How to add the last refresh date to your Tableau dashboard
A simple 3-step guide to adding the most recent data refresh date to your dashboard.
Why should I add the last refresh date to my dashboard?
A last refresh date gives users confidence that the data they’re using to make decisions is up to date. It also manages expectations and clarifies what users are looking at.
📝 Note
Using the method below will show the date and time an extract was last refreshed, or for live database connections, the last time Tableau fetched the data.
Step 1Edit title on a blank worksheet
Create a new worksheet. We’ll use the title of this worksheet to show the date.
Double click on the sheet title, or right click and select Edit Title…
Go to Insert > Data Update Time
This will add <Data Update Time> to your title. You can also delete the default <Sheet Name> text from the title as this won’t be needed.
Format the font as needed.
Step 2Create a blank calculated field and add it to the view
You’ll notice that the title now reads Unknown Update Time. That’s because you don’t yet have any data sources used in the sheet, which means Tableau doesn’t know which data source the last refresh date should be shown for.
The best way to include data in your sheet without populating the view is to create a blank calculated field under the data source you want to show the last refresh date for.
Add this to the Text Marks card. This will give you the update date and time for this data source along with an empty view.
Step 3Add the update date/time sheet to your dashboard
You can now add this sheet to your dashboard. Drag into your dashboard, holding down Shift if you want it to float.
Select Fit > Entire View. This will make sure the title fills the view.
If you only want the date to show and not the time, resize the sheet to hide the time.
