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Tableau | Data visualisation | Analytics

Status bar explain data enhancements in Tableau 2020.1

Tableau 2020.1 finally lets you resize the Explain Data window and peek behind the curtain with a new status bar.

Tim Ngwena •25 February 2020 •1 min read •3 min watch •868

Part ofWhat's new in Tableau 2020.1

Watch on YouTube

Explain Data in 2020.1 lets you resize the analysis window, turning it into more of an ad hoc exploration tool
A new status bar at the bottom shows how many fields were considered in the analysis, e.g. 18 of 33
Clicking the status bar icon exposes a description of what the underlying machine learning analysis did
You retain prior capabilities: spinning off charts from a view and viewing the underlying field data
With multiple measures on rows, columns or marks, each view's analysis appears in separate tabs

0:00In Tableau 2020.1 Tableau continues to

0:06enhance the new feature they added in 2019

0:09called

0:09Explain Data.

0:11And in this version what they've done is

0:13they've added a status bar and some small

0:15enhancements

0:16to the feature.

0:17So let's dive into the product and see what

0:19they've done.

0:20What you can see here is a chart where I've

0:23got profit ratio on columns and profit on

0:25rows.

0:27And if you've used Explain Data, you'd know

0:29that if you click on a particular data item

0:32and then you hit this icon over here, you

0:34get the ability to dig into that data.

0:37And Tableau does some machine learning in

0:39the background to kind of give you some

0:41context

0:41of what's going on.

0:43Now this particular data point isn't that

0:45revealing, so let me choose a different one

0:47.

0:48Let me choose this one here.

0:49Okay.

0:50So let's go ahead and do that again and

0:54click on this icon.

0:56When that happens, Tableau does some

0:58analysis.

0:59And you can see here that I've got a little

1:01bit more analysis to go off.

1:02So one of the new enhancements in 2020.1 is

1:06that I can actually resize this window.

1:08I previously wasn't able to do that.

1:10Okay.

1:11And I can still move it around like before,

1:13but I can now resize this so that it

1:14becomes

1:14more of an ad hoc analysis tool.

1:17This allows me to just navigate this

1:19particular sort of view a little bit easier

1:22.

1:22The other enhancement is that they've added

1:24this status bar here at the bottom.

1:26So you'll see here that they've added this

1:29bar at the bottom that tells me 18 of 33

1:32fields

1:32were considered in this analysis.

1:34And if I actually hit that icon, I get this

1:37description of basically what was going on

1:40in that analysis.

1:41So they started to expose what's going on

1:44behind the scenes a little bit.

1:46But we still don't quite see some

1:48information about how each field sort of

1:51played a role

1:52in this analysis, if that makes sense.

1:54But you still have the same capabilities

1:57you did before, the ability to sort of spin

1:59off

1:59charts from this particular view by

2:02clicking on this icon over here.

2:04And also being able to see the field for

2:06data behind a particular data point as you

2:09were

2:09able to before.

2:10And also don't forget that if you have

2:12multiple measures on columns and rows or

2:14even the marks

2:15pane, you see that analysis in separate

2:17tabs.

2:18So each analysis is focused on one view.

2:23Be sure to catch some of my other videos on

2:25explained data in previous versions.

2:27I think I have two from the past.

2:29So I'll link those in the descriptions

2:31below.

2:31Otherwise, if you've enjoyed this video,

2:33hit the like button.

2:34If not, drop me a comment below.

2:36Let me know what kind of content you'd like

2:38to see in the future.

2:38(audience laughter)

Rollup

Tableau 2020.1 adds small but useful refinements to Explain Data: a resizable analysis window and a status bar that shows how many fields were considered, giving you a bit more visibility into what the underlying analysis is doing.

Builds on the Explain Data feature introduced in Tableau 2019. Shown on a chart with profit ratio and profit, where clicking a data point and hitting the Explain Data icon triggers the machine learning analysis.

The Breakdown

Trigger Explain Data on a point 0:21

Select a data point in your view and click the Explain Data icon to have Tableau run its behind-the-scenes analysis on that point. Choosing a more distinctive or unusual data point gives you richer results than a flat one.
Resize the analysis window 1:01

New in 2020.1, you can now resize the Explain Data window rather than being stuck with a fixed size. This turns it into more of an ad hoc exploration tool you can expand to navigate the analysis more comfortably.
Read the new status bar 1:23

A status bar at the bottom of the window tells you how many fields were considered in the analysis, for example 18 of 33 — a quick sense-check of how much of your data was actually factored in.
Expand the status bar for a description 1:32

Clicking the status bar icon reveals a written description of what the analysis did, exposing a bit more of what's happening behind the scenes than before, though it still doesn't break down how each individual field contributed.
Retained capabilities carry over 1:52

You can still spin off separate charts from within the Explain Data view and inspect the underlying field-level data behind any given point, just as in the previous version.
Multiple measures produce separate tabs 2:11

If you have several measures on rows, columns or the marks pane, each view's Explain Data analysis appears in its own tab, so every analysis stays focused on a single view.

Worth Knowing

The status bar description tells you how many fields were considered overall, but doesn't yet show how much each individual field influenced the result.

Use It When

Reach for this when you want to dig into an outlier or interesting data point and need a bit more room and transparency to explore the automated explanation Tableau generates.

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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