Tableau Tools

[#1]

Tableau Help Page

Use the Tableau tools to read data from HYPER data sources, create a HYPER data source, and save it to Tableau Server or locally.

Current version

Tableau Tools v1.3.1 (July 19, 2023)

• Compatible with Alteryx Designer and Server 2021.4.2 Patch 6, 2022.1 Patch 4 and later.

• Requires AMP engine.

• Alteryx Server requires stored credentials in DCM to run workflows.

• Fixed issue where Tableau Output wrote Null values as “nan” for float data types. (TPM-2210)

Known Issues

• The tool becomes unstable when uploading dataset larger than 3GB. (TPM-2121)

• The refresh button isn’t working for either the Tableau Output or Tableau Input tool. (TFLN-1436)

Previous versions

Tableau Tools v1.3.0 (June 30, 2023)

• Compatible with Alteryx Designer and Server 2021.4.2 Patch 6, 2022.1 Patch 4 and later.

• Added new Tableau Input tool to read data from HYPER data sources.

  • Live data sources aren’t supported.

  • Only data sources created with the Tableau Output tool are supported for reading.

• Requires AMP engine.

• Alteryx Server requires stored credentials in DCM to run workflows.

• Fixed issue where NULL numeric values were converted to 0. (TPM-1546)

  • Tableau shows NULL numeric values as 0 by default on dashboards.

• Fixed issue where NULL string values were converted to empty string. (TPM-1528)

• Fixed issue where DATE was converted into STRING. (TPM-2138)

• Fixed issue where Designer ran indefinitely or crashed when DCM was used. (TPM-1986)

• Fixed issue with error “The system could not find the path specified” when multiple Tableau Output tools were used on canvas. (TPM-1915)

Known Issues

• Tool becomes unstable when uploading dataset larger than 3GB. (TPM-2121)

• Refresh button is not working for either the Tableau Output or Tableau Input tool. (TFLN-1436)

Tableau Output v1.2.1 (March 31, 2023)

• Compatible with Alteryx Designer and Server 2021.4.2 Patch 6, 2022.1 Patch 4 and later.

• Requires AMP engine.

• Fixed issue where dates were converted 70 years in the future (TPM-1896)

• Fixed issue where Site couldn't be left blank while authenticating via DCM (TFLN-1170)

• Data Source and Project lists are now sorted alphabetically.

• Minor UI updates.

Known Limitations

• Alteryx Server requires the AllowAll value of the SDK Access Mode settings.

• NULL values are converted to 0.

Tableau Output v1.2.0 (December 13, 2022)

• Compatible with Alteryx Designer and Server 2021.4.2 Patch 4, 2022.1 Patch 2 and later.

• Requires AMP engine.

• Added support for DCM.

  • DCM is required for running this connector in Alteryx Server.

• Added support for SpatialObj.

• SSL/TLS validation is now performed against Windows Certificate Store.

• FIPS capable.

Known Limitations

• Alteryx Server requires the AllowAll value of the SDK Access Mode settings.

• NULL values are converted to 0.

Tableau Output v1.1.1 (December 23, 2021)

• Fixed issue with conversion of boolean and datetime fields.

Tableau Output v1.1.0 (November 03, 2021)

• Added support for Tableau Server On-Premise (Tableau Server 2019.2 or later required).

Tableau Output v1.0.1 (September 02, 2021)

• Compatible with Alteryx Designer version 2021.3 and later.

• Initial release.

• Username and Password and Personal Access Token are supported authentication methods.

• Create, Overwrite, Append, Update or Upsert multiple tables in a dataset.

• Post SQL support.

• Proxy support.

• Conversion from WKT to Spatial object support.

Known Limitations:

• v1.0.1 does not support Tableau Server On-Premise.

• When working with multiple tables, a .tds file has to be provided (can be obtained from Tableau Desktop).

This tool uses a .yxi file format. A .yxi file is a package that includes an Alteryx Tool and all of its dependencies zipped into a single file. When this file is imported into Alteryx, the tool is added to the tool palette in the category specified by the tool.

When sharing a workflow that uses a .yxi tool, the tool is not included and must be installed by the recipient.

[JesusER]

Having the same issue as @Emil_Martensson (null numeric values automatically converted to 0's instead of keeping them as null). Has there been any updates on this? Thanks!

[dbmurray]

@JesusER @Emil_Martensson I think that error might be to do with the rules of the Tableau Hyper API - I don't think it allows you to store a value as 'null' if its numeric/bool. You'll have to use string unforunately and deal with it in Tableau. 

