Publishing your workbook to Tableau Server makes it available for others to view and interact with. Whether you’re using Tableau Desktop or Web Authoring, follow the steps below to ensure your workbook is connected to published data sources and securely configured for access.
Step 1: Connect to Published Data Sources
We highly recommend publishing data sources separately before building reports. This promotes consistency, simplifies updates, and enables reuse across multiple workbooks. See How to Publish a Data Source for more details.
In Web Authoring
The Connect to Data window opens immediately when creating a new workbook on Tableau Server.
In this window, you can search for any published data source that you have permissions to connect to.
To connect to additional data sources, select New Data Source under the Data menu.
In Tableau Desktop
Select Tableau Server under Search for Data.
If you are not already signed into the server, enter https://tableau.gatech.edu in the connection window to sign in.
In the Search for Data window that opens, you can search for any published data sources that you have permissions to connect to.
To connect to additional data sources, select New Data Source under the Data menu.
Step 2: Publish Workbook with Embedded Credentials
In Web Authoring
Click Publish As… in the top right of the window.
- Choose the target project location (refer to Using Your Tenant Space).
- Fill in the workbook name.
- Review the data source connection to ensure credentials are embedded before publishing.
If credentials are not embedded, viewers will receive an error when opening the workbook.
In Tableau Desktop
Click Publish Workbook… under the Server menu.
- Choose the target project location (refer to Using Your Tenant Space).
- Fill in the workbook name.
- Review the data source connection to ensure credentials are embedded before publishing.
If credentials are not embedded, viewers will receive an error when opening the workbook.
Step 3: Share Links to Views
Once your workbook is published, you can share specific views or dashboards with others by sending them direct links.
Make sure the recipient has Viewer access to the project where the workbook is published. See Using Your Tenant Space for more details.
Optional: Link to a Filtered View
If you apply filters while viewing a dashboard before clicking the Share button, Tableau will include those filter settings in the URL. This is useful for sharing personalized or pre-filtered views.
