Tableau Prep Help

You can connect to cloud data sources in Tableau Prep just like Tableau Desktop, but if you plan to publish flows that connect to cloud data sources and run them on a schedule in your server, you'll need to configure your credentials in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud.

You set up your credentials in the Settings tab in the My Account Settings page and connect to your cloud connector input using these same credentials.

Tableau Prep Builder

When publishing the flow, on the Publish dialog, click Edit to edit the connection, then in the Authentication drop-down, select Embed <your credentials>.

You can also add credentials right from the publish dialog (Tableau Prep Builder version 2020.1.1 and later) when publishing your flow and then automatically embed them in your flow when you publish. For more information, see Publish a flow from Tableau Prep Builder.

If you don't have saved credentials set up, and you select Prompt user in the Authentication drop-down, after you publish the flow, you must edit the connection and enter your credentials in the Connections tab in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud or the flow will fail when run.

Tableau Prep on the web

In web authoring, you can embed credentials from the top menu under File > Connection Credentials. For more information, see Publishing flows(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server help.

In Tableau Prep Builder version 2019.4.1, the following cloud connectors were added and are also available when creating or editing flows on the web:

• Box
• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• OneDrive

For more information about how to connect to your data using these connectors, see the connector-specific(Link opens in a new window) help topic in the Tableau Desktop help.

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2020.2.1 and later and when authoring flows on the web starting in Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud version 2020.4.

Tableau Prep Builder supports connecting to data using the Salesforce connector, just like Tableau Desktop, but with a few differences.

• Tableau Prep Builder supports any join type you want to do.
• Custom SQL can be created in Tableau Prep Builder 2022.1.1 or later. Flows that use custom SQL can be run and existing steps can be edited in 2020.2.1 or later.
• Using a standard connection to create your own custom connection isn't currently supported.
• You can't change the default data source name to be something unique or custom.
• If you plan to publish flows on Tableau Server and want to use saved credentials, the server administrator must configure Tableau Server with an OAuth client ID and secret on the connector. For more information, see Change Salesforce.com OAuth to Saved Credentials(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server help.
• To run incremental refresh on flow inputs that use the Salesforce connector, you must be using Tableau Prep Builder version 2021.1.2 or later. For more information about using incremental refresh, seeRefresh Flow Data Using Incremental Refresh.

Tableau Prep imports the data by creating an extract. Only extracts are currently supported for Salesforce. The initial extract may take some time to load, depending on the amount of data that is included. You will see a timer in the Input step while the data loads.

For general information about using the Salesforce connector, see Salesforce(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Desktop and Web Authoring help.

Tableau Prep Builder supports connecting to data using Salesforce Data Cloud. As of 14 February 2023, Customer Data Platform is called Salesforce Data Cloud.

• As of Tableau release 2023.2 and Data Cloud Summer 23 release, Salesforce introduces a new connector, Salesforce Data Cloud connector. The new Tableau connector seamlessly connects Data Cloud and Tableau Prep. For Tableau Prep, customers must have Prep Web Authoring, Conductor version 2023.2 or Prep Builder 2023.2.

  Benefits of the Data Cloud Connector

  • The new built-in connector eliminates the additional step to create a connected app and install a JDBC driver.

  • The connector is data spaces aware with improved usability that shows the object label in Tableau connect UI instead of the object API name.

  • The connector is powered by accelerated queries.

• Version 2021.4: The Salesforce_CDP.taco file is automatically installed.
• Versions 2021.1–2021.3: The Salesforce_CDP.taco file is required. See Connect Tableau to Salesforce Data Cloud(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Desktop help for more information.

Connect to Salesforce Data Cloud

The following steps are for version 2023.2. 

1. In the Connections pane select Salesforce Data Cloud from the Server connector list.

2. In the Salesforce Data Cloud dialog, click Sign In.

3. Sign in to Salesforce with your user name and password.

4. Select Allow.

5. Close the browser pane.

6. From Tableau Prep Builder, select a Data Space.

   Tables that are associated with the selected Data Space are displayed.

Tableau Prep Builder supports connecting to data using Google BigQuery, just like Tableau Desktop.

You must configure credentials to enable Tableau Prep to communicate with Google BigQuery. If you plan to publish flows to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, OAuth connections must also be configured for those applications.

Note: Tableau Prep doesn't currently support using Google BigQuery customisation attributes.

