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Tableau | Data visualisation

Update to dynamic parameters

Refresh your extract and your dynamic parameters now update automatically, no more closing and reopening the workbook.

Tim Ngwena •12 August 2020 •1 min read •3 min watch •2.8K

Watch on YouTube

In Tableau 2020.3, dynamic parameters update on a standard extract refresh without needing to close and reopen the workbook
Dynamic parameters are configured via 'When workbook opens' in the edit parameter dialog, set to update from a field like Segment
2020.2 added the ability to edit relationships, so migrated data sources can be reworked by removing the old setup and bringing in the relevant table
Switching the connected data source and refreshing the extract automatically pulls through new values into both the view and the driving parameter

0:00Hey, it's Tim here. And in 2020.3, Tableau

0:05's continued to enhance a feature called

0:07dynamic

0:08parameters. This time, if you're an author

0:10of a workbook, you don't have to close the

0:12workbook and open it again to see the

0:14dynamic update happen. You can just do an

0:17extract

0:17refreshes normal and actually the parameter

0:20updates automatically. Let me show you how

0:22that works. If you remember, I did a video

0:24on this in 2020.1. Be sure to check that

0:27out

0:27in the description below. And it's also

0:29going to pop up here as a link on the

0:31screen. And

0:32in order to do this, I just need to go to

0:34edit data source and make sure that I'm

0:36connected

0:36to the right date source. Now, since the

0:38last video, 2020.2 has come out, and it's

0:42brought

0:42the ability to edit relationships. So if

0:44you're following along from my old video,

0:46you'll

0:46see this migrated data sort of symbol. You

0:49can actually just go ahead, remove this and

0:52bring in the orders table. That's all we

0:53need for this particular thing. So now it's

0:55working

0:56with a new relationship set up. We don't

0:58need to worry about that in the moment. Now

1:01, if

1:01we go back to our forecast view, it's going

1:03to recreate the extract. It's going to make

1:05sure the fields sit exactly as they are.

1:07And now you can see everything is still

1:09here as

1:10it's supposed to. Now we're pretty much set

1:12up. You can see that I have just three

1:14segments

1:14here. And if I click on this drop down here

1:17and edit the parameter, you will see the

1:19new

1:19feature that was added in 2020.1. Let me

1:22just highlight it for you here. When work

1:25book opens,

1:26for this particular parameter, update it

1:28from the segment. Okay, so we're now going

1:31to update

1:31the data source. I'm going to change the

1:33Excel file that we're connected to. So let

1:35's go

1:35here, edit data source. I'm going to go

1:37into this edit connection. And this time I

1:39'm going

1:40to switch to the original Superstore file.

1:43Click open. I did this thing where I named

1:46it slightly funny. I named it original main

1:48and original original. And we've all been

1:50there. Don't laugh. Let's go. So let's go

1:53back to the forecast. What I should expect

1:55to see is a date in 2020 at the very right

1:57hand side of the line. And I should also

1:59see

2:00that my segment and parameter driving those

2:02segments is also updated itself. So let's

2:05go ahead to the forecast tab. By doing that

2:07, it will trigger an extract refresher.

2:09There

2:09you go. You can see that I've got my date

2:11here, my new maximum in 2020. And if I go

2:14to consumer, you can see I've now got the

2:17new corporate segment without having to

2:19update

2:20the visualization. So this is great. It

2:22means that if you're an author, you can now

2:24build

2:24this and refresh the data and boom, your

2:27parameters automatically refresh. If you

2:30use this in

2:30the past, this is going to be a great time

2:32saver for you. It's a small quality of life

2:34improvement, but it's about time. It's long

2:36overdue. Okay, that's it. If you've enjoyed

2:39this video, check out some of the other

2:40content on the channel. Check out some of

2:42the 2020.3

2:43playlist items. Otherwise, if not, let us

2:45know what kind of content you'd like to see

2:47in the comments below and we'll catch you

2:49in the next video.

Rollup

Tableau 2020.3 improves dynamic parameters so an extract refresh alone updates them, removing the previous need to close and reopen the workbook to see new values reflected.

Builds on a dynamic parameter set up in an earlier release, where a parameter is configured to update from a field when the workbook opens. Uses a data source that gets swapped out to demonstrate the refresh behaviour.

The Breakdown

Check your data source connection 0:20

Before testing the update, go to edit data source and confirm which source the workbook is actually connected to.
Rework migrated relationships if needed 0:42

If your workbook was migrated before relationships could be edited, you can remove the old setup and bring in the relevant table directly rather than being stuck with the migrated symbol; this is optional tidying, not a requirement for the dynamic parameter fix itself.
Confirm the dynamic parameter setup 1:22

Dynamic parameters are configured via the 'When workbook opens' option in the edit parameter dialog, set to update from a chosen field (such as a segment field) — this configuration must already exist for the new behaviour to have anything to update.
Switch the underlying data source 1:34

Edit the connection and point it at a different file or source to simulate new data arriving, as you would when refreshing against updated source data.
Refresh and watch it update automatically 1:58

Return to the view that uses the parameter and let the action trigger an extract refresh; both the visualisation and the parameter's values update together without closing and reopening the workbook.

Worth Knowing

This requires 2020.3 — previously you had to close and reopen the workbook to see dynamic parameter updates.
The ability to edit relationships (added in 2020.2) is a separate, optional enhancement useful for cleaning up older migrated data sources, not a requirement for this feature.

Use It When

Reach for this whenever you rely on dynamic parameters that need to reflect newly refreshed data — for example segment or category lists that change over time — and you want that update to happen as part of a normal refresh workflow rather than a manual reopen.

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

Model + prompt + video is everything you'd need to recreate a Rollup like this yourself. The one thing we don't share is the transcript.

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