# Bulk rename fields in Tableau Prep: New in Tableau 2021.2

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2021-07-27
- **Format:** Video · 6 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data prep
- **Tools:** Tableau (prep)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/bulk-rename-fields-in-tableau-prep-new-in-tableau-2021-2
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aIIZr4ITEY

I walk through the new bulk rename fields feature added in Tableau 2021.2 for Tableau Prep, demonstrated in Tableau Prep in the browser via web authoring. I show how to add a clean step, replace text, and apply prefixes and suffixes across multiple fields at once.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau 2021.2 added bulk field renaming to both Tableau Prep Builder and Tableau Prep in the browser via web authoring
- Add a clean step, then use the 'Rename Fields' option to replace text, add a prefix, or add a suffix across many fields at once with a live preview
- Tick the box to automatically rename new fields, so incoming fields get renamed every time without manually reopening the flow
- Bulk renaming applies as its own step change you can drag up or down the flow to control when it takes effect
- Reordering or applying renames before downstream calculations rely on the original names can break those calculations, so consider placement carefully

## Chapters

- 0:11 Opening a flow in web authoring
- 0:58 Why bulk rename matters
- 1:40 Adding a clean step
- 1:58 Using the Rename Fields interface
- 4:07 Prefixes, suffixes and live preview
- 4:46 Applying as a step change

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/bulk-rename-fields-in-tableau-prep-new-in-tableau-2021-2

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena