#TABLEAU PREP BUILDER 2020.3 HOW TO#
#TABLEAU PREP BUILDER 2020.3 ARCHIVE#

If they change, you could run into the following: With any of these approaches the assumption would be that all the fields (columns) in each new file stay the same.

When a scheduling feature is released, I’ll be evaluating cases where option 4 makes sense. Personally, I’ve used option 1 and it works really well in cases where it’s just me and I don’t care that it’s not fully automated. Some final thoughts on swapping new input files in Tableau Prep:

Pro: Should work without having to modify the flow when scheduling is available.

Pro: Fully automatic, just drop the file in and run the flow (okay, so you have to click the refresh button to get the wildcard union to pick up the new file- I hope this changes in later versions.

Now you have a flow that automatically picks up the latest file each time without ever having to come back to change the flow! You use an aggregate step to identify the MAX(File Path) or MAX(Timestamp), then join it back to the previous step to keep records that match that maximum. Now it becomes a latest snapshot type of situation: Let’s assume your filename or something in the file (a timestamp or date field) allows you to identify the latest file. Modify the previous approach to automate selecting the latest file

Con: potential performance issues depending on size and number of filesĤa.Con: higher potential for human error (“oops, I forgot to filter”).Con: Definitely manual, forget setting a schedule and letting it just go.Pro: You can compare new data to previous months if needed because it’s all there in the flow and you may quickly spot errors or differences that you might miss otherwise.Then you can filter the File Paths field to keep only the newest: The idea is that you’ll use a wildcard union to pull data from all the files, past and present. Just keep adding new input files to the directory and use features of Tableau Prep to filter to latest

Con: Won’t allow any flow schedules to continue without intervention.Ĥ.Con: Definitely a bit more involved than other options.Pro: There’s no question in your mind what you’ve done and the input node keeps the name of the file so the flow is showing you exactly which month/file you’ve used.Here, you’ll add the new connection and replace the input node with the new file. Add the new input files to the directory and swap out the input node “January” even though you just selected “February”) so a bit of confusion might ensue.ģ. Con: the input node retains it’s name (e.g.Con: a bit more manual, scheduling of flows (when available) won’t automatically pick this up.Pro: you know which file you just selected, so no second-guessing.Simply point Tableau Prep to the new file instead. When you open Tableau Prep or click Refresh, Tableau Prep will detect that the source file is no longer available and prompt you to locate it.

#TABLEAU PREP BUILDER 2020.3 ARCHIVE#

(or move the old file to archive directory) Add the new input files to the directory and remove the old files Con: it’s a bit harder to keep track of the files and you may find yourself asking, “Did I replace it already?” “Is that last month’s file or this month’s?”Ģ.Pro: when scheduling is released in future versions, you won’t have to do anything other than replace the file and let the flow keep running on it’s schedule.In my experience, you may have to click the refresh button in Tableau Prep Pro: all you have to do is just open the Tableau Prep, run the flow it and it should work fine.The next month you replace it with the new file also named data.txt. The first month you have a file named data.txt. That is, literally replace the old file with the new input file of the exact same name (archiving the old ones is probably a good practice). Stick with the same filename month after month. How do you handle this scenario? Here are some options: 1. They are replacements with a brand new, up-to-date data set that needs to be processed with the same logic and flow every time. These aren’t files to be added to your data source in addition to existing files. Let’s say you’ve got a situation where you get new input files for Tableau Prep every month (or, maybe in your case it’s every week or every day or every so often).

#TABLEAU PREP BUILDER 2020.3 HOW TO#

How to handle new input files in Tableau Prep

Tableau prep builder 2020.3