Public and private companies require to improve analytics and want to pull out valuable outcomes from data. As every business has a different target audience, and marketing activity, companies need to present outcomes of analytical data in different formats, File Types, and extensions. Being a powerful Data Visualization and Business Intelligence tool, Tableau Desktop has multiple extensions and format types, enabling you to understand, share and discuss data in styles. To learn more about Key Features of Tableau, click here.
Tableau Desktop brings different Tableau File Types and Tableau Data Types. Tableau Data Types help users to view records/fields in multiple formats, and File Types enable users to save them in different extensions.
This blog explores the Data and File Types of Tableau and provides a guide on how to create access to and unpack these types in Tableau Desktop. In this guide, you’ll learn about the different Tableau Data Types and File Types in great detail. Also, read Analytics in Tableau.
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What are Tableau File Types?
You can save your work in Tableau in the following 8 different File Types. The various formats enlisted here depend on how they are produced and their primary purpose. These files are all stored as XML files, which can be opened and edited.
Tableau File Type: Workbooks (.twb)
What is the Purpose of Workbooks?
One of the most frequently used and default File Types is a workbook following a .twb extension. In Tableau software, Workbooks contain spreadsheets, Excel files, and dashboards and can store one or more Excel files, and dashboards, along with a few stories. It means when you see a .twb extension file, it is either related to dashboards or spreadsheets.
Workbooks provide you information about the type of fields being used, types of measures being used for accretion, formatting, style, workbooks, specific changes on the files, for instance, the use of filters.
How to create a Workbook Extension?
If you want to create or share Workbooks in Tableau, you need to set a live data connection first. The reason is Workbooks can’t be created without a live data connection in Tableau software.
To create a Workbook extension (.twb) in Tableau Desktop, perform the following steps:
- Select the File tab.
- Choose the Save As option.
- Enter the Name of the file.
- Choose the workbook extension (.twb) from the drop-down menu.
- Press the Save button.
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How to Access a Workbook Extension?
To access a Workbook Extension (.twb) file:
- Go to the File tab.
- Select the Open option.
- Locate your workbook file.
- Select the File and open it.
You can also access the .twb extension through a text editor to understand, edit and analyze the data of the workbook file.
To learn more about Workbooks, see Workbook & Sheets.
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Tableau File Type: Packaged Workbooks (.twbx)
What is the Purpose of Packaged Workbooks?
Unlike Workbooks, Packaged Workbooks (.twbx) can work without a live data connection. The Packaged Workbook is a single zip file containing bundles of Workbooks, supportive files, and background images. Workbooks might contain local file data sources, such as spreadsheets, databases (Access), and Tableau Extract files. Due to the presence of a zip file, users can easily share with other working individuals who don’t have a live data connection, referenced resources, or Tableau Server.
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Packaged Workbooks include the following files in the zip folder, Background pictures, custom images, custom geocoding, Microsoft Excel files, Microsoft Access files, local cube files, text files like .csv, .txt, and Tableau Extract files, for example, .hyper or .tde.
When you share Packaged Workbooks, including referenced resources and local file data sources, the link of the original data sources or embedded images isn’t needed, therefore, others can access them on Tableau Desktop or Tableau Reader.
How to create A Packaged Workbook (file-based Data Sources)?
To create a Packaged Workbook in Tableau Desktop, perform the following steps:
- Move your mouse to the File Tab.
- Select the Save As option.
- Enter the name of the file in the dialog box.
- Select the Packaged Workbook (.twbx) option from the drop-down menu.
- Select the Save option.
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How to create A Packaged Workbook (non-file-based Data Sources)?
Consider a situation in which your Workbook contains non-file-based data sources. To include these enterprise-based connections in a Packaged Workbook, you need to perform the following steps:
- Select the data source from your Workbook, right-click over it and choose the Extract Data option.
- Select the extract option to excerpt all the records from the selected data source file.
- Once the Tableau Desktop completed the extract options, the icon of the data source will contain an arrow indicating the active state of data extraction.
- If you’ve multiple data sources, repeat the above steps to extract all of them.
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- Move your mouse to the File Tab.
- Select the Save As option.
- Enter the name of the file in the dialog box.
- Select the Packaged Workbook (.twbx) option from the drop-down menu.
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How to create A Packaged Workbook (Tableau Server Data Sources)?
Consider a situation in which your Workbook contains connections to published Tableau data sources. To include these connections in a Packaged Workbook, you need to perform the following steps:
- Select the published data source from your Workbook, right-click over it and choose to Create Local Copy option.
- Select the local copy from your Workbook, right-click over it and select the Extract Data option.
- Select the extract option to excerpt all the records from the selected file.
- Right-click over the published data source and select Replace Data Source option.
- Analyze the current and replacement copy and hit the OK button.
- Close the published data source file.
- Move your mouse to the File Tab.
- Select the Save As option.
- Enter the name of the file in the dialog box.
- Select the Packaged Workbook (.twbx) option from the drop-down menu.
How to Access A Packaged Workbook?
