (often called "sheet swapping") isn't just a neat trick, it serves several practical purposes:

• Improves the User Experience: Instead of cluttering a single view with every possible chart, you can present a high-level summary and let users "drill down" to see more detailed information only when they need it. This reduces visual noise and cognitive load.
• Saves Prime Dashboard Real Estate: Dashboards have limited space. By swapping sheets, you can use the same area to display different visuals, allowing you to pack more analytical power into a single screen without it feeling cramped.
• Creates a Guided Analytical Path: You can stage the reveal of information. A user might first see a map of sales by state. When they click a state, a sheet showing city-level performance for only that state can appear, guiding them logically from the big picture to the details.

The Core Tools: Parameters and Calculated Fields

To make sheets appear and disappear dynamically, we need to leverage two fundamental Tableau features: parameters and calculated fields. Here’s a quick refresher on what they do in this context:

• Parameters: Think of a parameter as a user-controlled variable. It's a control - like a dropdown menu, a slider, or a list of radio buttons - that you give your user. Its value isn't tied to your data source, it’s determined by the user's selection. We will create a parameter that lets the user choose whether to "Show" or "Hide" a particular sheet.
• Calculated Fields: These are custom fields you create using formulas. Our calculated field will simply read the current value of the parameter. We will then use this calculated field as a filter to control the visibility of our worksheet.

When the user changes the parameter (e.g., from "Hide" to "Show"), the calculated field updates, the filter engages, and the worksheet materializes. Let's build it.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Hide a Sheet in Tableau

Let’s imagine we have a sales dashboard. We want to show a high-level summary chart of Sales by Category. When the user clicks a button, we want to reveal a more detailed table showing Sales by Sub-Category right below it.

Step 1: Build Your Two Worksheets

First, you need the sheets you intend to swap or show/hide. For this example, create two simple sheets using the Sample - Superstore data:

1. Sheet 1 - "Sales by Category": A simple bar chart with the Category dimension on Columns and SUM(Sales) on Rows. This will be our main view that is always visible.
2. Sheet 2 - "Sales by Sub-Category": A detailed view, perhaps a table. Put Sub-Category on Rows and SUM(Sales) on the Text marks card. This is the sheet we will learn to hide.

At this point, you just have two standard worksheets. Nothing special yet.

Step 2: Create a Parameter for User Control

Now, let's create the switch for the user.

1. In the Data pane on the left, click the small dropdown arrow next to the search bar and select Create Parameter.
2. Configure the parameter settings as follows:

• Name: Give it a clear name like Show Sub-Category Details.
• Data type: Select String.
• Allowable values: Select List.
• In the "List of values" box, add two values on separate lines: Show and Hide.
• Click OK.

You’ll now see your new parameter listed under the Parameters section in the bottom left of your Data pane. You can right-click it and select "Show Parameter" to see how it looks - it will be a simple radio button or dropdown menu.

Step 3: Create a Calculated Field to Act as a Filter

Next, we need a calculated field that links our parameter's selection to a filter. This is the magic connector.

1. Right-click on your new parameter (Show Sub-Category Details) and select Create > Calculated Field.
2. Tableau automatically populates the formula with the parameter name. That’s actually all we need!
3. Name this calculated field something intuitive, like Detail View Controller.
4. The formula should simply be:

[Show Sub-Category Details]

1. Click OK.

This calculated field doesn't do any math, its only job is to reflect the current value of our parameter, a value either "Show" or "Hide".

Step 4: Apply the Filter to the Detail Sheet

Now we’ll use the calculated field to control our "Sales by Sub-Category" sheet.

1. Navigate to your "Sales by Sub-Category" worksheet (the one you want to hide).
2. Find your new calculated field, Detail View Controller, in the Data pane.
3. Drag Detail View Controller onto the Filters card.
4. A filter dialog box will appear. Go to the Custom value list tab.
5. Click the "+" sign and type Show exactly as you entered it in the parameter.
6. Click OK.

What did this just do? You've told this sheet: "Only show yourself if the value of the Detail View Controller field is 'Show'." Since that field is driven by our parameter, the worksheet will now be blank if the parameter is set to "Hide" and will display data when set to "Show". Try toggling the parameter control (if you have it shown) to see it in action!

Step 5: Assemble an Interactive Dashboard

Putting it all together on a dashboard is where the magic happens, but it requires one crucial component: a layout container.

1. Create a new dashboard.
2. From the Objects section on the left, drag a Vertical container into your dashboard view. A blue border will indicate where you’re placing it.
3. Now, drag your "Sales by Category" sheet and drop it inside the vertical container.
4. Drag your "Sales by Sub-Category" sheet and drop it inside the same container, right below the first sheet.
5. Very Important Step: Hide the Title of the Collapsible Sheet. By default, an empty sheet still shows its title. We need to hide it so the space completely collapses. On the dashboard, right-click the title of the "Sales by Sub-Category" sheet and select Hide Title.
6. Finally, show the parameter control so the user can interact. On your dashboard, go to the top menu, select Analysis > Parameters > and check Show Sub-Category Details.

Now, test it! Change the parameter from "Hide" to "Show". You should see the detailed "Sales by Sub-Category" table appear. When you switch it back to "Hide", the worksheet will go blank, and because it has no title and is inside a container, its space will collapse, allowing the "Sales by Category" chart to take up the full area.

Bonus Tip: Use Dashboard Actions for a Cleaner UI

Exposing a parameter dropdown works, but it isn't the slickest user interface. A more elegant solution is to let users click a "button" on the dashboard itself. You can do this with Dashboard Actions.

The basic idea is to create a small worksheet that looks like a button (e.g., a sheet with a custom shape or text like "Show Details ▶"). Then, you create a Dashboard Action that says: "When a user clicks this button sheet, change the Show Sub-Category Details parameter's value to 'Show'." You could create a second button to hide it again.

This setup uses "Parameter Actions" and while it adds a few more steps, it can transform your dashboard's feel from a technical report into a user-friendly application.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to dynamically hide and show views using parameters and layout containers is a fundamental skill for taking your Tableau skills to the next level. This technique forms the basis for creating drill-downs, collapsible menus, and guided analytics, all of which result in a far better and more intuitive experience for your audience.

While Tableau offers incredible power for those willing to master its intricacies, we know that building these intricate interactions can be time-consuming. We created Graphed to remove this complexity entirely. Instead of configuring parameters and containers, you can simply connect your data sources and describe the dashboard you want in plain English. There’s no need to learn the underlying mechanisms - you just ask for what you need, and our AI builds the interactive reports for you in seconds, not hours.