# How to use auto-generated phone layouts in Tableau Desktop 2019.1

> 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:** 2020-01-11
- **Format:** Video · 3 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation
- **Tools:** Tableau (dashboards, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-auto-generated-phone-layouts-in-tableau-desktop-2019-1
- **Watch:** https://www.youtu.be/gIQPMzjV9nY

I walk through Tableau 2019.1's auto-generated phone layouts, looking at the feature both as an author building dashboards and as someone publishing to Tableau Server. I explain how to add and edit phone layouts via the device preview pane, and flag the risk of auto-generated layouts appearing on mobile if you don't disable the option.

## Key takeaways

- Auto-generated phone layouts often don't match the considered design choices of a hand-built mobile layout, such as removing less relevant tables or personal information
- Use the device preview pane to add a phone layout, then click edit layout to make your own stylistic adjustments
- Untick the simulation option to see the space the Tableau mobile app interface takes up on screen
- If you publish without visiting device preview, Tableau will auto-generate phone layouts on mobile devices unless you disable the auto-generate option
- You can leave users on the desktop version of a dashboard, which stays familiar even if it doesn't fit the screen perfectly

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-auto-generated-phone-layouts-in-tableau-desktop-2019-1

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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