One way to quickly find views and other items on Tableau Server is to use the search field at the top of the page. Typing a search term into the text box returns a list of all items with matching names, tags, titles, captions, or field names.
In addition to a general search, you can limit the search to a specific attribute such as name, workbook, data source, and so on.
For example, typing: name:sales projections returns only items whose names contain the words sales or projections.
A complete list of attributes is shown below.
Attribute |
Followed by |
Returns |
name: |
search term |
items whose names match the search term |
title: |
search term |
views whose titles match the search term |
caption: |
search term |
views whose captions match the search term |
publisher: |
user name |
items that were published by the specified user |
project: |
search term |
items that are part of a project whose name matches the search term |
comment: |
search term |
views whose comments match the search term |
tag: |
search term |
items whose tags match the search term |
field: |
search term |
views with matching fields on the rows, columns, level of detail, pages, or encoding shelves |
type: |
workbook, view, datasource, project |
items that are of the matching type |
sheettype: |
view or dashboard |
views that are of the matching sheet type |
class: |
type of data source (e.g., mysql) |
views and data sources that are associated with the matching type of data source |
dbname: |
name of a data base |
views and data sources that are associated with the matching data source |
tablename: |
search term |
views and data sources that are associated with the matching table name |
nviews: |
number |
workbooks that contain the specified number of views |
You can include multiple attributes to further limit the search. For example, to find all dashboards that were published by Smith, you can type the following into the search field: sheettype:dashboard publisher:smith
Sometimes you may want to specify the type of search to do. That is you may want to search for all items that don't match a specific term. Or you may want to find items that match one term or another term but don't have to match both. You can use search operators to dictate the type of search to do.
For example, typing: !name:region returns all items that do not have region in the name.
A list of supported search operators is shown below.
Operator |
Definition |
Examples |
and |
Returns items that match both search terms |
sales and marketing; pens && paper |
or |
Returns items that match either search term |
west or east; soccer || football |
+ |
Results must include the search term directly following this operator. |
+publisher: jones |
not |
Excludes items that match the search term following this operator. |
not sheettype:dashboard |
* |
Acts as a substitute for any other character or word following or as part of the search term. This operator can be used by itself or at the end of a search term. This operator is useful when you don't know the exact term you are searching for. |
dev* sales * |
As you can imagine, you can create very complex search queries by combining attributes and operators.
For example, typing: +name:west and not publisher:smith returns all items whose names contain west and were not published by Smith.
If your search term contains special characters or spaces you need to use an escape character to let the server know you want to search for the symbol instead of using it as an operator.
If you are searching for a phrase that contains spaces you should type it in quotation marks. That way you search for the entire phrase rather than a collection of individual words.
For example, typing: regional manager returns items that contain both search terms but not necessarily in the given order. Typing "regional manager" returns items that contain the two terms together as a phrase. The first search would return items that contain regional sales manager while the second search would not.
If you need to use a special character such as a plus sign or question mark as part of the search term, you should use \ before the character.
For example, to search for the term milk? you should type milk\?
The complete list of special characters are:
+ - && || ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \