# The Proper string function in Tableau | New in Tableau 2022.4

> 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:** 2022-12-15
- **Format:** Video · 4 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Data prep
- **Tools:** Tableau (calculated fields, proper)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/the-proper-string-function-in-tableau-new-in-tableau-2022-4
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKyx9Veq_dU

I demonstrate the PROPER string function added in Tableau 2022.4, which capitalises the first letter of each word just like its SQL counterpart. I show it working as an ad hoc calculation by double-clicking text on a table, and inside a proper calculated field to build a clean first name and last name combo.

## Key takeaways

- PROPER capitalises the first letter of each word in a string, matching the SQL function and finally available natively in Tableau 2022.4
- You can apply PROPER as an ad hoc calculation by double-clicking a text item on the table and wrapping the field in PROPER()
- Tableau's calculation auto-complete works both in the ad hoc editor and the full calculated field window
- You can combine fields with PROPER([First Name] + " " + [Last Name]) to build a clean full name combo

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/the-proper-string-function-in-tableau-new-in-tableau-2022-4

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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