Tableau Server on Windows Help

Core-based licenses of Tableau Server include a Guest user option, which you can use to let people access Tableau views without an account on the server.

Guest user access is enabled by default when Tableau Server is installed with a core-based license. It is not available with user-based licensing. If you do not intend to use Guest user access, you should disable it.

Guest access allows users only to see and interact with Tableau views. The Guest user cannot browse the Tableau Server interface or see server interface elements in the view, such as user name, account settings, comments, and so on. For more information about licenses, see Manage Licenses.

Tip: To share views with Guest users, either provide URL links or embed views into web pages. For more information, see Tableau User Help(Link opens in a new window).

Guest user permissions

A Guest user can have the following maximum capabilities:

• Workbooks and views: View, Export Image, Summary Data, View Comments, Filter, Full Data, Web Edit, Download (to save a local copy)
• Data sources: View and Download

If you add the Guest user to a group that has a higher level of access to a content resource, the Guest user’s access does not exceed the capabilities listed above. However, the Guest user account will comply with more restrictive permissions settings.

The Guest user can only access data with embedded credentials or where credentials are not required. A data source that prompts the user for credentials cannot be accessed by the Guest user. See Data access for published Tableau data sources.

Enable or disable Guest access

You must be a server administrator to change Guest account settings at either the server or the site level.

Note: Enabling the Guest user for a site can increase the number of potential simultaneous viewers beyond the user list you might be expecting. The administrative view Status > Traffic to Views can help you gauge the activity.

1. In the site menu, click Manage All Sites and then click Settings > General.
2. For Guest Access, select or clear Enable guest access.
3. Click Save.

This enables the Guest user on all sites. You can then go to the same setting for a specific site. To disallow Guest access for a site:

1. In the site menu, select a site.
2. Click Settings, and on the General tab, clear the Enable guest access for this site check box.

If the Guest account is enabled on some or all sites, and you turn off Guest access at the server level, it is turned off for all sites as well.

Note: You can turn off Guest user access at the server or site level; however, you aren’t able to remove the user. So, although no one can access data or views without signing in to the server, the Guest user still appears in the Site Users list and group lists for groups you’ve added the Guest user to.

Additional Guest account characteristics

The Guest user is unique in the following additional ways:

• As a single user account, it represents all unauthenticated users accessing Tableau views.
• When enabled, it is a member of the All Users group.
• You can add it as a member of other groups on a site.
• You cannot edit it or select it as the owner of a content resource.
• The account is not allowed to save custom views.
• Guest cannot be used in a user filter.
• You cannot delete the account; however, you can turn off access to it by clearing the check box described in the steps above.