[elsastark]

Is there a way for this tool to recognize who on Alteryx Gallery is running the workflow and use their credentials to authenticate and publish to Tableau Server? Just because the Alteryx developer had access to publish to Tableau doesn't mean the person who shared the Alteryx workflow would have the same access. 

[barcris]

You can test the 1.2.0 Beta version.

[dbmurray]

@elsastark I have this EXACT problem as well. Tool works fine locally, won't work on gallery. 

@barcris Where is this 1.2.0 beta version?!

[barcris]

@dbmurray

You can download from the following link, but you must log in with the alteryx user account, or if you wish I can send you a message, as it does not allow me to attach.

https://pilotprogram.alteryx.com/project/version/item.html?cap=d1c54af34d834ba684cd6c18eb2dc80b&arti...

[kgmeagher]

Regarding this Tableau Output tool, I've tried the link above to the Tableau Help page, and it says Access Denied. Anyone else getting this? I'd like to understand some of the configuration options, for example, the Data Source Metainfo TDS file - what are some use cases of why this option would be used and how you use it. Thank you.

[eccl318]

@elsastark 

We created a "universal" credential set and publish most workflows using those (rather than individual user credentials).  At the time of publication, you have to select that set of credentials rather than what you might be using in the local workflow.  This allows analytical apps to run regardless of who signs in and also keeps scheduled workflows from breaking as individuals come and go.  We did the same with the Tableau tokens.

[lheckman]

Having an issue with v1.2. The output tool creates a temp folder, but looks like it tries to make the same folder twice, resulting in a "FileExistsError" which stops the flow.

[dbmurray]

I'm having an issue with this tool where persistent crashing occurs if I try use it inside a tool container. Enabling the container after it being disable will hang alteryx. Trying to move it out of the container will cause the same thing. 

This tool is very handy, I just wish it wasn't so error prone. 

[alytac21]

We are trying to use this new supported tool instead of the old version; however, we are having numerous issues.
- The Tableau Hyper data sources posted on the server are only of type String.

- Pulling dates from a SharePoint list and posting them to the Tableau server convert the type to string and add 70 years.

Is anyone else seeing these issues?

[pitmansm]

Anyone else getting NaN when trying to upload Null (Doubles) to tableau?

[wilsonchen0821]

I am having an issue when connecting to the tableau outout 1.2v. it says Error: Tableau Output (680): All incoming anchors closed, but plugin has errors.

[pitmansm]

this tool has a hive mind. if there more than one it will give amibguous plugin has errors thing when another tool has errors. Also it changes dates to the future. It wont accept INT of any kind has to be fixed decimal if there are nulls in the columns. and wont accept datetime and only accepts date. I tried both 1.2.0 and 1.3.0 im on Version: 2022.1.1.42604. 

[wilsonchen0821]

and the upsert and update function doesn't really work , if anyone know how to make it work?

[mkosmicki1]

I am receiving an error when trying to publish to Tabelau Server...and like many Alteryx errors....I have no idea what it means or what to fix.

Error:  "Got an invalid value nan for column "Contact", it must be an int instance"

In addition.....I closed workflow and Alteryx....and now I can't open the workflow without crashing Alteryx. 

I'll put in a ticket with support. 

UPDATE (03.30.2023) I upgraded to the new version of Alteryx (2022.3.1.450) and was able to get the tool to work. HOWEVER....I cannot connect to Alteryx Server or Gallery with the update. Alteryx is aware of this issue and yet the bug persists. So I'm left with the option of having the upgrade to run the workflows with the new PAT tool and then trying to schedule/monitor my workflows directly on server by logging directly into the server. I haven't even tested to see if the workflow will work on server....because I've been too busy installing and uninstalling Alteryx Designer to figure out how to get this thing to work. Alteryx is supposed to make data easier by not needing coding skills. However, I apparently need to be a PhD level IT/IS person to get the program to work properly and figure out what the errors mean.

[Hunter12]

Has anyone experienced this error where it won't create or update the extracts because it already exists? - I checked the folder and there's nothing in there. When I delete the temp folder in the error message it creates another temp folder and repeats the error.
My DCM settings are set to allow all like other users have mentioned which has allowed me to connect. I can see the projects and the existing data sources within those projects but can't make any changes or add to the projects.

