In our world of fast paced incoming data, refreshing data sources is paramount to ensure our visualizations reflect accurate information, enabling real-time decision-making. This blog will guide you through the process of achieving this using Tableau.
Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud
Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud (Creator and Explorer) offer a powerful feature - scheduled updates for your data sources. This ensures that your data visualizations are always up-to-date without manual intervention.
To schedule updates with Tableau Server/Cloud, publish your Tableau workbook and data source to Tableau Server from Tableau Desktop. Access the workbook on Tableau Server, click on the ellipsis next to the workbook's name, and select "Schedule Refresh" from the dropdown menu. Choose the desired data refresh frequency, such as hourly, daily, weekly, or specific intervals.
Tableau Public
On the other hand, Tableau Public does not support scheduled updates unless your data source is connected to Google Sheets. In such cases, Tableau Public automatically refreshes Google Sheets data sources every 24 hours. Any changes made in the connected Google Sheet will be reflected in the data source of your Tableau Public workbook, ensuring your dashboards always display the latest information.
Workaround for Non-Google Sheets Data Sources on Tableau Public:
If you want to publish data to Tableau Public that updates regularly and your dataset isn't initially in Google Sheets, there is a workaround. You can create a scheduled data preparation workflow using Tableau Prep Builder. This workflow can take data from various sources, such as web scraping or other input methods, and output it to Google Sheets. The data extract from Google Sheets can then serve as your data source for your Tableau Public workflow and refresh daily, ensuring your visualizations stay current.