How to Connect Tableau to Smartsheet

Bringing your Smartsheet data into Tableau feels like a game changer because, well, it is. It lets you move beyond Smartsheet’s native charts and build sophisticated, interactive dashboards that can uncover deeper insights into your project management, resource allocation, and operational data. This article guides you step-by-step through the process of connecting Tableau to Smartsheet, so you can start visualizing your project data in powerful new ways.

Why Connect Smartsheet to Tableau?

While Smartsheet is fantastic for managing projects, collaborating, and tracking tasks, Tableau is a powerhouse for data visualization and business intelligence. Combining them allows you to do more with the valuable data you're already collecting.

• Build Custom Dashboards: Create completely customized and interactive dashboards that reflect your team's specific KPIs. You can combine project timeline data with budget information from another source, all in one view.
• Perform Deeper Analysis: Go beyond surface-level reporting. Use Tableau’s advanced analytics features to identify trends in project delays, forecast resource needs, or spot budget overruns before they become big issues.
• Automate Your Reporting: Once you connect your data, you can publish your dashboard to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud. Your reporting can be set to automatically refresh, meaning no more tedious Monday morning manual exports.
• Combine Data Sources: Perhaps the biggest win is the ability to merge Smartsheet data with other key business information from platforms like Salesforce, Google Analytics, or your company's SQL database. This gives you a complete, holistic view of performance.

Getting Started: What You Need First

Before you jump into the connection process, take a moment to get everything in order. A little preparation will make the process much smoother.

• A Tableau Account: You'll need an active license for Tableau Desktop or Tableau Public to build the dashboards. If you plan to share and automate refreshes, you'll also need access to Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server.
• A Smartsheet Account: To access your data from Tableau, you’ll need a Smartsheet account with "Editor" permissions or higher for the specific sheets you want to connect.
• The Tableau Smartsheet Connector Driver: This is the most important technical piece. Tableau needs a specific driver file to communicate properly with Smartsheet. This small file needs to be downloaded from Tableau's official driver download page and saved in the correct folder on your computer before you can establish the connection.

How to Connect Tableau to Smartsheet: The Direct Method

The most straightforward way to link Smartsheet to Tableau is by using the built-in Smartsheet data connector. This method establishes a direct line between the two applications. Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Install the Smartsheet JDBC Driver

Tableau won't recognize Smartsheet as a data source without a specific driver. Think of it as a translator that lets the two platforms speak the same language. If you try to connect without it, you'll likely hit an error.

1. Go to the Tableau Drivers & Activation page.
2. Find Smartsheet in the list of data sources and download the required JDBC driver (".jar" file).
3. Once downloaded, you need to place this ".jar" file in the correct Tableau directory. This location depends on your operating system:
4. Important: After moving the driver file, you must close and restart Tableau Desktop for it to recognize the new driver.

Step 2: Connect to Smartsheet Within Tableau

With the driver installed and Tableau restarted, you can now initiate the connection.

1. Open Tableau Desktop.
2. Under the “Connect” heading on the left side, click on "To a Server," then click "More..."
3. In the list of available connectors, find and select Smartsheet.
4. An authentication window will pop up in your browser. This will prompt you to log into your Smartsheet account.
5. Enter your Smartsheet credentials and click "Allow" to grant Tableau access to your Smartsheet data. This is a secure OAuth process, so your password is never shared directly with Tableau.

Step 3: Choose and Load Your Smartsheet Data

Once you've successfully authenticated, you'll be redirected back to Tableau, where you can now see a list of your available Smartsheet workspaces, sheets, and reports.

• In the Tableau Data Source pane:

Tableau will automatically load a preview of your Smartsheet data. You’ll see your columns displayed, and you can now proceed to the worksheet tab ("Sheet 1") to start building visualizations.

Tips for Working with Smartsheet Data in Tableau

Connecting is just the first step. To get the most out of your integrated data, keep these best practices in mind.

Live Connection vs. Extracts

When you connect Smartsheet, Tableau gives you two options for how to manage your data refresh:

• Live: A live connection queries your Smartsheet every time you or a user interacts with the dashboard. This is great for real-time data, but it can be slow if your Smartsheet has thousands of rows or complex formulas. You also need to maintain an active connection for it to work.
• Extract: An extract takes a snapshot of your Smartsheet data and stores it in Tableau’s high-performance data engine. This makes dashboards much faster. You can schedule these extracts to refresh automatically if you publish the dashboard to Tableau Cloud or Server (e.g., every morning at 7 AM). For most Smartsheet use cases, an extract is the recommended approach for better performance.

Clean Up Your Data Types

Tableau does its best to guess your column data types, but it's not always perfect. Double-check that your dates are recognized as date fields, numerical values (like budgets or hours worked) are recognized as numbers, and text fields are categorized as strings. You can easily do this by clicking the icon next to each column name in the Data Source summary view and changing it to the correct type.

Handling Smartsheet Hierarchies

If you use indentation in Smartsheet to create parent-child task relationships, this hierarchy won’t automatically be recognized in Tableau. The data will be displayed in a flat format. To recreate these relationships, you may need to use a column in your Smartsheet to define the parent row for each task and then use Tableau’s features to build out your desired drill-down analysis.

Alternative Method: Using Excel as a Middle Step

Sometimes, a direct connection isn't feasible due to firewall restrictions or company policies. In these cases, you can use Excel as a bridge between Smartsheet and Tableau.

This method involves exporting your Smartsheet data to an Excel file and then connecting Tableau to that local file. While it's not a real-time solution, it's a reliable backup method. You could also use the Smartsheet Sync for Excel add-in for a slightly more integrated experience which helps keep the Excel file up to date.

However, this approach introduces an extra manual step and can become hard to manage. The direct connection is nearly always the better path unless you're blocked from using it.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your Smartsheet data directly to Tableau opens up a new world of reporting and analysis, giving you the power to translate your project and operational data into clear, actionable insights for your entire organization.

Of course, stitching together different platforms can feel like a chore, especially if Smartsheet and Tableau are just two of the many tools you’re using. At Graphed, we remove this friction entirely. You can connect your marketing, sales, and operational data sources in seconds, and then simply describe the dashboards you want in plain English. We designed it for teams who need real-time answers and don’t have time to wrestle with drivers, connectors, and complex BI tools.