Visualize Live Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet, you can easily get access to live Smartsheet data within Tableau. This article shows how to connect to Smartsheet in Tableau and build a simple chart.

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

Getting Started

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Connect to Smartsheet in Tableau

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

Smartsheet uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, register an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

However, for testing purposes you can instead use the Personal Access Token you get when you create an application; set this to the OAuthAccessToken connection property.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select Smartsheet 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 Smartsheet data

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