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Include Level of Detail Calculation: Tableau Functions

In this video, I take on one of the most requested videos and that is level of detail calculations specifically the Include LOD:

  • The Superstore data set's grain is at the product level, not the order level, so any aggregation is really averaging individual product rows unless you change the level of detail
  • INCLUDE works in conjunction with the viz level of detail, adding a dimension to whatever is already on rows, columns and most marks (the tooltip being the exception, which uses ATTR)
  • FIXED and INCLUDE can return identical results in one context but diverge the moment you change the dimensions in the view, so you must keep asking whether the calculation still answers your question
  • FIXED can double count when its dimension doesn't align with the viz, whereas INCLUDE effectively creates a combined dimension (e.g. order ID plus subcategory) for the correct grain
  • You can nest aggregations inside INCLUDE, such as MAX(sales) per manufacturer, then take an AVG across cities, and use the summary and tabular detail views to validate what's being computed