How to Add Measure Names in Tableau

Ever tried comparing several key metrics - like sales, profit, and shipping costs - in a single Tableau view? It sounds simple, but it can quickly become frustrating if you don't know the trick. The secret lies in using two special, Tableau-generated fields: Measure Names and Measure Values. This guide will walk you through exactly what they are, why they're so important, and how to use them to build more insightful visualizations.

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What Are Measure Names and Measure Values?

Unlike fields that come from your original data source, Measure Names and Measure Values are special fields that Tableau creates automatically. You'll find them at the bottom of the Data pane, usually italicized. They always work as a pair and are the key to bringing multiple metrics into a single chart.

Let's break them down:

• Measure Names: This is a dimension that contains the names of all the measures in your data source (e.g., "Sales," "Profit," "Quantity"). Think of it as a categorical label. Because it's a dimension, you can use it to create headers, segment charts by color, or create separate rows and columns.
• Measure Values: This is a measure that contains the numerical values for all the measures listed in Measure Names. Think of this as the actual number associated with each label. Because it's a measure, it creates an axis when you place it on the Rows or Columns shelf.

A simple way to think about them is like a restaurant menu. Measure Names are the items on the menu (e.g., "Burger," "Fries," "Salad"), and Measure Values are their corresponding prices ($15, $5, $12). You can't have one without the other to get a complete picture.

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Why Are They a Game-Changer?

The Measure Names/Values duo is incredibly useful for several common analysis scenarios:

• Creating Text Tables (Crosstabs): They make it easy to display multiple metrics side-by-side in a table format, allowing for quick comparisons.
• Building Side-by-Side or Stacked Bar Charts: Want to compare sales versus profit for each product category? Measure Names allows you to separate the bars or stack them for easy comparison without clumsy workarounds.
• Designing Combo Charts: They are essential for creating charts that display different measures using different mark types, like a bar chart for sales overlaid with a line chart for profit margin.

Once you understand how to use them, you unlock a much faster and more flexible way to build dashboards that answer deeper questions about your business performance.

How to Use Measure Names in Tableau: Step-by-Step

The best way to learn is by doing. Let's walk through three practical examples using Tableau's sample "Superstore" dataset.

Scenario 1: Creating a Simple Text Table with Multiple Measures

Let's say you want to build a simple table showing Sales, Profit, and Quantity for each product Sub-Category.

1. Add Your Dimension: Start by dragging the Sub-Category dimension from the Data pane onto the Rows shelf. You'll see a list of all sub-categories.
2. Add Measure Values: Next, drag the Measure Values field from the Data pane and drop it onto the Text box in the Marks card. Tableau will automatically add all measures in your dataset to the view and populate numeric values for each sub-category.
3. Introduce Measure Names: To organize this information, drag the Measure Names field onto the Columns shelf. Instantly, your numbers will organize into distinct columns, with each measure name ("Sales," "Profit," etc.) as a header.
4. Filter Which Measures to Show: Tableau automatically creates a Measure Names Filter card on the right side of your workspace. By default, it includes all measures. You can uncheck the ones you don't need— for this example, let's keep only Sales, Profit, and Quantity checked.

That's it! You now have a clean, organized text table comparing your three key metrics across every sub-category.

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Scenario 2: Creating a Side-by-Side Bar Chart

Comparing metrics in a visual chart is often more effective than looking at a table. Let's create a bar chart that compares sales and profit side-by-side for each Region.

1. Set Up the Basic Structure: Drag the Region dimension to the Columns shelf.
2. Create an Axis with Measure Values: Drag the Measure Values field to the Rows shelf. You will now see one bar for each region, representing the combined value of all your measures.
3. Separate the Bars with Measure Names: Now for the key step. Drag Measure Names to the Color tile on the Marks card. This tells Tableau to create a colored segment within each bar for each measure. Your chart now becomes a stacked bar chart.
4. Arrange into Side-by-Side Bars: To change this from a stacked to a side-by-side view, simply drag the Measure Names pill that is currently on the Color tile and drop it onto the Columns shelf, right next to the Region pill. Tableau will rearrange the chart to show distinct, side-by-side bars for sales and profit within each region.
5. Filter the Measures: Just like in the previous example, use the automatically generated Measure Names Filter card to show only Sales and Profit.

Now you have a dynamic bar chart that makes direct comparisons between sales and profit incredibly intuitive.

Scenario 3: Making a Combination Chart (Bar + Line)

Sometimes you need to compare measures with very different scales, like Sales (in thousands) and Profit Ratio (a percentage). A combo chart is perfect for this. We'll build a view showing Sales as bars and Profit Ratio as a line over time.

1. Start with a Time Series: Drag Order Date to the Columns shelf. Right-click the pill and choose Month (the continuous one, listed second).
2. Add the First Measure: Drag the Sales measure to the Rows shelf. Tableau will create a line chart showing sales over time. On the Marks card, change the chart type from Automatic to Bar.
3. Add the Second Measure: Now, drag the Profit Ratio measure to the Rows shelf and place it to the right of the Sales pill. You'll now have two separate charts, one above the other.
4. Combine with Dual Axis: Right-click on the Profit Ratio pill on the Rows shelf, and select Dual Axis from the dropdown menu. This overlays the two charts on top of each other, creating two separate axes on the left and right.
5. Synchronize the Axes (If Applicable): If your two measures have similar units and scales, right-click the right axis and select Synchronize Axis. Since Sales ($) and Profit Ratio (%) are different, we will leave them unsynchronized.
6. Adjust the Mark Types: In the Marks card, you will see tabs: All, SUM(Sales), and SUM(Profit Ratio). Click on the SUM(Sales) tab and confirm the mark type is Bar. Then click on the SUM(Profit Ratio) tab and change its mark type to Line.

While this example doesn’t use Measure Names directly, it showcases the alternative for when the Measure Names/Values pair becomes limiting (e.g., when you need total control over individual mark types). The flexibility of both methods is what makes Tableau a powerful tool.

Tips for Working with Measure Names

As you get more comfortable, keep these few tips in mind:

• Renaming the Headers: Don't like the title "Measure Names" on your chart's legend or header? Right-click it and select "Edit Alias" to change it to something more descriptive, like "Metric" or "KPI." To change individual measure titles (like changing "SUM(Sales)" to "Total Sales"), right-click the measure itself in the Data pane and select "Rename."
• Handling Greyed-Out Measures: If you see a measure is greyed out in the Measure Names filter, its data type is probably incorrect (e.g., it's a string instead of a number). Go back to your data source or the Data pane, right-click the field, and change its data type to a numeric format.
• Control the Order: You can change the order in which measures appear. Simply rearrange them in the Measure Names filter card by dragging them up or down.

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Final Thoughts

Understanding how to use Measure Names and Measure Values is one of those "aha!" moments for many Tableau users. This special pairing gives you a surprisingly simple way to compare multiple key business metrics in a single view, turning flat numbers into insightful dashboards. Whether you're building tables, bar charts, or more complex visualizations, they are a fundamental tool in your data analysis toolkit.

Of course, mastering tools with steep learning curves like Tableau takes time. Learning how different fields interact is part of a process that can take hundreds of hours. That's why we created Graphed - to remove that learning curve completely. Instead of manually dragging pills and configuring filters to build your charts, you can simply ask a question in plain English, like "show a side-by-side bar chart of sales and profit by region." Graphed instantly builds the interactive dashboard for you, saving you hours of tedious work and letting you focus on the insights, not the setup.