Understanding the significance of Remote Field Name of the Metadata grid in Tableau Desktop
What is Metadata Grid in Tableau?
The Metadata Grid in Tableau Desktop provides the data about the data.
This might sound confusing at first but let me elaborate this point further.
The metadata grid displays the fields in the data source as rows.
This helps in getting a quick glance of the fields that we have imported into Tableau.
The Metadata grid will be visible on the left bottom side of the Data source page.
Given below are the details present in the Metadata grid:
Type: Displays the Data type of the field
Field Name: Displays the Field Name and these are the header details of the data source that are auto-detected by Tableau when we connect to it
(this can be changed as per the requirement)
Physical Table: Displays the actual Physical Table that the field belongs to
Remote Field Name: Displays the name that is linked to the underlying data source (this cannot be changed in Tableau and will be covered in the next section of this article)
NOTE: In the above image we have collapsed the Data Grid in the Data Source Page of a Tableau Desktop instance.
NOTE: For explaining this topic we are connecting to the standard Sample Superstore dataset.
The Metadata grid allows the quick examination of the Tableau data source structure. After examining the data source, we can make use of Metadata grid for carrying out many tasks e.g: renaming fields, hiding multiple fields at once etc.
What is the Significance of the Remote Field Name in the Metadata grid?
In this section we will be making use of Tableau version 2022.2 to explain the differences between the Field Name and the Remote Field Name.
We may be required to rename certain fields as per the end user requirements.
NOTE: There are multiple locations where we can change the Field Name e.g: Data grid, Metadata grid and Data Pane etc.
In this example we will be changing it at the Metadata grid.
In Tableau if required we can change the Field Names as per the requirement (by using the Rename option).
Right-click the field or click on the dropdown carrot on the right-side of the field to be renamed e.g. Country/Region.
Next from the context menu Select Rename.
Change the name as per the requirement e.g: Country
We observe that only the Field Name is updated while the Remote Field Name is not changed.
The reason that the Remote Field Name cannot be changed within Tableau is that it is linked to the underlying data source.
How to locate the Remote Field Name in Tableau Desktop?
There might be a situation when we are working on a Tableau workbook in which the names of certain fields have been changed.
These might have been changed by us at an earlier time or it might have been changed by another team.
We can easily locate the Remote Field Name in Tableau Desktop.
Given below are the two locations in Tableau Desktop where we can locate the Remote Field Name
- In the Data Pane of the Tableau Workspace
Right-click the desired field e.g: Shipping Mode, and from the context menu Select Describe
The Remote Column in the Describe Field dialog box provides the Remote Field Name. The naming convention is [Physical Table Name].[Remote Field Name] i.e. [Orders].[Ship Mode] here Ship Mode is the Remote Field Name.
2. In the Metadata grid of the Data Source Page
The Remote Field Name is a separate column in the Metadata grid
How to revert the Field Name to the Remote Field Name in Tableau Desktop?
We might need to revert or reset the Field Name to the original name i.e. Remote Field Name
We can achieve this using the Metadata grid of the Data Source Page.
Right-click the field or click on the dropdown carrot on the right-side of the field to be reset e.g. Shipping Mode.
Next from the context menu Select Reset Name.
Now we observe that the Field Name has been reset to the Remote Field Name.
I hope this article is useful for all Tableau users especially for anyone just starting their Tableau journey!!!