• Set up OAuth for Google(Link opens in a new window) – Configuring OAuth connections for Tableau Server.
• OAuth Connections(Link opens in a new window) - Configure OAuth connections for Tableau Cloud.

Configure SSL to connect to Google BigQuery (MacOS only)

If you are using Tableau Prep Builder on Mac and you are using a proxy to connect to Big Query, you may need to modify the SSL configuration to connect to Google BigQuery

Note: No extra steps are required for Windows users.

To configure SSL for OAuth connections to Google BigQuery, complete the following steps:

1. Export the SSL certificate for your proxy to a file, for example proxy.cer. You can find your certificate in Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access >System > Certificates (under Category).

2. Locate the version of java that you are using to run Tableau Prep Builder. For example: /Applications/Tableau Prep Builder 2020.4.app/Plugins/jre/lib/security/cacerts

3. Open the Terminal command prompt and run the following command for your Tableau Prep Builder version:

   Note: The keytool command must be run from the directory that contains the version of java that you are using to run Tableau Prep Builder. You may have to change directories before running this command. For example cd /Users/tableau_user/Desktop/SSL.cer -keystore Tableau Prep Builder 2020.1.1/Plugins/jre/bin. Then run the keytool command.

   keytool –import –trustcacerts –file /Users/tableau_user/Desktop/SSL.cer -keystore Tableau Prep Builder <version>/Plugins/jre/lib/security/cacerts -storepass changeit

   Example: keytool –import –trustcacerts –file /Users/tableau_user/Desktop/SSL.cer -keystore Tableau Prep Builder 2020.4.1/Plugins/jre/lib/security/cacerts -storepass changeit

If you get a FileNotFoundException (Access denied) when running the keytool command, try running the command with elevated permissions. For example: sudo keytool –import –trustcacerts –file /Users/tableau_user/Desktop/SSL.cer -keystore Tableau Prep Builder 2020.4.1/Plugins/jre/lib/security/cacerts -storepass changeit.

Set up and manage your Google BigQuery credentials

The credentials that you use to connect to Google BigQuery in your Input step must match the credentials that are set up in the Settings tab in the My Account Settings page for Google BigQuery in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud.

If you select different credentials or no credentials in your authentication settings when publishing your flow, the flow will fail with an authentication error until you edit the connection for the flow in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud.

To edit your credentials, do the following:

1. In Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, on the Connections tab, on the Google BigQuery connection, click More actions .
2. Select Edit Connection.
3. Select the saved credentials that are set up in the Settings tab in the My Account Settings page.

Sign In using Service Account (JSON) file

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2021.3.1 and later. Service Account access is not available when authoring flows on the web.

1. Add a Service Account as a saved credential. For more information, see Change Google OAuth to Saved Credentials(Link opens in a new window).
2. Sign in to Google BigQuery using your email or phone number, then select Next.
3. In Authentication, select Sign In using Service Account (JSON) file.
4. Enter the file path or use the Browse button to search for it.
5. Click Sign In.
6. Enter your password to continue.
7. Select Accept to allow Tableau to access your Google BigQuery data. You will be prompted to close the browser.

Sign In using OAuth

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2020.2.1 and later and when authoring flows on the web starting in Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud version 2020.4.

1. Sign in to Google BigQuery using your email or phone number, and then select Next.
2. In Authentication, select Sign In using OAuth.
3. Click Sign In.
4. Enter your password to continue.
5. Select Accept to allow Tableau to access your Google BigQuery data. You will be prompted to close the browser.

For more information about setting and managing your credentials, see the following topics:

Manage Your Account Settings(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Desktop and Web Authoring help.

Publish a flow from Tableau Prep Builder(Link opens in a new window) for information about setting authentication options when publishing a flow.

View and resolve errors(Link opens in a new window) for information about resolving connection errors in Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud.

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2019.2.1 and later and when authoring flows on the web starting in Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud version 2020.4.

Tableau Prep Builder supports connecting to data using SAP HANA just like Tableau Desktop but with a few differences.

Connect to the database using the same procedure you would use in Tableau Desktop. For more information see SAP HANA(Link opens in a new window). After you connect and search for your table, drag the table to the canvas to begin building your flow.