You can access a Packaged Workbook by either opening a .twbx extension file on your Tableau Desktop or changing its extension from .twbx to .zip file. When you open a Packaged Workbook, you’ll get a Workbook (.twb) along with all the file-based data sources, non-file-based data sources, and published Tableau server data sources. You can also check out the article about Joining in Tableau.
To learn more, see packaged workbooks.
Tableau File Types: Bookmarks (.tbm)
What is the Purpose of Bookmarks?
With Tableau Bookmarks, you can share your files with other users. All the Bookmarks use .tbm extensions in Tableau Desktop. Mainly, Bookmarks contain a single worksheet that can be used by other users on their multiple workbooks. Bookmarks, therefore, save time and energy for users because they use already made worksheets instead of making them from scratch.
Although the use of the .tbm extension is particularly less, still it is handy when you are working with multiple worksheets.
How to create a Bookmark in Tableau (.tbm)?
To create a Tableau Bookmark (.tbm):
- Select the bookmark option from Window.
- Press the Create Bookmark option.
- Locate the name of the folder where you want to save the bookmark.
- Press the Save button.
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How to Access a Bookmark in Tableau (.tbw)?
If the user wants to access the Bookmark Worksheet, he or she can access it from the Tableau Workbook. The simplest way to open a Bookmark Worksheet is by using Tableau Desktop or Reader.
To explore more, visit Tableau Bookmark.
Tableau File Type: Extract (.hyper or .tde)
What is the Purpose of Extract?
In Tableau Desktop, users can create local copies of subsets, data sources, or even entire data sources to share with other members. This is known as an Extract file carrying an extension of .hyper or .tde and is used to create highly optimized, compressed subsets of your data available in the columnar database file.
It enables the other members to improve the performance of local copies while working offline. You can also do additional functionalities, perform analysis, and pre-aggregation measures. The presence of an extract extension will allow you to remove data connection problems that might appear while working with a live data connection.
But one thing must be kept in mind: you must refresh the Extracted file to acquire an updated version of local copies.
How to create an Extract File in Tableau?
To create an Extract file in Tableau, perform the following options:
- Right-click on your data source during live connection.
- Choose the Extract Data option.
- Select the .hyper or .tde option as per your requirements.
- Press the OK button.
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How to Access Extract Files in Tableau?
You can access Extract files (.hyper or .tde) in Tableau Reader or desktop without any live data source connection.
To learn more, see Extract Your Data.
Tableau File Type: Data Source (.tds)
What is the Purpose of Data Source?
The purpose of Tableau Data Source files (.tbs) is to use shortcuts to your original data source. Thus, you can connect to your original data source at any time. Since these are shortcuts and limited versions of your original data sources, you won’t get complete information about your data. You will only get important chunks vital enough to connect to the original one.
Besides, Data Source files also describe additional information like modifications that have been made, altering default properties, setting Data Types, adding groups, charts, maps, creating custom fields, and the sources.
How to create a Tableau Data Source?
You can create a Tableau Data Source file by performing the below steps:
- Move your cursor to the Data tab.
- Select the Add New Data Source option.
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- Select the Add to Saved Data Source option.
- Save the file by selecting the data source extension (.tds).
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To explore more about data sources, see the official blog post.
Tableau File Type: Packaged Data Source (.tdsx)
What is the Purpose of Packaged Data Source?
Like a Packaged Workbook, the Packaged Data Source is also a zip file that can store Data Source files (.tds), Extract files (.hyper or .tde), Excel files, Access files, text files, and local cube files. Sharing Packaged Data Source files allows users to access all the files without having permission to locate original data stored publicly on their machines.
How to create a Tableau Packaged Data Source?
You can create a Tableau Packaged Data Source file by performing the below steps:
- Move your cursor to the Data tab.
- Select the Add New Data Source option.
- Select the Add to Saved Data Source option.
- Save the file by selecting the data source extension (.tdsx).
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To explore more about Packaged Data Sources, see the official blog post.
Tableau File Type: Tableau Preferences (.tps)
What is the Purpose of Tableau Preference?
Tableau Desktop is a Data Visualization and top-notch BI tool embedded with color palettes. These color palettes allow users to highlight important information and records in an engaging and eye-catching way. For instance, users require to create bar charts, tables, maps, and heat maps. Henceforth, colors are essential for designing such visualizations.
On one side, you can use default color palettes to create interesting visualizations, and on the other side, you can create your color palette through a preference (.tps) file. It helps you to make everything personalized, customized, and according to your preferred taste.
How to create a Tableau Preference?
To create a Tableau Preference file, do the following steps:
- Open My Tableau Repository folder.
- Open preference (.tps) file in the text editor.
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- Insert <preferences> </preferences> inside <workbook> </workbook> to edit your current preference file.
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- Create a custom palette, such as a custom categorical color palette, custom sequential color palette, or custom diverging color palette. For instance, you’re creating a categorical color palette by inserting the following lines.
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- Open Tableau desktop.
- Go to the Edit Colors dialog box.
- Open a Select Color Palette.
- You will get your custom-built color palette at the bottom of the list.
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- Select an Assign Palette option.
