# Metric Updates: New in Tableau 2021.4

> 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:** 2021-12-08
- **Format:** Video · 5 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Tool strategy
- **Tools:** Tableau (dashboards, pulse, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/metric-updates-new-in-tableau-2021-4
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1UfuyXJB_U

I walk through the updated metrics features in Tableau 2021.4, showing how to create metrics from a data point, customise the comparison period, and add status indicators with colour against a constant target. I also cover where metrics get published and preview embedding metrics in the next video.

## Key takeaways

- Metrics track a specific data point you select, not the sum total of a measure, so you choose the exact mark when creating them
- The new comparison period lets you compare against a rolling window such as the last 12 months and optionally show the previous period as a comparison line
- You can compare a metric against a constant target value rather than a historic period, setting a threshold like 40,000
- Status indicators colour the metric as good, neutral or bad depending on whether it is above, at or below your target
- Created metrics publish into a specific project folder where you can sort by content type to see old-style and new-style metrics

## Chapters

- 0:20 Creating a metric from a data point
- 1:25 Customising the comparison period
- 2:47 Comparing against a constant target
- 3:15 Status indicators and colour
- 4:16 Where metrics are published

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/metric-updates-new-in-tableau-2021-4

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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