How to share a Tableau dashboard

Learn how to use and navigate Tableau’s interface now.

The number of business organizations leveraging interactive data visualization to gain insight into a large number of data has continued to increase. One of the data visualization software tools popular among businesses is Tableau.

With Tableau, businesses with a high volume of data to sort are finding it easier to make sense of their data, recognize new patterns and make good business decisions based on the indicators provided by the software. However, there is a growing concern over the best ways to share the Tableau dashboard.

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We will highlight the different ways you can share your Tableau dashboard and the pros and cons of each method so you can choose the best method that is suitable for your organization.

Understanding Tableau dashboards

Tableau dashboards are the main interface where all your active analysis and data templates are displayed. The Tableau dashboard organizes and represents different data from many worksheets in a single space. The dashboard gives you options to filter and data comparisons and visualizations from a large amount of data.

One of the most important features of the Tableau dashboard is that it displays data in a responsive way and can easily be shared with other users in various formats.

Key features of Tableau

Below are some of the important features of Tableau you should know.

Advanced dashboard

Tableau Dashboards use sophisticated visualization techniques to give a detailed data perspective. Because they allow for the integration of numerous views and objects, dashboards are regarded as being particularly informative. By offering users a selection of layouts and formats to pick from, it also enables data visualization in a form that can be easily interpreted.

In-memory and live data sources

Tableau offers seamless integration with data retrieved from outside data sources, whether it be in the form of live data sources or in-memory data. Users now have unrestricted access to analyze data from multiple data sources.

Attractive visualizations

Tableau users can produce several kinds of data visualizations. Users can easily develop the most basic visualizations, such as a pie chart or bar chart, as well as some of the most complicated ones, like a bullet chart, a Gantt chart or a boxplot. In order to create visualizations using useful maps, Tableau also contains information on geographic data, such as countries, cities and postal codes.

Robust security

To protect users and data security, Tableau has extra security measures in place. For user access and data connections, it contains a security system based on authorization and authentication techniques.

Predictive analytics

Tableau features many data modeling options, including forecasting and trending.

For every chart, users can quickly add a trend line or predict data and examine information defining the model.

Sharing Tableau dashboards

There are several ways you can share Tableau dashboards with other users. Below are the main ways you can do this in different formats.

• Sharing via Tableau Server/Public
• Sharing as a Dashboard Link
• Sharing as a PDF
• Sharing as a PPT
• Sharing as a Crosstab (Excel or CSV Files)

Sharing via Tableau server/public

The best way to make your Tableau dashboard easily accessible to the public is through the Tableau server/public. See the steps on how you can do this below:

1. Start the Tableau Desktop, and click on the Server button.
2. On the next page, click on Tableau Public and choose the Save to Tableau Public option.
3. A dialog box will pop up asking for your credentials for Tableau Public. Enter your credentials or create one if you don’t have one already.
4. Once you enter the credentials, a new dialog box will open. From the new dialogue box, click on the Create Data Extract option and click on Extract.
5. Once this is done, select the Tableau Public to view the final embedded Tableau Dashboard on the browser.
6. Click on the Edit option if you want to add a title or edit any description and save.
7. To share with another user, click on Share at the bottom of the screen.

Sharing as a dashboard link

You can also share your Tableau dashboard as a link if you find other sharing options challenging. On your dashboard, all you have to do is click the Share icon in the toolbar. A dialog box with the embedded code and the link displays at the bottom. Use Ctrl+C to copy the link to share it by email or another method.

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Sharing as a PDF

Tableau Dashboards are also easily readable in PDF format. On a live dashboard, this is possible. Go to the Export option in the File menu and choose the Export as PDF option after. When your workbook is prepared, click on it to save the document in PDF format so you can share it whenever necessary.

Sharing as a PPT

Tableau Dashboards are also available in PowerPoint (PPT) format. To save and share your Tableau dashboard as a PPT file, go to the File menu, select Export and choose the Export as PPT option.

Sharing as a Crosstab (Excel or CSV Files)

To share your dashboard as excel or CSV file, repeat the steps on the previous export options and select Export as Crosstab to Excel. The file will then be exported in Excel or CSV format.

Conclusion

Part of what makes every data visualization or analytical tool powerful is the capacity to collaborate with others when dissecting and interpreting results.

With business organizations having to deal with a large amount of data more often, understanding the different ways to share your Tableau dashboard is a must-have skill for every Tableau user. The Tableau dashboard sharing options discussed above will help you choose the most suitable option for your organization.