Integrate Tableau with a Slack Workspace
Beginning with version 2021.3, Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud support integration with the Tableau App for Slack, so your team can collaborate-share Tableau snapshots, search for Tableau content, and receive notifications about Tableau data–right where they’re working in a Slack workspace.
The Tableau App for Slack lets you connect your Tableau site with a Slack workspace. After it’s enabled, Tableau users can:
- See notifications in Slack when teammates share content with them, when they're mentioned in a comment, or when data meets a specified threshold in a data-driven alert. If a site administrator in Tableau Cloud or a server administrator in Tableau Server enables notifications on a site, users can control which notifications they receive in Slack by configuring their Account Settings(Link opens in a new window).
- See a preview of a viz when a Tableau URL is pasted into Slack, allowing users to share data-related content with context directly in Slack.
- Search for Tableau views or workbooks in Slack DMs and channels.
- Access Recents and Favorites from the Tableau App for Slack.
For more information, see Receive Notifications, Search, and Share Using the Tableau App for Slack.
Note: Some notifications preferences might not be available if the features are turned off for your site. For example, if the User Visibility setting is set to Limited, notifications are turned off. For more information, see Site Settings Reference and Manage Site User Visibility.
To integrate Slack with your Tableau site, there are a few necessary configuration steps, including some in your Tableau site, and some in the Slack workspace you want to connect. This overview outlines these steps for both Tableau site administrators on Tableau Cloud or a Tableau Server Administrator on Tableau Server, and Slack workspace administrators.
Requirements
Enabling Tableau in Slack requires both a Slack workspace administrator and either a Tableau site administrator in Tableau Cloud, or a Tableau server administrator in Tableau Server.
Connect a Tableau Cloud site to a Slack workspace
Tableau Cloud site administrators can connect one or more Tableau Cloud sites to a single Slack workspace. However, you can’t connect a Tableau site to more than one Slack workspace. Connecting consists of these tasks:
- Tableau site administrator: Request permission to the Slack workspace through Tableau's site settings.
- Slack workspace administrator: Add the Tableau App for Slack to a Slack workspace by approving a request from the Tableau administrator for permission to access the Slack workspace.
- Tableau site administrator: Connect your Tableau site to Slack.
Step 1: Request permission to the Slack workspace
Tableau site administrator
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Sign in to the site you’d like to connect to Slack. On the Settings page of your site, select the Integrations tab.
- Under Slack Connectivity, select Connect to Slack.
Follow the prompt to sign in to your Slack workspace. - Request to install the Tableau App for Slack. This request goes to the Slack workspace administrator. You can add a message to the workspace administrator, if needed.
- Select Submit.
The Slack administrator receives a notification for the request. For more information about this process, see An Admin's Guide to Slack Management(Link opens in a new window) in Slack's documentation.
Slackbot (Slack’s notifications center) will notify you when your request is approved.
Step 2: Add the Tableau App for Slack to the Slack workspace
Slack workspace administrator
Approve the request from the Tableau site administrator in Manage Apps to add the Tableau App for Slack to the Slack workspace.
For more information, see An Admin's Guide to Slack Management(Link opens in a new window) in Slack's documentation.
Step 3: Connect your Tableau site to Slack
Tableau site administrator
After the Slack workspace administrator approves the Tableau application, a Tableau administrator can finalize the app's connection to a Tableau site.
- From the Settings page of your site, select the Integrations tab.
- Under Slack Connectivity, select Connect to Slack.
- Follow the prompt to sign in to your Slack workspace.
- Select Allow to give your Tableau site access to the Slack workspace.
The Tableau site and Slack workspace are now connected.
Disconnect a Tableau site from Slack
As a site admin, you can disconnect a Tableau site from a Slack workspace by selecting Disconnect from Slack in the Integrations tab of site settings. Users continue to receive notifications for some time. The OAuth client information you added in Step 2 is retained and can be used to connect to a new workspace, if needed.
As a Slack user, you can disconnect from Slack by selecting Disconnect from Tableau from the Home tab in the Tableau App for Slack.
Update your Tableau App for Slack
When a new version of the Tableau App for Slack is available, Tableau recommends updating the application to maintain app performance and use new features.
To update the Tableau App for Slack:
- From the Settings page of your site, select the Integrations tab.
- Under Slack Connectivity, select Connect to Slack.
- Select Update.
Note: App updates applied by any Tableau admin affect all Tableau sites connected to the same workspace.
Troubleshoot the Tableau App for Slack
It’s a best practice to Manage app approvals for your Slack workspace(Link opens in a new window). However, if your Slack workspace allows users who aren’t admins to remove apps, it’s possible that a user can remove the Tableau App for Slack for the site. In this scenario, other users will see the Tableau App for Slack, but its features won’t work as expected. To resolve this issue, have your Slack admin uninstall and reinstall the Tableau App for Slack. Then, have your admin follow the steps to connect Slack with your Tableau site.