In this post, I’ll explain when and how to use FIXED, common pitfalls, and why it changes the game for cohort analysis and percent-of-total calculations. A FIXED calculation computes an aggregate value using only the dimensions you specify , ignoring all other dimensions in the current view.
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FIXED [Category] : SUM([Sales]) → Category total. Then create: SUM([Sales]) / [Category Total] . Now, even if you filter to East region, the denominator stays the Category total across all regions. 2. Cohort Analysis (Customer’s First Purchase Date) Problem: You want to tag each transaction with the customer’s first order date to analyze retention by cohort. fixed tableau calculation
To respect worksheet filters, convert relevant filters to Context Filters (right-click → Add to Context). FIXED will then respect them. FIXED vs. INCLUDE vs. EXCLUDE – Quick Cheat Sheet | Expression | What it does | Best for | |------------|--------------|-----------| | FIXED | Ignores current view dimensions | Row-level comparisons, cohort tagging | | INCLUDE | Adds dimensions to the aggregation | “Show sales by region AND product” | | EXCLUDE | Removes dimensions from the aggregation | “Remove month to get quarterly total” | In this post, I’ll explain when and how
Try combining FIXED with date functions (e.g., FIXED DATETRUNC('month', [Date]) ) for period-over-period comparisons that stay accurate. What’s your favorite use of FIXED? Have you run into any weird behavior with filters? Share in the comments! FIXED [Category] : SUM([Sales]) → Category total