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

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

Connect to Google Sheets in Tableau

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

You can connect to a spreadsheet by providing authentication to Google and then setting the Spreadsheet connection property to the name or feed link of the spreadsheet. If you want to view a list of information about the spreadsheets in your Google Drive, execute a query to the Spreadsheets view after you authenticate.

ClientLogin (username/password authentication) has been officially deprecated since April 20, 2012 and is now no longer available. Instead, use the OAuth 2.0 authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf on individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, you will need to register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

See the Getting Started chapter in the help documentation to connect to Google Sheets from different types of accounts: Google accounts, Google Apps accounts, and accounts using two-step verification.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

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

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