When creating a date filter in Tableau, anchor refers to the date in a relative-date filter to which you anchor a unit of time. A relative-date filter is a type of filter that allows you to dynamically filter data based on a range of time relative to the current date or a specific date. For example, you can use a relative-date filter to show data for the last 7 days, the next 3 months, or the current quarter1 To create a relative-date filter, you need to specify the following options: The date field that you want to filter. The unit of time that you want to use for the filter, such as days, weeks, months, quarters, or years. The range of time that you want to show relative to the anchor date, such as last, next, this, or to date. The anchor date that you want to use as the reference point for the filter. You can use the current date or a custom date as the anchor date1 For example, if you want to create a relative-date filter that shows data for the last 3 months from January 1st, 2022, you would select the following options: Date field: Order Date Unit of time: Months Range of time: Last 3 Anchor date: Custom (01/01/2022) 1 The other options are not valid definitions of anchor when creating a date filter in Tableau. The mid-point in the range of displayed dates is not related to the anchor date, but rather to the center of the axis that represents the date field. The date in a range-of-dates filter to which you anchor units of time is not correct, because a range-of-dates filter does not use an anchor date, but rather a start and end date that can be fixed or dynamic. The latest date in the data source that can be found is not related to the anchor date, but rather to the maximum value of the date field in the data source2