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Content in Tableau Test Environment

This job aid outlines the steps to publish Tableau workbooks to the university's test environment, with instructions tailored for both static or embedded data sources and workbooks connected to published production data sources.

Static or embedded data source

  1. Sign out of the production environment (if necessary)
    1. In Tableau Desktop, go to the Server menu on the top toolbar. If you are logged into Tableau Server, the name of the environment will be displayed (e.g., dataviz.rae.osu.edu).
  2. Sign in to the test environment
    1. Staying in the Server menu, select Sign In. When prompted, enter the test environment URL (https://tableautest.service.osu.edu/). Log in using your name.# credentials.
  3. Publish to the test environment
    1. Once signed in, publish your workbook in the appropriate project folder. 

If you do not see a suitable project folder, please email data-visualization@osu.edu, specifying the name of the project folder and that it is for the test environment.

Connected to a published data source in production

  1. Download & re-publish the data source
    1. From the production Tableau Server (dataviz.rae.osu.edu), download the data source. Then publish it to the test Tableau Server (https://tableautest.service.osu.edu.)
  2. Download the workbook connected to the production data source from the production server.
  3. Create a local copy of the data source
    1. In Tableau Desktop, go to the Data menu, select the relevant data source(s), and choose "Create Local Copy".
  4. Replace production data source with local copy
    1. From a worksheet (not a dashboard), go to the Data menu again. Use "Replace Data Source" to switch from the production data source to the newly created local copy (you will see "local copy" in its name). Then close the production data source.
  5. Login to the test environment from Tableau Desktop
    1. Go to Server > Sign In and enter the test environment URL (https://tableautest.service.osu.edu). Sign in with your name.# credentials.
  6. Add the published test data source in Tableau Desktop
    1. In the Data menu, select "Add New Data Source", and connect to the version of the data source you published in Step 1 from the test server.
  7. Replace local copy with test data source
    1. Staying in the Data menu, select "Replace Data Source" again. This time, replace the local copy with the newly connected test data source.
  8. Close the local copy
    1. After confirming the replacement, close the local copy of the data source. This option is on the Data menu.
  9. Publish the workbook to the test environment.
    1. Go to Server > Publish Workbook, and publish the updated workbook to test server (https://tableautest.service.osu.edu).