Visualize Live Airtable Data in Tableau

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for Airtable, you can easily get access to live Airtable data within Tableau. This article shows how to connect to Airtable in Tableau and build a simple chart.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live Airtable data in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with Airtable and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Airtable data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to Airtable data.

NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors require Tableau 2020.3 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau, you will need to use the CData JDBC Driver. If you wish to connect to Airtable data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect AI.

Connect to Airtable in Tableau

Open Tableau and click More under Connect -> To a Server. Select "Airtable by CData," then configure the connection and click "Sign In."

APIKey, BaseId and TableNames parameters are required to connect to Airtable. ViewNames is an optional parameter where views of the tables may be specified.

• APIKey : API Key of your account. To obtain this value, after logging in go to Account. In API section click Generate API key.
• BaseId : Id of your base. To obtain this value, it is in the same section as the APIKey. Click on Airtable API, or navigate to https://airtable.com/api and select a base. In the introduction section you can find "The ID of this base is appxxN2ftedc0nEG7."
• TableNames : A comma separated list of table names for the selected base. These are the same names of tables as found in the UI.
• ViewNames : A comma separated list of views in the format of (table.view) names. These are the same names of the views as found in the UI.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select Airtable from the Schema pull-down menu.
3. Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables. 👁 Selecting table(s)
   
4. Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update automatically reflects the changes in the preview area.
5. Click the tab for your worksheet. Columns are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData Tableau Connector discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
6. Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
7. Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.
👁 Visualizing live Airtable data

Using the CData Tableau Connector for Airtable with Tableau, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Airtable data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.