My Error Message: Error: Tableau Output (2): <class 'FileExistsError'>: [WinError 183] Cannot create a file when that file already exists: 'C:\\Users\\XXXXX~1.DEA\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\tmps_04m_xt\\'

[mkosmicki1]

Has anyone discovered what the size limit is with the new tool? I've had as large as 4 million records and as small as 11,000 records fail when writing to Tableau Cloud. I saw another post that said the file size couldn't be more than 500MB?

500MB Limit 

I'm trying to figure out how much I need to aggregate my data vs. dashboard functionality in Tableau. My clients are going to be so very happy that I can't automate daily data updates any longer. 😢

[joelsturgill]

I'm trying to change the target project name via a control command in a macro. In the initial setup of the Tableau Output tool I select the "Default" project. Then try and change that with the value from the Control Command. The updated value isn't applying. Has anyone tried this before and gotten it to work?

[pitmansm]

any update on the Null turning in to 0's? that is an a unacceptable bug.

[AdeHowe]

@wilsonchen0821 

Did you find a resolution to the error "All incoming anchors closed, but plugin has errors." ? I'm getting this error quite frequently on various flows i run! 

[AdeHowe]

@Hunter12 

Did you get any resolution to your error above re: local hyper files?  We are experiencing some errors in our flows that have a very similar error to you.  The error for us is:

[WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified (then a file path to a local hyper file)

It is accompanied by an "All incoming anchors closed, but plugin has errors" error also.

[Hunter12]

@AdeHowe we did not resolve the tool. We instead used the runcommand tool and use tabcmd to publish straight to Tableau Cloud.

[mkosmicki1]

@Hunter12 .... we found that you need a data cleaning tool right before you write the file out to ensure that there are no null values in numeric fields. This will mean that you will need to do an extra calculation in Tableau if you do not want zeroes instead of NULL in the numeric columns. 

Also, setting up the data source in the DCM and linking the credentials also seems to help performance.

And don't forget that dates must be converted to string before writing the file to Tableau Server....and then you get to have an extra step in Tableau converting them back to date/datetime.

Hope this helps!

[MikeMarandola]

I am getting an error on all of my tableau output tools now. 

Here is the data on the 'Processed' column. I have tried using int16, 32 and 64.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

[mkosmicki1]

Still having issues with these workflows running on server and updating data sources that are published on Tableau Server. Sometimes the overwrite works and other times it does not. However, I am seeing results that indicate that the workflow ran successfully on server.

I have numerous workflows that run early in the AM and update daily reporting for my clients. If the data is not updated because the Tableau Output tool isn't doing it's job, the client will lose confidence in what we are doing for them.

PLEASE FIX THIS ISSUE.

[mkosmicki1]

@MikeMarandola I'm seeing that you have NULL values in that column. Unfortunately, you'll need to change those to 0 using the data clean tool...and then change them back somehow in Tableau.

Or maybe make it a string field with, 1, 0 and "NULL". Then create a calculated field that can be a number field with 1, 0, and (null).

It is not ideal that we can't keep our nulls and empties as null and empty with this tool.

[kconner]

Having an issue with v 1.1.1 trying to load up about 8 GB to Tableau. Just runs forever without never really starting the Tableau Output tool (at least per the log).

Not sure how I load this to the server anymore, any ideas? or am I cursed to change everything I have to an extract model on Tableau.

[Angelica_Obi]

Please help!

I'm trying to use the Tableau Input Tool. I've been able to connect and can see the data source. But every time I put in a table name and run I get this error:

I've put in every possible thing I can think of that would be the table name. There's only one table in the datasource so I've tried the table1 that was recommended by the help page.

I'm not sure what else to do. Has anyone else had this problem?

[mkosmicki1]

I've received a new error message from the Tableau output tool: 

An incoming anchors closed, but plugin has errors.

I searched for the error and found it associated with Python SDK tools. I believe the Tableau Output tool is using Python to run the TabCmd API in the background. But I'm not entirely sure if that is the issue here. 

UPDATE: Apparently I have a missing field. As Taylor Swift would say, "It's me. I. I'm the problem. It's me."😁

[shawnmacnova21]

Hello! 

We are trying to use v1.1.1 on the server as we are not up to speed on DCM.

After some Failed to sign into Tableau errors I am using a Personal Access Token.

Which works on my PC's Designer, but not on the server. 

Logging into the Worker with my Admin account, I tried to run on Designer there, but access was denied (different user? but token saved?)

