Configure Client-Side Rendering
When you navigate to a view in Tableau Server, the processing required to display the view, called rendering, can be performed by either your client device or Tableau Server. The choice depends on the complexity of the view, which is determined by the number of marks, rows, columns, and more. If a view is less complex, it's faster for a client device to render the view. If a view is more complex, it's faster to send a request to Tableau Server and take advantage of the server's greater computing power.
Note: If a view uses the polygon mark type or the page history feature, server-side rendering is always performed, even if client-side rendering is enabled.
Supported browsers
Client-side rendering is supported in Internet Explorer version 9.0 or higher, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. All of these web browsers include the HTML 5 <canvas> element, which client-side rendering requires.
Client-side rendering is also supported by the Tableau Mobile app.
Configure the complexity threshold for computers and mobile devices
Because computers have more processing power than mobile devices, Tableau Server performs more client-side rendering on computers than on mobile devices.
As a server administrator, you can configure when client-side rendering happens on computers and mobile devices by adjusting the complexity threshold for each. For example, you might lower the threshold for mobile devices if you notice that views display slowly on them. Or, you might increase the threshold to reduce the number of requests to Tableau Server.
By default, the complexity threshold for computer web browsers is 100. To adjust the complexity threshold for computers, use the following command:
tsm configuration set -k vizqlserver.browser.render_threshold -v [new value]
By default, the complexity threshold for mobile devices is 60. To adjust the complexity threshold for mobile devices, use the following command:
tsm configuration set -k vizqlserver.browser.render_threshold_mobile -v [new value]
For example, to change the mobile threshold to 40, you might enter the following command:
tsm configuration set -k vizqlserver.browser.render_threshold_mobile -v 40
For more information on how to use tsm option set, see tsm configuration set Options.
Disable client-side rendering
Client-side rendering is enabled by default and is recommended to improve the performance of views. However, you might want to disable client-side rendering temporarily for testing or if your server is being accessed primarily by computers or mobile devices with very little processing power.
Use the following command to disable client-side rendering:
tsm configuration set -k vizqlserver.browser.render -v false
For more information on how to use tsm option set, see tsm configuration set Options.
Testing with the URL Parameter
To test server-side rendering on a session basis, type ?:render=false at the end of the view's URL. For example:
http://localhost/views/Supplies/MyView?:render=false
If client-side rendering is disabled on Tableau Server, enter ?:render=true to enable it for the session:
http://localhost/views/Supplies/MyView?:render=true
You can also test particular complexity thresholds on individual views to see if it’s appropriate to adjust the server-wide threshold for your server and network conditions. For example, you may find that lower complexity (such as 80) or higher complexity (such as 120) tipping points result in more responsiveness to user interactions. To test a threshold, you can keep the server’s default configuration (client-side-rendering enabled) and enter the test threshold number at the end of the view's URL. For example:
http://localhost/views/Supplies/MyView?:render=80