Connecting to data

There is virtually no limit to the data that Tableau can visualize! Almost every new version of Tableau adds new native connectors. Tableau continues to add native connectors for cloud-based data. The web data connector allows you to write a connector for any online data you wish to retrieve. The Tableau Hyper API allows you to programmatically read and write extracts of data, enabling you to access data from any source and write it to a native Tableau format. Additionally, for any database without a built-in connection, Tableau gives you the ability to use a generic ODBC connection.

You may have multiple data sources in the same workbook. Each source will show up under the Data tab on the left sidebar.

Although the terms “data connection” and “data source” are often used interchangeably, it is helpful to make a distinction. A connection technically refers to the connection made to data in a single location, such as tables...