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Tableau showing abc instead of number

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1. Overview

Is Tableau showing abc instead of number?

The “ABC” text placeholder often appears when Tableau is expecting to display text values rather than numbers in your visualization. Also, it is a placeholder for the text table view until you add a measure into the Marks area.

This occurs when the field used in your view is not properly configured to show numeric data. Instead of showing the intended data, Tableau uses the generic placeholder “ABC” to show that it expects text content in that part of the visualization.

2. Tableau showing abc instead of number

This issue typically arises due to a few common reasons, such as incorrect data types, improper configuration of fields in the Marks card, or the use of fields that contain text or null values.

2.1. Update Mark card as Text

The Marks card is a key element for visual analysis in Tableau. As you drag fields to different properties in the Marks card, you add context and detail to the marks in the view.

By default, when you drag a field to the Marks card, it is of Detail type. This Detail type does not affect the chart, but it affects the tooltip. Thus, the Tableau view shows abc instead of number.

In the below view, Tableau showing abc instead of number though it must display numbers for the SUM(Sales). Since the SUM(Sales) is of Detail mark, you can see the expected value when you hover in the tooltip.

Tableau showing abc instead of number
Tableau showing abc instead of number

The problem is that the ‘SUM(Sales)’ field isn’t being encoded as text. 

If you look at the icon in front of SUM(Sales), it is of Detail Mark type. Tap on it, then change to the Text mark type and observe the results. It must show the numbers as expected.

Marks type as Text to show numbers instead of abc

The Text mark type is useful when you want to display the numbers associated with one or more dimension members. This type of view is often called a text table, a cross-tab, or a pivot table.

2.2. Change data type

  1. Go to the Data pane.
  2. Right-click on the field and ensure it is set to the correct data type (e.g., number, integer).

2.3. Missing data

Tableau is showing abc instead of number when you do not have any dimensions in the view. As you don’t have any Marks in the below view, the placeholder abc was displayed.

2.4. Verify Calculations

If using a calculated field, ensure the calculation returns a numeric value.

2.5. Check data

Ensure your data source contains numeric values where expected. If the data is missing or has null values, consider adding default values or using Tableau’s ZN() function to handle nulls.

3. Common Scenarios for “ABC” Placeholder:

Understanding why is Tableau showing abc instead of number helps you troubleshoot and correctly configure your visualizations to display the intended numeric data.

  1. Text Fields: When you add a text field to the Label shelf in the Marks card, Tableau uses “ABC” as a placeholder until you specify the exact text to be displayed. This often happens in tables or views where text is expected, but no specific text data is provided.
  2. Empty Cells: In table visualizations, if a cell doesn’t have any data, Tableau may show the “ABC” placeholder, especially if the field is set up as a text type.
  3. Misconfigured Data Types: If a field is incorrectly set to a text type (string) rather than a numeric type, Tableau might display “ABC” when it’s placed in the view, indicating that it expects text but doesn’t have any specific content to show.
  4. Missing Data: If the data source has null or missing values, Tableau may display “ABC” as a placeholder in text fields, indicating that it is waiting for text data.

4. Conclusion

To summarize, these are the very common reasons for Tableau showing abc instead of number. You must try placing your measure on the text portion on the Marks card and also there are dimensions in the view.

You can find code samples of our articles in this GitHub repository.

For additional information on Tableau, please consult these articles.

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