Latch – Tableau Extension for parameters

Latch turns a Tableau parameter into a control that finally looks the part: a polished toggle switch, checkbox, segmented control, or buttons, in your own colours, size and labels, with multiple switch designs to choose from. Viewers flip it right on the dashboard and every worksheet reacts at once.

(The interactive demo below is from the real extension, not a screenshot)

Four controls, one parameter

Point Latch at a Tableau parameter and pick the control that suits the dashboard:

• Switch – the on/off toggle people know from their phone, in designs like Classic, iOS, Material and Flat.
• Checkbox – when the dashboard already reads like a form.
• Segmented – two labelled halves, for when “on” and “off” deserve real words.
• Buttons – separate buttons, for the times a segmented control feels too subtle.

Colours, size and labels are yours. Flip it on the dashboard and every worksheet bound to that parameter reacts at once.

Why an extension for such a small element?

You can also build a toggle move ‘native’ out of shape files, or using image roles. Latch is a real HTML control, which buys you the things a picture cannot have: a hover cursor, keyboard focus, animation between states, and accessible markup for a screen reader. It is not ideal however – the trade-offs run the other way too. I compared all three approaches side by side in Tableau Toggle Button: 3 Ways to Build an On/Off Switch, including where an extension is the wrong choice.

Adding it to a dashboard

Latch is a dashboard extension, so it goes on the dashboard like any other object:

1. Create a boolean (true/false) parameter, if you do not have one already.
2. Drag an Extension object onto the dashboard and choose Access Local Extensions.
3. Open the .trex file, then click Configure.
4. Select the parameter to control, pick a style, and set the look.

https://extensions.byantichaos.com/Latch/latch.trex

Good to know

Latch is free. Three things worth knowing before you build it into something important:

• It does not render in exports. Extensions run live in a browser, so the control is blank in PDF exports, dashboard images and subscription emails. Put it beside the numbers, not instead of them.
• It does not run on Tableau Public, which allows only a curated set of extensions.
• Tableau Server and Cloud need it allowlisted by an administrator. That takes about a minute, and there are step-by-step instructions here you can send them. On Desktop it just works.

Using Latch, or wishing it did something it does not? Tell me – most of what is in it started as someone asking.