What Are Action Filters in Tableau?

Building a dashboard in Tableau is one thing, but making it interactive - so users can explore data on their own - is what separates a static report from a powerful analytical tool. Action filters are the key to unlocking this interactivity, allowing you to create dynamic, intuitive dashboards that actively guide users toward insights.

This tutorial will walk you through exactly what action filters are and why they are so valuable. We'll cover the different types of actions you can create and provide a step-by-step guide to setting up your first action filter in Tableau.

What Are Action Filters in Tableau, and Why Should You Use Them?

In Tableau, an "Action" is an instruction you give the dashboard to perform when a user interacts with it - by clicking, hovering, or selecting from a menu. An Action Filter specifically uses the data from one part of your dashboard (the "source sheet") to filter the data in another part (the "target sheet").

Imagine a dashboard with a map of the United States showing sales by state and a bar chart showing sales by product category. Without an action filter, they are just two separate visuals. But with an action filter, you can set it up so that when a user clicks on "California" on the map, the product category bar chart instantly updates to show sales only for California.

This simple interaction fundamentally changes the user experience. Instead of just looking at data, your audience can now ask questions of it. This offers several huge advantages:

• Guided Analytics: Action filters allow you to build a discovery path for your users. You can start with a high-level overview and let them drill down into the specifics that catch their eye. This prevents information overload and makes complex data much more approachable.
• Increased Engagement: Interactive dashboards are far more engaging than static reports. When users can click around and see the data change in response, they are more likely to spend time exploring the information and uncovering valuable insights for themselves.
• Deeper Context: By linking visuals together, you provide important context. Seeing how a specific region, product, or time period affects other metrics helps build a more complete and nuanced understanding of business performance. You're not just showing numbers, you're revealing relationships within the data.

The 3 Key Types of Dashboard Actions in Tableau

While "Action Filter" is a common term, filtering is just one of several actions you can create in Tableau. These actions are all configured in the same place (the "Dashboard Actions" menu) and work together to build a responsive user experience. Here are the three main types you'll use most often.

1. Filter Actions

This is the workhorse of dashboard interactivity. A filter action takes the dimension(s) from a selected mark on your source sheet (like a state on a map, a bar in a chart, etc.) and applies them as a filter to one or more target sheets. This is the action that allows true "drill-down" analysis, letting a user filter a detailed view based on a selection in an overview visualization.

Example: Your dashboard shows a pie chart of sales by customer segment. You can add a filter action so that clicking the "Corporate" segment in the pie chart filters a detailed table to show only the corporate customers.

2. Highlight Actions

Sometimes you don't want to filter out data entirely, you just want to draw attention to it. A highlight action does exactly that. When a user interacts with a mark on the source sheet, Tableau highlights the corresponding marks in the target sheet(s) while dimming all the others. This is perfect for comparing a specific segment to the overall dataset without losing the broader context.

Example: You have a line chart showing monthly sales and a bar chart showing total sales by region. You can set up a highlight action so hovering over the "West" region in the bar chart highlights the West region's sales line in the line chart.

3. Go to URL Actions

This action turns your dashboard into a launchpad, allowing users to open a web page directly from a visualization. More powerfully, you can make the URL dynamic by inserting field values from your data into the URL string. This allows you to link out to external resources relevant to the specific data point the user selected.

Example: In a dashboard showing social media campaign performance, you could create a URL action on the ad thumbnail. Clicking the image would open the live ad creative in Facebook's Ad Library.

Tableau offers other action types, like Go to Sheet and Set Actions, but mastering Filter, Highlight, and URL actions will handle the vast majority of your interactive dashboard needs.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Create a Filter Action in Tableau

The best way to learn is by doing. Let's build a simple action filter using the "Sample - Superstore" dataset that comes with Tableau. For this example, our goal is to create a dashboard where clicking on a state in a map filters a bar chart to show the sales for different product Sub-Categories in just that state.

Step 1: Create Your Charts and Dashboard

First, you need the visualizations that will interact with each other. A filter action needs at least one source sheet and one target sheet. These must both be placed on the same dashboard.

• Create the Map (Source Sheet):
• Create the Bar Chart (Target Sheet):
• Build the Dashboard:

At this point, you have two independent charts on a dashboard. Clicking on the map does nothing to the bar chart. Now, let’s connect them.

Step 2: Open the 'Actions' Menu

With your dashboard open, navigate to the main menu at the top of the screen and select Dashboard > Actions.... This will open the Actions dialog box, which is where you will configure all of the dashboard's interactive behaviors.

Step 3: Configure Your Filter Action

In the Actions window, click the Add Action > button and choose Filter... from the dropdown list. This opens a new window where you’ll define how the filter should work.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Name: Give your action a descriptive name. This is crucial when you have multiple actions on one dashboard. Let's call it "Filter Sub-Category by State."
• Source Sheets: This is where the action originates. From the list, ensure only your "Sales Map" sheet is checked. This tells Tableau, "Listen for clicks on the map."
• Run action on: This determines how the action is triggered. You have three options:
• Target Sheets: This is what the action affects. Make sure only the "Sales by Sub-Category" sheet is checked. This tells Tableau, "Filter the bar chart."
• Clearing the selection will: This setting controls what happens when the user clicks away from their selection.
• Target Filters: You can choose to filter based on "All Fields" or "Selected Fields." "All Fields" works in most cases, but if your sheets have different levels of detail, you can specify exactly which fields should be used to link the sheets. Leave it on All Fields for now.

Click OK to save the action, and then OK again to close the Actions dialog box.

Step 4: Test and Refine

Your action filter is now live on the dashboard. Go ahead and test it out! Click on a state in the map view. The bar chart should instantly update to show the sales by sub-category for only that state. Click on an empty space in the map to deselect the state, and the bar chart will return to showing all values. You have successfully created an interactive dashboard.

Best Practices for Using Action Filters

Creating action filters is straightforward, but designing an intuitive and effective user experience requires a bit of thoughtful planning. Keep these best practices in mind:

• Guide Your User: Don’t assume people will know a chart is clickable. Add a text box or edit the worksheet title with a simple instruction like, "Click a state on the map to filter details." A small cue can make a huge difference in usability.
• Name Actions Clearly: When you have a complex dashboard with multiple actions, "Filter 1" and "Highlight 2" will be meaningless. Always give your actions specific, descriptive names (e.g., "Filter Product Detail by Region," "Highlight Customer on Map") so you can easily edit or troubleshoot them later.
• Choose the Right Trigger: Be intentional about whether you use Hover, Select, or Menu. Hover is great for providing quick highlights, but since it's triggered easily, it can be disruptive for filter actions. Select (a click) is a deliberate choice, making it perfect for filtering. Menu is the best for secondary actions or when you want to offer multiple navigation options.
• Consider Performance: Actions run an on-the-fly query to your data. If you have a massive dataset and an especially complex dashboard, poorly configured actions can slow down performance. Keep your actions focused and test them to ensure they run smoothly.

Final Thoughts

Congratulations, you now know how to use one of the most powerful features in Tableau. Action filters are what transform a collection of charts into a cohesive, interactive analysis tool. By linking your visuals, you empower your audience to explore, ask questions, and discover data-driven insights on their own terms, making your dashboards significantly more valuable.

Building dashboards like the one above in tools like Tableau takes practice and a familiarity with the interface. When you simply need quick answers from your business data without a steep learning curve, you might find our approach at Graphed useful. We built it so anyone can connect their marketing and sales data sources - like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce - and create detailed, interactive dashboards by simply asking for them in plain language. Our tool handles all the chart creation and filtering in the background, freeing you up to focus on the insights.