How to remove the “abc” column from Tableau

Removing the “abc” column in Tableau is a frequently asked question. Although hiding it might seem straightforward, it often requires some workarounds.

This article outlines five methods for hiding the “abc” column:

When Does the abc Column Appear?

The “abc” column shows up when there is no pill on the Text shelf and the mark type is set to text. For example, if you create a table in Tableau using only discrete (blue) pills on the Rows shelf, you’ll see the “abc” column.

Methods to Hide the abc Column

1. Add a Value to the Text Shelf One way to hide the “abc” column is by placing a field on the Text shelf. This requires creating a column header:

• Add a field to the Text shelf, preferably the last field in your table. Since it won’t have a column heading, you need to add one.
• Drag the [Measure Names] field to the Columns shelf. The header will now display “No Measure Value.” Right-click this label and select “Edit Alias…” to set your desired column name. This method also helps add an extra column if you need more space. Prior to Tableau 2019.4, you could have up to 16 discrete columns; now, you can have up to 50.

1. Use a Zero-Length String Calculated Field Create a calculated field with an empty string formula:

   [Blank]: ""

Place this field on the Text shelf to replace the “abc” with a blank space. However, this method only disguises the column, so you should:

• Reduce the width of the blank column while borders are visible.
• Go to Format – Borders – Column Divider – Pane and set to None to hide the borders.

1. Change the Mark Type to Polygon This method avoids creating a calculated field:

• Change the mark type from Text to Polygon.
• Reduce the width of the column and format the borders to hide the separator.

1. Format the abc Font You can also format the font to match the background color:

• Go to Format – Font – Sheet – Pane and set the font color to match the background (e.g., white if your background is white).
• Reduce the width of the column and format the borders to conceal it.

1. Adjust the Colour Opacity Another simple option is to adjust the opacity of the color:

• Click the Colour shelf and set the opacity to 0%.
• Again, reduce the width of the column and format the borders to hide it.

Choose the method that best fits your needs to hide the “abc” column effectively.