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Tableau | Data visualisation

Filter dialogs now in web edit

Tableau's 2020.3 finally brings the Desktop filter dialogue into web edit, and the gap between the two is shrinking fast.

Tim Ngwena •12 August 2020 •1 min read •3 min watch •1.1K

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In Tableau 2020.3, dragging a dimension onto the filter shelf in web edit now opens a proper filter dialogue rather than just editing in the side pane
The new dialogue currently supports basic custom value list selection, but wildcard, conditional and top filters haven't been brought across yet
Filtering runs on Tableau Server or Tableau Online, leveraging server query power rather than your desktop machine
On large datasets, web edit filtering can be faster because the server is more capable and often sits closer to the database

0:00In 2020.3, Tableau continues to push

0:04forward with web edit enhancements.

0:07They're trying to get to some feature

0:08parity.

0:09It's pretty clear that's the case because

0:10this time what they've done is they've

0:12actually

0:12brought the filter dialogue we're used to

0:14in Tableau Desktop to web edit.

0:16Let me show you the difference between a

0:19previous version of Tableau Server or Table

0:21au Online

0:22and the new version coming in 2020.3.

0:25What I'll do is I'll switch over to this

0:27data source on house prices.

0:28This is actually on the Information Lab

0:30Tableau Server.

0:31If I just drag Dristict onto filters,

0:34notice that when I drop it down, the filter

0:37appears

0:37here on the right-hand side.

0:39Let me just highlight that for you so it's

0:41easy to see.

0:42You can just see that the filter is there

0:44basically.

0:45Then what we normally have to do is edit

0:47that filter right here in the pane.

0:49We don't get the filter dialogue we're used

0:52to in Desktop where you can choose top

0:54conditional

0:55and wildcard selectors for your filters.

0:59In 2020.3, they haven't brought across all

1:02of those features, but I'll show you what

1:04they have done.

1:05I'm going to hit Explore, go to my data

1:07sources here, and I'm obviously going to

1:09work with

1:10Superstore Sales.

1:11You can just publish up Superstore Sales to

1:13Tableau Online or Tableau Server and follow

1:16this video along.

1:17I'm going to create a new workbook here

1:19from the browser.

1:21Now I'm on my Tableau Online test instance.

1:23I can't say that word sometimes.

1:25I'm on my Tableau Online test instance.

1:28Now watch what happens when I drag a

1:30dimension onto the filter pane.

1:32If I just drag, let's say, product name

1:35onto filters, this time I get this filter

1:38dialogue.

1:39This is something that we haven't had in

1:41WebEdit until now.

1:42You can see here that I just have the basic

1:44list of options.

1:46I only have the options to basically choose

1:49a custom value list.

1:51I don't have any of the wildcard or

1:53conditional selections that I used to have

1:55before, but

1:56I can select from a list and it will just

1:58give me the full list.

1:59I can obviously make my selections, hit

2:01Apply, and we're pretty much good to go.

2:04Notice that it's doing this all in the web.

2:05Even though I've got a really large list of

2:07fields here, it's using the power of Table

2:09au

2:09Online or Tableau Server to drive all of

2:11this.

2:12You might actually find on some really

2:14large datasets, building from WebEdit might

2:16actually

2:17be faster because your server is more

2:19capable than your desktop in terms of

2:21queries.

2:21Also, your server itself might actually be

2:23closer to the data, if that makes sense.

2:26If your Tableau Server, in terms of

2:27infrastructure, is in the same data center

2:30as your database,

2:31then actually doing this will be slightly

2:33faster than doing it on your desktop

2:34machine,

2:35which has to make the call out to the

2:37database and back again.

2:39This is a really nice addition to WebEdit.

2:41I think we're really getting there.

2:42I think within the next year or so, it'll

2:45be very, very hard to look at Tableau

2:47Desktop

2:47and the WebEdit capability and really

2:49notice the differences apart from small

2:52tweaks in

2:52terms of how these things are done.

2:55That's pretty much it for the video.

2:56Thanks for watching.

2:57If you've enjoyed this video, hit a Like

2:59button.

2:59Be sure to check out some of the other

3:01content on this channel on 2020.3.

3:04It's absolutely great content and I really

3:06encourage you to watch.

3:07By all means, if you don't like the content

3:09, let us know what we can improve.

3:10We'll get around to it in the next video.

3:12Thank you very much.

Rollup

Tableau 2020.3 brings the proper filter dialogue from Desktop into web edit, closing another gap between the two editing experiences and making it easier to build filters without leaving your browser.

Filtering in web edit used to be limited: dragging a dimension onto the filter shelf just dropped a basic control into the side pane, with none of the dialogue options Desktop users were used to. This compares that old behaviour against the new 2020.3 dialogue.

The Breakdown

How filtering worked before 2020.3 0:00

Dragging a dimension onto the filter shelf in web edit only added a filter to the right-hand pane, where you had to edit it inline. You didn't get the dialogue with top, conditional or wildcard selectors that Desktop offers.
What's still missing 0:42

The wildcard, conditional and top-N filter options available in Desktop haven't been brought across to web edit yet, so for those you'd still need to build filters in Desktop.
The new dialogue in 2020.3 1:00

Drag a dimension onto the filter shelf in web edit now and a proper filter dialogue pops up, matching the Desktop experience. Currently it only supports choosing from a custom value list — select your values and hit Apply.
Why server-side filtering can be faster 2:04

Filtering in web edit runs on Tableau Server or Online rather than your desktop machine, so it uses the server's query power against potentially large field lists. On big datasets this can outperform Desktop, especially since the server often sits physically closer to the database, cutting down the round trip Desktop has to make.

Worth Knowing

The filter dialogue in 2020.3 only supports custom value list selection — no wildcard, conditional or top filters yet.
Server-side filtering speed depends on infrastructure: if your Tableau Server is in the same data centre as your database, you'll see more benefit than if it isn't.

Use It When

Reach for web edit filtering when you're working directly in the browser against a large dataset and want to avoid the latency of Desktop querying a distant database — though for wildcard, conditional or top-N filters you'll still need Desktop for now.

How this Rollup was made provenance & method

A Rollup is drafted by AI from the video's transcript, then reviewed and edited by Tim. Everything used to produce this one is listed below — the model, the exact prompt, and the source video — so the process is transparent and reproducible.

Transcription: On-device — NVIDIA Parakeet v3 for recent videos, OpenAI Whisper large-v3 for earlier ones. The transcript never leaves the machine or gets published.
Drafting: Claude Sonnet 5 in the cloud, from that transcript.
Prompt: The exact Rollup prompt (v2) — the full system prompt, unedited.
Source video: Watch on YouTube
Drafted: 5 July 2026 at 09:38
Reviewed & edited: 5 July 2026 at 09:41 · by Tim Ngwena

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