By design, the GT Enterprise Tableau Server cannot refresh data sources that reference files stored on your personal machine, OneDrive, or other local/network paths. To enable automatic refreshes, data sources must reference files located in your Tenant’s Tableau File Repository which has been specifically configured to allow access from our Tableau Server.
Publishing a data source requires a Tableau Creator license. Setting a refresh schedule requires publishing from a Windows PC. It is not possible to refresh an Extract of a file that is published from a Mac.
Accessing to your Tableau File Repository
Step 1: Connect to the VPN.
On your Windows PC that has Tableau Desktop installed and activated, connect to vpn.gatech.edu.
Step 2: Add your Tableau File Repository as a network location on your PC.
Right-click on This PC in the Windows Explorer and select Add a network location.
Warning: Do not use Map network drive as that will change the UNC path and cause extract refresh failure.
Follow the prompts to choose a custom network location and enter the path to your department’s Tableau File Repository. The path is \\tableau-repo.edm.gatech.edu\DEPT where DEPT is the name of your Tenant space’s top-level project.
Step 3: Open your Tableau File Repository
Once you’ve followed the steps above, you can navigate to your Tableau File Repository by clicking This PC and selecting your share under Network locations.
Reminder: You must be connected to the VPN to open your Tableau File Repository.
Publishing from your Tableau File Repository
We recommend creating two folders in your Tableau File Repository. One Data Sources folder to hold your files (excel, text, JSON, etc.) and a separate Extracts folder where you can save extracts generated from Tableau Desktop prior to publishing.
After placing a file into your Data Sources folder in the Tableau File Repository, simply open Tableau Desktop, select the appropriate file format under the connect menu, and navigate to the data source.
Once you’re connected to a file stored in your Tableau File Repository, follow the standard How to Publish a Data Source process. The key difference: you can now set a Refresh Schedule, so updates to the file will automatically flow into your published data source.