Whilst using tableau I’m always on the lookout for nifty tricks that will help speed up productivity and make the software easier to use. There are lots of blog posts detailing some of these hidden tricks (here’s a good one by Carl), so I wanted to blog about some of the keyboard shortcuts that help me get around Tableau quickly. I seem to use keyboard shortcuts all the time, whether browsing the web, working in Microsoft office products, or even photo and video editing, I always have a few go-to shortcuts get things done instantly. They may seem a little insignificant, but they can save you tons of clicks and mouse-moving time which all adds up!

Here are my top 3 tips for navigating and manipulating Tableau worksheets with keyboard shortcuts.

 1) Ctrl + M  : opens a new worksheet   On a mac it’s Cmd + T 

Simple. Not much explanation needed here. A quick way to get a new blank worksheet open.

2) Ctrl + Tab : go to next sheet (same on a mac)

This takes you from your current sheet to the next open sheet or dashboard (cycling right) (Hitting Ctrl + SHIFT + Tab takes you  one backwards/left). This is great at it’s just like navigating tabs in chrome or any other browser so makes a lot of sense.

3) Alt + Shift + Backspace : Clears the sheet you are working on (also the same on a mac)

If (as often happens) you have made a bit of a crazy view and need to start again, simply hit this shortcut to clear everything and reset!

That’s it! I really like using keyboard shortcuts, even if they only shave a fraction of a second off your time spent doing things, they feel like you are working at a rapid pace and free up your hand for the next click. I hope they help you, I’ll be investigating some of Tableau’s other keyboard shortcuts in future. Let me know if you have any awesome shortcuts of your own!