- Click on Apply.
- Close the Edit Color screen to view changes.
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For more information, visit Create Custom Color Palettes.
Tableau File Type: Tableau Map Source (.tms)
What is the Purpose of Tableau Map Source?
Tableau Map Source files have an extension of .tms. Tableau Desktop or Tableau Public enables you to add a WMS (Web Map Service) server or custom-built map from Mapbox, permitting you to load images instead of using Urban Mapping. After setting your server for loading map images, Tableau Desktop imports data, and background images from that server. You can share this new adding map source with other team members through the Tableau Map Source extension, .tms.
How to create a Tableau Map Source?
You can create a Tableau Map Source by performing the following steps:
- Move your cursor to the Map tab.
- Select the Background Maps.
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- Choose the Add WMS Map.
- A dialog box of Add WMS Map will open.
- Type the URL for the server you wish to connect to in Tableau.
- Hit the OK button.
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Repeat the above steps if you want to add a Mapbox map instead of WMS server.
For more guidance, see Import a Map Source.
What is Tableau Data Types?
In Tableau Desktop, the data source page presents multiple fields, and every field has a specific Data Type. Tableau Data Types, for instance, show values of data in text (or string), integers, numerical, and many more. Consequently, every field or data present on the data source page comes under a certain category of a Tableau Data Type. A user can present fields or records among seven Tableau Data Types, however, Tableau automatically determines the Data Type of a specific field. But if you want to change or modify a Tableau Data Type, it provides you editing options too.
To learn more about using Tableau for Business analytics, click here.
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Next, you will be exploring all the Data Types of Tableau which are as follows:
Tableau Data Types: Text
A sequence of zero or more characters confined by either single or double inverted commas shows text or strings Data Type. For example, you can take ‘‘Hevo Data’’ or ‘Hevo Data’ as a string value. Another possibility is to include double inverted commas inside the string value, such as ‘‘‘Hevo Data’’’. Tableau Data Source Pane divides string values into further two Data Types.
Char String Type: the length of char string Data Type is fixed, due to which it is commonly used to store alphanumeric values. If Tableau’s user inserts a field value carrying a length higher than the fixed length of char Data Type, the BI tool will show you an error.
Varchar String Type: varchar or variable character string Data Type doesn’t contain length restrictions. It allows users to store alphanumeric values without worrying about the length of memory and system constraints.
Tableau Data Types: Date & Time Values
Tableau Desktop doesn’t follow any specific format of date and time. It supports and accepts all kinds of Date formats, such as dd-mm-yy, dd-mm-yyyy, yyyy-mm-dd, or mm-dd-yyyy, and so on. You can also use string character to define a date, but include # before string character, for example, # 25 April 2021. Similarly, the value of time data can be century, decade, year, quarter, month, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
To learn more abou Tableau Date functions, click here.
Tableau Data Types: Numerical Values
The numerical Tableau Data Type includes both integer type and floating points. Mostly, users give preference to an integer TAbleau Data Type over floating points because it becomes daunting for them to accumulate decimal digits after a definite limit. Nonetheless, Tableau provides you the Round () function to round up these floating points.
Tableau Data Types: Boolean Values
A Boolean Data Type is used for logical values obtained from relational calculations. Logical values can be either True or False. However, if the outcome of the relational calculation is unidentified, the system will return null values.
Tableau Data Types: Geographical Values
Geographical values or data types, denoted by globe icon, are the values of the map. Anything that belongs to a map or geographic regions like country name, state name, regional workbooks, postal code is defined by geographical Data Types.
Tableau Data Types: Cluster Groups
It is also possible that fields don’t belong to any single Data Type, instead, they have a cluster of Data Types. To give appropriate Tableau Data Types to such fields, you can assign them manually. But if you find difficulty in handling such scenarios, then the Tableau Desktop can also implement automatic functions.
Tableau Data Types: Changing Data Type for A Field
If you want to change the Tableau Data Types for a specific field, you can do this through three approaches.
Using Data Source Page
In some situations, Tableau assigns an incorrect Data Type to a field. To change any incorrect Tableau Data Types from a data source page, perform the following steps:
- Open a Data Source page.
- Click on the icon for incorrect Tableau Data Types.
- Select the appropriate data type from the drop-down list.
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Using Data Pane
To change Tableau Data Types of a field from a Data Pane, perform the following steps:
- Open a Data Pane tab.
- Click on the icon for incorrect Tableau Data Types.
- Select the appropriate data type from the drop-down list.
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Using View List
To change Tableau Data Types of a field from the View List, perform the following steps:
- Right-click over that field.
- Go to the Change Data Type option.
- Select the appropriate data type from the drop-down list.
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For more information, see Tableau Data Types.
Conclusion
Tableau is a powerful BI and Visualization Tool. This BI tool is easy to learn and simple to use because users don’t require prior programming and coding skills. Tableau comes up with multiple visualization assets. Among them, you have seen Tableau File Types and Tableau Data Types in this blog. This article has explored important extension files and Tableau Data Types, their purpose, and how to create them in Tableau.
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