Prompting for variables and parameters when opening a flow isn't supported in Tableau Prep. Instead, in the Input pane, click the Variables and Parameters tab and select the variables and operands you want to use, then select from a list of preset values or enter custom values to query your database and return the values you need.

Tableau Prep Builder and Tableau Prep Conductor don't support variables and parameters when connecting to a SAP HANA published data source.

Note: Starting in Tableau Prep Builder version 2019.2.2 and on the web starting in version 2020.4.1, you can use Initial SQL to query your connection. If you have multiple values for a variable, you can select the value you need from a drop-down list.

You can also add additional variables. Click the plus button in the Variables section and select a variable and operand, then enter a custom value.

Note: This connector requires Tableau Server version 2019.2 and later to run the flow on a schedule. If you are using an earlier server version, you can refresh the flow data using the command line interface. For more information about running flows from the command line see Refresh flow output files from the command line(Link opens in a new window). For more information about version compatibility, see Version Compatibility with Tableau Prep(Link opens in a new window).

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2020.4.1 and later and when authoring flows on the web starting in Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud version 2020.4.

You can connect to spatial files and spatial data sources in Tableau Prep Builder or when creating or editing flows on the web.

Tableau Prep supports the following connection types:

• Spatial File formats
  • Tableau Prep Builder: Esri Shapefiles, Esri File Geodatabases, KML, TopoJSON, GeoJSON, extracts, MapInfo MID/MIF, TAB files and zipped shapefiles.
  • Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud: Zipped shapefiles, KML, TopoJSON, GeoJSON, Esri File Geodatabases and extracts.
• Spatial databases (Amazon Redshift, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and PostgreSQL).

You can also combine spatial tables with non-spatial tables using a standard join and output spatial data to an extract (.hyper) file. Spatial functions, spatial joins through intersections and visualising spatial data on a map view in Tableau Prep is not currently supported.

Supported cleaning operations

When working with shape file data, some cleaning operations are not supported. Only the following cleaning operations are available in Tableau Prep when working with shape file data.

• Filters: Only to remove Null or unknown values
• Rename Field
• Duplicate Field
• Keep Only Field
• Remove Field
• Create Calculated Field

Before you connect

Before connecting to spatial files, makes sure the following files are in the same directory:

• Esri shapefiles: The folder must contain .shp, .shx, .dbf and .prj files as well as .zip files of the Esri shapefile.
• Esri File Geodatabases: The folder must contain the File Geodatabase's .gdb or the .zip of the File Geodatabases’s .gdb.
• KML files: The folder must contain the .kml file. (No other files are required.)
• GeoJSON files: The folder must contain the .geojson file.(No other files are required.)
• TopoJSON files: The folder must contain the .json or .topojson file. (No other files are required.)

Connect to spatial files

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open Tableau Prep Builder and click the Add connection button.
   • Open Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud. From the Explore menu, click New > Flow.

2. From the list of connectors, select Spatial file.

   Spatial fields are assigned spatial data type and cannot be changed. If the fields come from a spatial file, the field is assigned a default field name of "Geometry". If the fields come from a spatial database, the database field names are shown. If Tableau can't determine the type of data, the field shows as "Null".

   

Supported in Tableau Prep Builder version 2019.2.2 and later. This connector type is not yet supported when authoring flows on the web.

If you need to connect to data sources that aren't listed in the Connections pane, you can connect to any data source using the Other Databases (ODBC) connector that supports the SQL standard and implements the ODBC API. Connecting to data using the Other Databases (ODBC) connector works similarly to how you might use it in Tableau Desktop, however there are a few differences:

• You can only connect using the DSN (data source name) option.

• To publish and run your flow in Tableau Server, the server must be configured using a matching DSN.

  Note: Running flows from the command line that include the Other Databases (ODBC) connector isn't currently supported.

• There is a single connection experience for both Windows and MacOS. Prompting for connection attributes for ODBC drivers (Windows) isn't supported.

• Only 64-bit drivers are supported by Tableau Prep Builder.

Before you connect

To connect to your data using the Other Databases (ODBC) connector, you must install the database driver and set up and configure your DSN (data source name). To publish and run flows to Tableau Server, the server must also be configured with a matching DSN.

Important: Tableau Prep Builder only supports 64-bit drivers. If you have a 32-bit driver already set up and configured, you may need to uninstall it and then install the 64-bit version if the driver doesn't allow both versions to be installed at the same time.

