Tableau Server on Windows Help

When you work in the virtual connection editor, your changes are automatically saved as a draft while you work. To share a new virtual connection with other users, you need to publish it.

Save a draft

You can manually save a draft of the connection by clicking the save icon in the toolbar or by selecting File > Save Draft from the menu.

When editing a published virtual connection, the connection stays available to users in its current published state. You can save your updates as a draft while you work on the connection in the editor. To share the updates to the virtual connection with other users, you need to publish it.

Draft in progress

If you close the editor while updating a published virtual connection, the next time you open the connection in the editor within seven days, you have the option of continuing to make edits to the existing draft, starting a new draft or opening the connection in its current published state by clicking Cancel.

To return to a draft version of an unpublished virtual connection, you need to manually save the URL of the draft before you close the editor. You can use the URL to open the draft in the editor the next time you want to work on the connection within seven days. For example:

https://yourserver.test.com/published-connection-editor/?draft=d1789edc-5d9f-40ae-988d-9fc879f37a98

Publish the connection

To publish a new connection:

1. Click the Publish button in the upper right corner of the editor or select File > Publish from the menu.
2. In the Publish dialog box:
   1. Type a name in the Name field.
   2. Select a project to save the connection to.
3. Click Publish.

To publish an updated connection, click the Publish button in the upper right corner of the editor or select File > Publish from the menu.

Set permissions on a virtual connection

After you publish a virtual connection, you need to set the permissions so that others can use it. By default, all users can View the connection – in other words, see it listed under Virtual Connections in Tableau – but unless you set the Connect capability to Allowed, only you and administrators can use the virtual connection. For more information on the Connect capability, see Permissions.

To set permissions:

1. Navigate to the virtual connection.
2. Open the Actions menu (...) and click Permissions.
3. Tick the box under the Connect icon so that connect is allowed for all users.

   

   Tip: You can add additional rules if you want to grant the permission only to certain users or groups.

4. Click Save.

For more information about permissions on Tableau content, see Permissions. For information on embedding passwords when you publish Tableau content such as a data source or workbook that uses a virtual connection, see Virtual connections(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server help.

Who can do this

To publish a virtual connection or set permissions, you must

• have credentials to the database that the virtual connection connects to, and
• be a server or site administrator, or a Creator.

Next step

After you publish a virtual connection and set its permissions, you can Use a Virtual Connection.