Now I setup the workflow to use my credentials and I get a whole new error: AlteryxService_RetrieveSecureData failed 

Any help would be appreciated

[Karthik_Kasu]

This tool defaults all null numeric values to NaN which is not needed. We need NULL numeric values as NULL. not NaN. All of our dashboards broke down because of this. Do you have any solution to tackle this?

[Matt19]

Has anyone been able to pair the Tableau Output with the DCM Connection Interface tool on the Gallery? We have a workflow that a few different folks will run, but it only works with the person who published it. Anyone else who tries to run it gets the error message "Failed to signin to Tableau."

Tried with Ver. 1.2 and 1.3 of the Tableau Tools 

SDK Access Mode is set to AllowAll on the desktops and gallery

Confirmed that the other users have all set up their Tableau DCM connections correctly. 

Confirmed that the other users have the same Tableau Server permissions as the publisher. 

If the users all "hard code" their own DCM creds in a separate workflow they all work, so this leads me to believe that the Action tool shown below is either not actually updating the Connection ID or there is something else that also needs to be replaced for each individual user. 

 

[steven-barsalou-nninc]

When using Tableau Output v1.3.1 and attempting to use a credential from DCM using the "Setup Connection" button, I get the error "This Credential was created using a schema that's not currently present on your system" error.  I have tried creating the credential on Alteryx Gallery and in Alteryx Designer then syncing.  Both methods throw an error.

Has anybody else had this error?  Most important, how do you fix this?

Tableau Output v1.3.1

Alteryx Designer v2022.3.508

Alteryx Server v2022.3.508

Step 1 - Create credential in Alteryx Designer

Step 2 - Sync credential with Alteryx Server/Gallery DCM

Step 3 - Select synced credential in Tableau Output v1.3.1 to "Setup Connection"

Step 4 - Get error which flashes so quickly, that I had to take a video of it and go frame by frame to see the error (and grab this screenshot).

Step 5 - After the error flashes, the credential information is displayed, but no connection made

[JeffJeffrey12]

Hey everyone, @AlteryxProducts 

I just updated from 2022.1 to 2023.1.1.200 to be precise and can't connect the Tableau Output Tool to my credentials anymore using the DCM.

When I try to it just goes blank in the configuration windows and shows this error:

Any ideas whats going on?

Was working (mostly) on older version but since we updated internally the Alteryx Server I also had to update Desktop Designer version.

(Obviously there is still another issue with the Tool where if fails to append data properly when releasing on the Tableau Server, but that issue now is totally new and makes it impossible to use at all.)

[DColeman]

Having issues with numerical fields

Double, fixed decimal and int are all resulting in the tool failing to append (set to overwrite).

Float sometimes works, but that results in records entering 'nan' rather than nulls, where a null entry is important info.

I have some workflows where they never fail to append with similar records using fixed decimal, does anyone know why it rejects fixed decimal? Is there something I should be doing to the records to ensure they upload properly?

[cmlinvil]

I'm trying to connect to an already published data source and it says the table name doesn't exist. I'm using the table name that is in Tableau. The tool can tell me that the table doesn't exist when I enter the name but give me no choice of options. How am I suppose to specify the table name?

[JonathanAllenby]

Is anyone else experiencing a bunch of issues using DCM with the Tableau Output tool?

Got one user who authenticates to the tool, enters in their DCM credentials, and then the configuration pane briefly shows the tool settings before just blanking out.

Got another user who goes to set up the DCM connection but the 'Select Technology' drop down doesn't populate with 'Tableau Output' so they can't move on.

[JonathanAllenby]

@JeffJeffrey12 are you still experiencing this issue? I'm seeing the exact same thing.

[Matt_S]

I'm trying the Tableau Input tool and getting the error "Specified table does not exist". I tend to think of the data source as the table. Is there a default table name or some way to identify what the table is called?

[JeffJeffrey12]

@JonathanAllenby There was some issue with the Access Tokens losing their names when updating to new version and syncing.

I had to fix all Access Tokens again for it to work.

[JonathanAllenby]

Potential bug with Alteryx Designer 2022.1 and Tableau Output v1.3.1 (and possibly earlier versions):

• Tableau Output tool does not support spatial data.
  • "We are not supporting spatial data at this time. All incoming anchors closed, but plugin has errors".
• We've confirmed that this issue occurs on even the latest patch of 2022.1: 2022.1.1.42673
• We've confirmed that this issue does not occur on 2022.3 or 2023.1