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Tableau | Data visualisation

Parameter action clearing

Set a default value on your parameter action so the view resets the moment a user clicks away.

Tim Ngwena •12 August 2020 •1 min read •4 min watch •5.1K

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Tableau 2020.3 lets you set a default value for parameter actions so the parameter resets when a user deselects, rather than sticking on the last selected value
Worksheet-level parameter actions are configured under Worksheet > Actions when you are not inside a dashboard
You can choose whether clearing the selection keeps the current value or falls back to a value you specify
Setting a sensible default mirrors expected Tableau behaviour where deselecting removes filters, ideal for use cases like dynamically picking a date that resets to today

0:00In 2020.3 Tableau have added the ability to

0:05set a default value for parameter actions.

0:08Let's check out what that means.

0:09I'm going to build a very basic view inside

0:11of Superstore Sales.

0:12You can follow along.

0:13I'm clicking this default data set here on

0:16the bottom left in the save data sources

0:18area.

0:19I'm just going to put the date onto the

0:21canvas, but before I do, I just want to

0:23look at sales

0:24and put that on rows as I've just done,

0:26order date across the top.

0:28Let's have this at the day level, and I'm

0:31just going to do a quick table calculation

0:33to do the moving average, and I'm going to

0:37go back into that to make it look at the

0:40previous

0:4030 days.

0:41So basically, it's doing a moving average

0:44of sales over the previous 30 days.

0:46And there you go.

0:47You can see that's now working correctly.

0:49And then we just click out of that, and we

0:51're pretty much set up for this demo.

0:53Now, the next thing I need to do is to

0:55create a parameter because the parameter

0:57actions

0:58are obviously going to change this

0:59parameter.

0:59So we need to create that as well.

1:01And I'm going to set it to a value of 4,000

1:04.

1:05That's important to remember this.

1:07And we're going to call this parameter

1:08three.

1:08I'm really lazy with naming things, so we

1:10'll keep it like that.

1:12Then I'll add a reference line into the

1:14visualization using that same parameter we

1:17've just created.

1:18So you can see it here behind us.

1:20I'm going to make it a little bit thicker

1:22so it's easy to see during this demo, and

1:24I'll make it dotted.

1:25Actually, I'll make it really, really thick

1:27so it's really easy to see in the recording

1:28.

1:28I'm just checking that now.

1:30Okay, so here's our parameter value set to

1:324,000.

1:33Now, we need to set an action to change

1:35this.

1:35But one of the problems is once you set

1:37that action, it's basically stuck at the

1:39last selected

1:40value.

1:41And so it would be nice if the user clicked

1:43away for it to fall back to a default value

1:46.

1:46So we go into worksheet here.

1:48Now, because I'm not in a dashboard, I'm

1:50going to the worksheet actions, not the

1:52dashboard

1:52actions.

1:53I'm in a worksheet.

1:55So this will only work in this worksheet.

1:58I'll click add, add action, change

2:00parameter, and we're in the right sheet, so

2:02this is all

2:03working fine.

2:04Now, in order to set this up, we need to

2:06first make sure we're targeting the correct

2:09parameters.

2:10So I'm selecting parameter three.

2:12The next thing I'd like to do is to change

2:14this value, the moving average sum of cells

2:17.

2:17So when I click on any data point in this

2:20visualization, it's going to pick up the

2:23value

2:23from this moving average of sum of cells.

2:27So I'm going to select that.

2:29And then we're going to look at this new

2:32option here on the left-hand side, which is

2:34clearing

2:35the selection will keep the current value,

2:37so the current value being what I've just

2:39selected.

2:40Or I can set the value itself.

2:41I'm going to set it to 3,500, just so we

2:43can see that it's actually different from

2:45the

2:46default of 4,000.

2:48So we're pretty much set up.

2:50Everything we needed to do is just here in

2:51the bottom.

2:52And this new value that we've been able to

2:55add here is actually the new capability.

2:58So I'm going to go ahead and click OK.

3:00Click OK again.

3:01And now we have our basic visualization

3:03ready to go.

3:03And of course, when I click on the chart,

3:05it picks up the new value and sets that as

3:07the parameter.

3:08But now watch what happens when I click

3:10away.

3:11It goes back to 3,500, the value we'd set

3:14as a default.

3:15So this is actually quite nice because

3:17having the ability to set it to default

3:19means, for

3:19example, that you can reset a view once the

3:22user's finished with it, once they click

3:24away.

3:25Or more importantly, the user can do what

3:27they expect to do in Tableau elsewhere.

3:30And typically, when they deselect

3:31selections, it removes filters.

3:33So the same should happen with parameters.

3:35So now this is a really nice addition.

3:38User can interact with their visualization.

3:40And then everything can change as a result.

3:43This is probably a better use case for

3:44things like dates when you want to

3:45dynamically pick

3:46a date.

3:47And then when the user clicks away, it goes

3:49back to a default date, maybe today, maybe

3:50some other value.

3:51But that's sort of how this would work.

3:54That's pretty much the feature in a

3:55nutshell.

3:55It's a very basic demo of how that works.

3:57If you've enjoyed this video, please be

3:59sure to check out some of the other videos

4:01on 2020.3

4:02on the channel.

4:03And also let us know what kind of content

4:05you'd like to see in the future.

Rollup

Tableau's parameter actions can now fall back to a chosen default value when a user clicks away, rather than staying stuck on the last-selected value. This makes parameter-driven views behave like normal filters, which reset on deselection.

Built on a basic moving average chart with a reference line driven by a parameter. The parameter starts at one value, and a parameter action is used to change it when a data point is clicked.

The Breakdown

Build a view driven by a parameter 0:00

Create a chart with a reference line (or similar) that references a parameter, so changing the parameter visibly changes the view. Give the parameter an initial value you'll recognise later.
Add a worksheet-level parameter action 1:41

If you're not working inside a dashboard, you must set the action up under Worksheet > Actions rather than Dashboard > Actions — this action will then only apply to that specific worksheet.
Target the parameter and source field 2:00

In the action, select the parameter you want to change, then choose which field's value should be picked up when a user clicks a data point.
Choose what happens on deselection 2:20

A new option lets you decide whether clicking away keeps the current value or resets to a value you specify — set a distinct default here so you can clearly see it take effect.
Confirm the reset behaviour 3:00

Clicking a mark updates the parameter as expected; clicking away now snaps it back to your chosen default instead of leaving the last selection in place.
Why this matters for expected behaviour 3:22

This mirrors how filters normally behave in Tableau — deselecting removes the filter — so parameters driven by actions now feel consistent with that pattern.
A stronger use case: dynamic dates 3:41

Rather than a fixed number, this is more useful for letting a user pick a date dynamically, then having it revert to a sensible default such as today once they click away.

Worth Knowing

Worksheet-level parameter actions only apply within that specific worksheet, not across a dashboard, so use dashboard actions if you need broader scope.
Without setting a default, the parameter stays stuck on whatever was last clicked, which can leave views in a confusing state for users.

Use It When

Reach for this when a parameter drives part of a view interactively and you want it to reset to a sensible default once the user clicks away, such as defaulting a date parameter back to today.

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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