Working with extracts instead of live connections

Most data sources give the option of either connecting live or extracting the data; however, some cloud-based data sources do require an extract. Conversely, OLAP data sources cannot be extracted and require live connections.

When using a live connection, Tableau issues queries directly to the data source (or uses data in the cache if possible). When you extract the data, Tableau pulls some or all of the data from the original source and stores it in a Tableau Data Extract file (.tde). Extracts extend the way in which Tableau works with data. Consider the following diagram:

Working with extracts instead of live connections

The fundamental paradigm ...

Get Learning Tableau 10 - Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.