Tableau

Connect Tableau Cloud to Formula Bot so users can chat with governed Tableau dashboards, views, and datasources. Tableau stays a data connector: users attach a synced Tableau collection to chat, and Formula Bot fetches internal CSV outputs through DataFetcher when analysis is needed.

Prerequisites

• A Tableau Cloud account
• Permission to view the projects, workbooks, views, and datasources you want to analyze
• A Tableau personal access token (PAT)
• Synced datasources if you want datasource-level querying

Create a Personal Access Token

1. Open Tableau Cloud
2. Go to My Account Settings
3. Under Personal Access Tokens, create a new token
4. Copy the token name and token secret immediately

Formula Bot stores the PAT secret encrypted. Connection settings show the secret redacted and never display it again — enter a new secret only when rotating credentials.

If Tableau says PAT creation is disabled, a site administrator needs to turn it on first from Settings, then General, then Personal Access Tokens.

Setup Checklist

Before opening the Formula Bot connector page, collect these values from Tableau:

What you need	Where to find it	Notes
Server URL	Browser address bar in Tableau Cloud	Use the host, for example https://10ax.online.tableau.com
Site Name	The value after /site/ in the Tableau URL	Leave blank if your Tableau URL does not include /site/...
PAT Name	Tableau My Account Settings	This is the token name, not your Tableau username
PAT Secret	Shown once when the PAT is created	Copy it immediately; Tableau will not show it again

Example Tableau URL:

https://10ax.online.tableau.com/#/site/acme/workbooks

Use these Formula Bot fields:

Server URL: https://10ax.online.tableau.com
Site Name: acme

In Tableau Cloud Manager, the Site URI column is the value Formula Bot expects in Site Name.

Connection Details

Field	Required	Description	Example
Connector Name	Yes	Friendly name for the Tableau connector	Marketing Dashboards
Server URL	Yes	Your Tableau Cloud URL. You can paste the full Tableau URL and Formula Bot will normalize it.	https://10ax.online.tableau.com/#/site/acme/home
Site Name	No	Tableau site content URL. Leave blank for the default site, or use the value after /site/ in the Tableau URL.	acme
Personal Access Token Name	Yes	PAT name from Tableau	formula-bot
Personal Access Token Secret	Yes	PAT secret from Tableau	********

If you paste a full Tableau URL such as https://10ax.online.tableau.com/#/site/acme/home, Formula Bot stores:

• Server URL: https://10ax.online.tableau.com
• Site Name: acme

Multiple Tableau Connections

You can add more than one Tableau connection from the Tableau connector page. Each connection appears as a card at the top of the page and keeps its own PAT, Tableau site, synced assets, and collections — click a card to switch between connections, or New Connection to add another. Teams can separate sites or asset scopes without sharing credentials across connections.

Setup Steps

1. Create the Connector

1. Go to Connectors, then Tableau
2. Enter the connection fields (if you already have a connection, click New Connection first)
3. Click Test Connection
4. Click Create Connector

The connection test signs into Tableau with your PAT and signs out without saving the secret. Creating the connector saves the encrypted credential and starts the sync flow.

2. Sync Tableau Assets

After creating the connector, click Sync Assets to fetch the Tableau assets available to the PAT user:

• Projects
• Workbooks
• Views
• Datasources

Formula Bot stores Tableau asset metadata so users can create collections without manually copying Tableau IDs.

3. Create a Collection

Collections are the chat-facing Tableau abstraction. To create one:

1. Name the collection
2. Select a Tableau project
3. Select a workbook in that project
4. Select one or more views
5. Select one or more datasources, if datasource queries are needed
6. Click Create Collection

Use the Views tab for dashboard and worksheet questions.

Use the Data Sources tab for live or extract-backed datasource querying. Formula Bot uses each datasource's runtime query support to choose the right Tableau query mode.

4. Attach the Collection to Chat

1. Open chat
2. Add a data source
3. Choose the Tableau connector
4. Choose the collection
5. Ask questions about the Tableau dashboards or datasources

The chat works with the Tableau collection you attached. Files generated while fetching Tableau data are internal analysis artifacts, not user uploads.

How Formula Bot Uses Tableau Data

View Data Mode

For dashboard and view questions, Formula Bot uses DataFetcher with requestedDataSource: "Tableau" and tableauRequest.mode: "view_data". It calls Tableau's view data endpoint, applies any supported vf_ filters, saves the returned CSV internally, loads a dataframe in the sandbox, and hands the result to DataAnalyst.

Use view data mode for questions like:

• "Summarize this sales dashboard by region"
• "Filter the executive view to Q2 and explain the trend"
• "Create a chart from the Tableau view results"

Extract Query Mode

For datasource questions, Formula Bot uses tableauRequest.mode: "extract_query" only when the selected datasource is synced, extract-backed, and configured for extract query support. The SQL must be a single read-only SELECT or WITH query over the available extract schema.

Use extract query mode for questions like:

• "Which products drove the margin change in the extract?"
• "Group the extract rows by segment and month"
• "Join the synced extract tables and show the top accounts"

For extract-backed datasources with configured extract access, this remains the preferred path for SQL-style questions. When extract query support isn't configured, Formula Bot uses datasource query mode instead.

Datasource Query Mode

For live or extract-backed datasource questions where the runtime context allows it, Formula Bot uses tableauRequest.mode: "datasource_query". DataFetcher builds the VizQL Data Service query, so users and agents do not write SQL for this mode.

Use datasource query mode for questions like:

• "Pull the rows for this live datasource filtered to the Northeast region"
• "Show account-level records from the selected datasource"
• "Fetch datasource rows for the selected segment before charting"

datasource_query supports optional filters keyed by Tableau datasource field captions. Tableau and Formula Bot enforce row limits; if a datasource query is too large, narrow it with filters or use a Tableau view.

Editing and Refreshing a Collection

If Tableau workbooks, views, or datasources change, click the refresh icon on the collection card. Formula Bot re-authenticates with Tableau, syncs the latest assets, and updates the collection snapshot without changing its scope.

To change the collection's name, project/workbook scope, or selected views and datasources, click the pencil icon on the collection card to edit it.

Security Notes

• PAT secrets are encrypted at rest
• Secrets are never sent to the browser after save
• Tableau access follows the permissions of the PAT user
• DataFetcher only fetches assets that were synced and attached through the connector flow
• Tableau-generated CSV outputs are internal artifacts, not user-uploaded files

Troubleshooting

Test Connection Failed

• Confirm the server URL starts with https://
• Confirm the site name matches the Tableau content URL after /site/
• Confirm the PAT name and secret are copied exactly
• Generate a new PAT if the secret was lost or expired

PAT Creation Is Disabled

If My Account Settings shows "Your site administrator has disabled PAT creation," enable PATs from Settings, then General, then Personal Access Tokens, then return to My Account Settings to create the token.

No Projects or Workbooks Appear

• Confirm the PAT user can view the Tableau content
• Refresh the connector sync
• Check whether the content is on a different Tableau site

Datasource Cannot Be Queried

• Confirm the PAT user has the API Access permission capability on the datasource
• Confirm live datasources have credentials embedded in the published datasource; Formula Bot never collects database passwords
• Use an extract-backed datasource with configured extract access for extract_query, or use datasource_query when the runtime context supports it
• Refresh the connector or collection after datasource changes

View Data Looks Filtered or Incomplete

• Check dashboard filters and default view state in Tableau
• Confirm filter names match Tableau field names when using vf_ filters
• Refresh the collection to update view metadata

Next Steps

• Data Connectors Overview
• Ask questions in chat
• Create charts and visualizations