Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Deployment Guide Overview

Version: 2020.1
Applies to: Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep

At Tableau, our mission is to help you see and understand your data. With Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep you can connect to a wide variety of data that's stored in a variety of places.

You can create workbooks, experiment with and explore your data safely (without impacting your source data), then present your findings using dashboards and stories. You can even share your findings on the web using Tableau Server, Tableau Online, or Tableau Public.

Before you work with your data in Tableau Desktop, sometimes you need to do a little housekeeping on your data first. Tableau Prep can help you with that. Visually interact directly with your data to fix data entry errors, combine data from different sources and shape your data for analysis.

Note: If you are looking for information about how to install Tableau Server, see the Install and Configure section in the Tableau Server help. If you are looking for information about how to set up Tableau Online, see Set Up a new Tableau Online Site in the Tableau Online help.

This guide provides information about how to plan, install, and upgrade Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep for yourself or for multiple users. Start with this article to find common information that everyone needs to know, then move to the sections that pertain to your specific installation scenario. If you get stuck, check out the Troubleshoot Your Tableau Desktop or Tableau Prep Builder Installation for answers to installation issues.

Information is also included about how to automate installation for Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, Tableau Reader and Tableau Public. For more information, see Install Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder from the Command Line.

Who should use this guide?

This guide provides information for two audiences:

Other topics in this guide can help you plan your install, deactivate or manage your product keys or manage other settings after installation is complete.

What's new in Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep

If you've used Tableau before, you'll probably be interested in changes we've made in each version. For full details about new features added in Tableau 2020.1, about installer changes, and about features added in other recent releases, see What's New in Tableau Desktop in the Tableau Help.

To see what's new in Tableau Prep, see What's New in Tableau Prep in the Tableau Prep online help.

If you are interested in information about fixes that have been added in each release, see the Release Notes page on the Tableau website.

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