How to Show No Data Available in Tableau

A blank worksheet in Tableau can feel like a dead end for your users. When they change a filter and the chart disappears into a white abyss, they're left wondering: Is the dashboard broken? Is it still loading? Or is there just no data for what I selected? This article will show you exactly how to replace that confusing blank space with a clear, helpful message like "No Data Available."

Why Blank Views are a Problem in Tableau Dashboards

In data visualization, clarity is everything. A blank space on your dashboard fails to communicate anything. Professional dashboards should guide the user, not confuse them. By proactively handling empty states, you accomplish several key things:

• Improves User Experience: Instead of making the user guess, you're explicitly telling them the result of their selection. This small detail makes your dashboard feel more responsive and thoughtfully designed.
• Builds Trust: A dashboard that accounts for edge cases feels more reliable. It demonstrates that you've considered all possibilities and are presenting a complete picture, even when that picture includes an absence of data.
• Prevents Misinterpretation: A blank space might be interpreted as an error. A clear message states that the system is working correctly, there just aren't any records that match the specific criteria.

Let's look at two of the most effective and widely-used methods to solve this common problem, starting with the fastest technique and moving to the most robust.

Method 1: The Floating Box Trick (Quick & Easy)

This is the simplest way to display a message on an empty view. It works by placing a formatted text box behind your worksheet on a dashboard. When the worksheet has data, its opaque background covers the message. When filters cause the worksheet to have no data, it collapses, revealing the message underneath.

This method is best for: Dashboards where filters will cause a worksheet to return zero rows of data, making it "collapse" entirely.

Step 1: Build Your Dashboard Layout

Start by adding the worksheet you want to manage to your dashboard. For this trick to work best, we'll use floating objects.

1. Drag your worksheet onto the dashboard. In the left-hand Dashboard pane under 'Objects', make sure Floating is selected, not Tiled.
2. Drag a Text object from the Objects pane onto the dashboard. Enter your desired message, such as "No Data Available". Format the text - make it centered, bold, and large enough to be easily readable.

Step 2: Layer the Objects

Now, you’ll layer the worksheet on top of the text box.

1. Drag the worksheet so it completely covers the text box. The message should now be hidden.
2. Select the worksheet. Go to the Layout tab in the left-hand pane. Click the Background property and choose an opaque color, like white. This is crucial - if the background is transparent, the message will always show through.
3. With the worksheet still selected, click the dropdown menu for Floating Order and make sure it is set to Bring to Front. Then bring the text box to the back using Send to Back.

How It Works

When you apply a filter that returns data, the worksheet populates as normal, and its opaque background hides your text box. But when a filter returns zero rows, the entire worksheet object collapses, revealing the "No Data Available" message layered cleanly behind it.

Heads Up: This method's effectiveness depends on the worksheet truly collapsing. If you have filters that result in your measures being NULL but the dimension headers (rows or columns) still exist, the sheet won't collapse, and the white background will just show a blank chart instead of your message. For those cases, you need a more robust solution.

Method 2: The Sheet Swap with an Action Filter (Robust & Professional)

This is the gold-standard technique for handling empty views in a professional and highly scalable way. The logic involves creating a dedicated "No Data" message worksheet and using a dashboard collapsing container and an Action Filter to automatically swap between your data chart and your message.

This method is best for: Anyone building dashboards that need to feel polished, dynamic, and foolproof. It works reliably in nearly all scenarios.

Step 1: Create a Simple Helper Sheet

You need a minimal worksheet that will hold your message.

1. Create a new worksheet and name it something like “No Data Message”.
2. You don't need to connect it to any of your primary data sources. We're going to create the text on the sheet itself.
3. Create a dummy calculated field. Let’s call it c.Dummy. Just type the number 1 into the calculation box.
4. Drag c.Dummy onto both the Columns and Rows shelves. This creates an empty chart area.
5. In the Marks card, change the mark type from Automatic to Polygon or Shape. Now the xy grid created by your dummy fields should be blank white space.
6. Right-click on each c.Dummy pill on the Rows and Columns shelves and uncheck Show Header. This cleans up the view entirely. You should have a totally blank canvas.

Step 2: Add Your Message to the Helper Sheet

Next, let's create the message itself.

1. Go to the Title of the worksheet by right-clicking on it and selecting Edit Title.
2. Backspace the default <Sheet Name> and type your message directly into the title editor. For example, “No Data Available for the Current Filter Selection.”
3. Format the title to be centered, using a bold font and a slightly larger size for visibility.
4. Finally, click OK. You now have a worksheet that consists solely of this formatted message.

Step 3: Arrange Your Sheets in a Container

This is where the magic of collapsing containers comes in.

1. On your dashboard, drag a Vertical or Horizontal container object from the left pane (make sure it's set to Tiled for this to work correctly).
2. Drag your primary data worksheet into this container.
3. Next, drag your “No Data Message” sheet into the same container and place it directly below (for a vertical container) or next to your data sheet.
4. Right-click on the title of each worksheet within the container and select Hide Title for both of them. (We built the message into the worksheet itself for the message sheet, and we don't want the original sheet title either). Now, you should see both sheets stacked in the container.

Step 4: Create the Dashboard Action

The action filter is the trigger that makes one sheet disappear and the other one appear.

1. At the top menu, navigate to Dashboard > Actions...
2. In the pop-up window, click Add Action > Filter...
3. Configure the filter with these exact settings:
4. Leave the filter section at the bottom (Target Filters) untouched. Click OK twice to close both windows.

How It Works

When your data sheet is populated, Tableau sees that it has "marks" (bars, points, text, etc.), and the action filter works to effectively hide the "No Data Message" sheet. Because that sheet is now empty, it collapses inside the container, giving all the space to your visible data chart.

However, when you apply filters that return no data, your primary data sheet becomes empty. It now has no "marks". This clears the action, and because you selected "Exclude all values,” this action now causes the target sheet ("No Data Message") to reappear. The now-empty data sheet collapses, giving all the space to your message worksheet. This creates a seamless and professional swap.

Final Thoughts

Handling empty states in your Tableau dashboards is a small detail that makes a massive impact on the user experience. By replacing a confusing blank with a clear "No Data Available" message using either the quick floating box trick or the more robust sheet-swapping method, you build more intuitive, trustworthy, and professional-looking reports.

We know that a lot of the work in creating great dashboards happens before you even get to Tableau. First, you have to connect to all your scattered data sources - Google Analytics, Shopify, Salesforce, your ad platforms - and pull all that information together manually. With Graphed, we automate that entire connection and reporting process. It's the AI data analyst that allows you to simply connect your sources in seconds and then use natural language to build the live dashboards you need, getting you from raw data to actionable insight without fighting with tools.