What affects do Blue and Green Pill have on dates in Tableau?

Tableau represents data different in the data pane and within the view depending on whether the field is discrete (usually blue in color) or continuous (usually green in color). By definition - discrete fields are fields that constitute of individually separate entities e.g., name of customers. While continuous fields are fields that contain numerical data that can be measured on a scale.

Dimensions usually cannot be aggregated (summed, averaged etc), whereas measures can be.

a) Discrete (Blue Pill) and Dimension

b) Continuous (Green Pill) and Measure

c) Discrete OR Continuous Dimensions

To summarize:

  • Blue things group your data
  • Green things count your data
  • Dimensions split up the view
  • Measures fill the view