1. Create a DSN using either the ODBC Data Source Administrator (64-bit) (Windows) or the using an ODBC Manager utility (MacOS).

   If you don't have the utility installed on your Mac, you can download one from (www.odbcmanager.net(Link opens in a new window) for example) or you can manually edit the odbc.ini file.

2. In the ODBC Data Source Administrator (64-bit) (Windows) or the ODBC Manager utility (MacOS), add a new data source then select the driver for the data source then click Finish.

   

3. In the ODBC Driver Setup dialog, enter the configuration information such as server name, port, user name and password. Click Test (if your dialog has that option) to verify that your connection is set up correctly, then save your configuration.

   Note: Tableau Prep Builder doesn't support prompting for connection attributes so you must set this information when configuring the DNS.

   This example shows the configuration dialog for a MySQL Connector.

   

Connect using Other Databases (ODBC)

1. Open Tableau Prep Builder and click the Add connection button.

2. From the list of connectors, select Other Databases (ODBC).

3. In the Other Databases (ODBC) dialog, select a DSN from the drop-down list and enter the user name and password. Then click Sign In.

   

4. From the Connections pane, select your database from the drop-down list.

   

Supported for direct Microsoft Excel connections only. Data Interpreter isn't currently available for Excel files stored in cloud drives.

When working with Microsoft Excel files, you can use Data Interpreter to detect sub-tables in your data as well as remove extraneous information to help prepare your data for analysis. When you turn on Data Interpreter, it detects these sub-tables and lists them as new tables in the Tables section of the Connections pane. You can then drag them into the Flow pane.

If you turn Data Interpreter off, these tables are removed from the Connectionspane. If these tables are already used in the flow, this will result in flow errors from the missing data.

Note: Currently, Data Interpreter only detects sub-tables in your Excel spreadsheets and doesn't support specifying the starting row for text files and spreadsheets. Also, tables that Data Interpreter detected are not included in the Wildcard Union search results.

The example below shows the results of using Data Interpreter on an Excel spreadsheet in the Connections pane. Data Interpreter detected two additional sub-tables.

Before Data Interpreter	After Data Interpreter

To use Data Interpreter, complete the following steps:

1. Select Connect to Data then select Microsoft Excel.

2. Select your file and click Open.

3. Tick the Use Data Interpreter box.

4. Drag the new table to the Flow pane to include it in your flow. To remove the old table, right-click on the Input step for the old table and select Remove.

You can connect to published data sources and more that are stored on Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud directly from the Connect pane. If you have the Data Management(Link opens in a new window) with Tableau Catalog enabled, you can also search for and connect to databases and tables and view or filter by meta data about the data sources, such as descriptions, data quality warnings and certifications.

For more information about Tableau Catalogue, see "About Tableau Catalog" in the Tableau Server(Link opens in a new window) or Tableau Cloud(Link opens in a new window) Help.

1. Open Tableau Prep Builder and click the Add connection button.

   In web authoring, from the Home page, click Create > Flow or from the Explore page, click New > Flow. Then click Connect to Data.

2. On the Connect pane, under Search for Data, select Tableau Server.

   

3. Sign in to connect to your server or site.

   In web authoring, the Search for data dialog opens for the sever you are signed into.

4. In the Search for Data dialog, search from a list of available published data sources. Use the filter option to filter by connection type and certified data sources.

5. Select the data source you want to use, then click Connect.

   If you don't have permission to connect to a data source, the row and the Connect button is greyed out.

   Note: The Content Type drop-down isn't shown if you don't have Data Management with Tableau Catalog enabled. Only published data sources are shown in the list.

   

6. The data source is added to the Flow pane. In the Connections pane, you can select additional data sources or use the search option to find your data source and drag it to the flow pane to build your flow. The Tableau Server tab in the Input pane shows details about the published data source.

   

7. (Optional) If you have Data Management with Tableau Catalog enabled, use the Content Type drop-down to search for databases and tables.

   

   You can use the filter option in the top right corner to filter your results by connection type, data quality warnings and certifications.

   

1. Open Tableau Prep Builder and click the Add connection button.

2. From the list of connectors, select Tableau Server.

   

3. Sign in to connect to your server or site.

4. Select your data source or use the search option to find your data source and drag it to the flow pane to start your flow. The Tableau Server tab in the Input pane shows details about the published data source.