Skip to main content

Troubleshooting Tableau connectivity

What are known limitations of Tableau connector?​

Atlan currently doesn't support the following:

Why does Atlan require Site Administrator Explorer role in Tableau?​

Atlan requires the Site Administrator Explorer role in Tableau to extract data source fields and calculated fields. It isn't possible to fetch data source fields and calculated fields with the Viewer role in the current version of the Tableau Metadata API. Atlan uses this data to generate granular column-level lineage across data sources and SQL assets. To extract lineage for assets in Tableau, the user must have the Site Administrator Explorer role.

Is lineage available for Tableau custom SQL data sources?​

Yes, Atlan can parse custom SQL queries in Tableau to generate lineage between the data source and tables. Lineage is available for tables from all SQL sources. However, column-level lineage is currently not supported.

Why is upstream lineage missing for Tableau data sources?​

If your Tableau data source is in paused state, the Tableau Metadata API may fail to provide the requisite metadata on source databases and tables for Atlan to generate upstream lineage. Restart your Tableau data source and verify that it remains active while crawling Tableau. This permits Atlan to fetch the requisite metadata to generate upstream lineage for data sources.

Why is there discrepancy in asset count between Tableau and Atlan?​

  • Dashboards - the Tableau UI doesn't display a unique count of dashboards. Dashboards in Tableau are represented in collections of one or more views. These may have same names as the views but are independent objects. Hence, the total count of these views in Tableau doesn't match the dashboard count in Atlan. Atlan sources the dashboard count from the Tableau API, which is the only reliable way to fetch the dashboard count.
  • Data sources - embedded data sources aren't reported on the Tableau UI. However, in Atlan, data sources can be filtered to show only published data sources, which matches the count of data sources on the Tableau UI.

Can users who don't have access to dashboards still see preview?​

Users can only see asset previews if the following conditions are met:

  • They have the necessary permissions in both Tableau and Atlan.
  • They're logged into Atlan and Tableau on the same browser.

Therefore, if a user lacks the permission to view a dashboard in Tableau, they won't be able to view the dashboard preview in Atlan. Even if they do have the necessary permissions, they need to be logged into Tableau on the same browser as their Atlan instance for asset previews to work.

Why can I not see previews for my Tableau assets?​

  • Your Tableau assets are updated with previews during the next run of your Tableau workflow. If you have run the workflow and still don't see the previews, try rerunning the workflow. Once you've rerun the workflow, the previews become visible to all eligible users.
  • If you're using Tableau Server with clickjack protection enabled and your Tableau instance URL is of a different origin than the Atlan instance URL, the asset previews won't load due to a same-origin error from the browser. You need to disable clickjack protection to permit the Tableau asset previews to load.

Is certified status in Tableau mapped to certificates field in Atlan?​

Yes, the isCertified status for published data sources in Tableau is mapped to the certificates field in Atlan.

Is owner field in Tableau mapped to owners field in Atlan?​

No, the asset owner in Tableau is displayed as the source owner in the Overview section of the asset sidebar in Atlan. This is also only available for Tableau projects, flows, workbooks, and published data sources.

Tableau has retired metrics methods in API 3.22, hence source owner attribute for metrics isn't supported in Atlan.

Why are popularity metrics not showing for my Tableau assets?​

If Tableau popularity metrics are missing for some or all of your Tableau assets, check the following:

  • Source must be Tableau Cloud. Tableau Server doesn't expose the Content Exploration API used to fetch view counts, so popularity is only available for Tableau Cloud sites.
  • Authentication method must be PAT or Basic. JWT bearer authentication can't call Tableau's usage statistics endpoints. Tableau Cloud documents the access scope for these endpoints as Not available, and per the Connected Apps scopes documentation, methods without a listed scope can't be called by a Connected App JWT. Switch to personal access token or basic authentication to enable popularity.
  • User must have the Site Administrator Explorer role. Tableau filters usage statistics results by what the authenticated user can see. A non-admin user receives data only for content they own or have Read permission on, so popularity appears partial or empty.
  • Tableau REST API version must be 3.17 or higher. Earlier versions don't include the Content Exploration API. Verify the version using the Server Info endpoint.
  • Asset must be published data source, workbook, dashboard, worksheet, or flow. Embedded data sources, projects, calculated fields, and data source fields don't have independent view counts in Tableau.
  • Asset must have at least one view recorded. Newly published assets that no one has viewed don't have popularity metrics.

If all of these conditions are met and popularity is still missing, rerun the Tableau workflow.

Why am I getting "still creating the Metadata API store" error?​

Error message: Still creating the Metadata API Store. Results from the query might be incomplete at this time. BACKFILL-RUNNING

The Tableau workflow fails because the Tableau Metadata API is being re-indexed after a quarterly release. The re-indexing of the Metadata API after quarterly releases can take up to a week, depending on the size of your instance.

Since Atlan uses the Tableau Metadata API to fetch metadata, your Tableau workflows in Atlan may fail if the re-indexing hasn't been completed. You can check the backfill status of the Tableau Metadata API Store following this guide.

Learn more about common errors in your Metadata API query.

How to debug test authentication and preflight check errors?​

Incorrect hostname

Unable to connect to the specified host. Please verify that the host details are correct and retry.

  • Verify that you have entered the hostname for your Tableau Online or Tableau Server instance correctly.
  • If you're using a domain name, verify that the DNS name correctly resolves to the corresponding IP address.

Connection timed out

Unable to connect to Tableau instance. Please verify server port or check if your server is up and running.

  • Verify that you're using the correct port number, especially if using a custom port for Tableau Server.
  • Verify network connectivity and DNS resolution - you can also test from a different network or device.

SSL error

Unable to connect. Please check your SSL setting.

  • Verify that the server URL uses https if SSL is enabled. If the connection doesn't require an SSL, use http instead.

The ssl details provided are incorrect. Please provide correct ssl certs.

Incorrect port number

Unable to connect to Tableau instance. Please verify server port and retry.

  • Verify that you're using the correct port number, especially if using a custom port for Tableau Server.

Invalid personal access token

The personal access token you provided is invalid. Please check your PAT name and token value.

  • Verify that you have entered the token name correctly and it matches the token generated in Tableau:
    • Token name is case-sensitive.
    • Verify that there are no extra spaces or characters.
  • If the token you provided is invalid, you can create a new token.

Incorrect site details

The site details provided are incorrect. Please provide correct site details.

  • Confirm that the site name in the URL matches the exact case and spelling of the site you are trying to access. Site names in Tableau are case-sensitive.

Incorrect username

Provided username is incorrect. Please check.

Incorrect client ID

The client id provided is incorrect or site is empty or connected app in tableau is deleted. Please check and try again.

  • Verify that you have specified the site name if using JWT bearer authentication.
  • Verify that the connected app is present in Tableau and verify the client ID.

Incorrect secret ID or value

The secret id provided is incorrect or the secret value is deleted. Please check and try again. or The secret value provided is incorrect. Please check your secret value and try again.