How to Publish Multiple Dashboards in Tableau Public

Showing off your work in Tableau Public is a great way to build a portfolio, but figuring out how to present multiple connected dashboards in a single project can feel tricky. You've built several amazing views but want to combine them into one seamless experience for your audience. This article walks you through the practical methods for publishing a workbook with multiple dashboards to Tableau Public, making your project easy to navigate and understand.

First, A Quick Refresher: Tableau Public vs. Other Versions

Before jumping into the "how," it’s important to understand where Tableau Public fits in the Tableau ecosystem. Unlike Tableau Desktop, which saves workbooks locally to your computer, Tableau Public saves them to a public cloud server. This means anyone with the link can view your visualizations.

This is fantastic for students, data hobbyists, and professionals building a public-facing portfolio. However, it comes with a key consideration: your data is also public. Never, ever use sensitive or private data with Tableau Public. Stick to publicly available datasets for your projects. Also, Tableau Public has some limitations on data source connections compared to the paid Desktop or Server versions.

With that in mind, the key to sharing multiple dashboards is understanding that you aren't publishing separate files. Instead, you publish a single Tableau Workbook (.twbx file) that contains all your worksheets, dashboards, and stories. The goal is to make it easy for viewers to navigate between these different views within that single workbook.

The Two Best Ways to Present Multiple Dashboards

Presenting interactive dashboards together is about guiding your audience through your analysis. You don't want them getting lost clicking through dozens of hidden tabs. Instead, you want to provide a clear, intuitive path. There are two primary methods for achieving this in Tableau:

Tableau Stories: A linear, guided approach that walks users through your dashboards point by point. It’s perfect for telling a specific data story.
A Main Navigation Dashboard: A "hub-and-spoke" model where you create a central dashboard that acts as a menu, linking out to all your other detail dashboards. This is great for user-driven exploration.

Let's break down how to build each one step-by-step.

Method 1: Using Tableau Stories for a Guided Narrative

A Tableau Story is a sequence of visualizations that work together to convey information. You structure your different dashboards like slides in a presentation, guiding the viewer through your findings one step at a time. This method is excellent when you have a specific narrative and want to control the flow of information.

Step 1: Create a New Story

At the bottom of your Tableau Workbook, next to the "New Dashboard" icon, you'll see a "New Story" icon (it looks like a book). Click it to create a new, blank story canvas.

Step 2: Add Your Dashboards to the Story

On the left-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a list of all existing Sheets (worksheets and dashboards) in your workbook.

Drag your first dashboard onto the canvas. It will become your first story point.
In the top bar, you can add a short caption or title to this story point, like "Chapter 1: Overall Sales Performance."
To add the next part of your story, click "Blank" to create a new empty story point. Drag your second dashboard onto this new blank point. Add a title.
Repeat this process for all the dashboards you want to include in your sequence.

Step 3: Customize the Navigator

Above the canvas, you’ll see a story navigator that allows users to click through your story points. You can change how this navigator appears. Under "Layout," you can choose from different styles like "Numbers," "Dots," or "Arrows Only." Choose the one that best fits your story's flow.

What It's Good For

Presentations: Perfect for recreating a presentation flow where you want to reveal insights methodically.
Portfolios: Showcases your ability to not only build dashboards but also to communicate a clear, data-driven narrative from start to finish.
Simple Projects: When the relationship between dashboards is straightforward and linear.

The limitation of the Story method is its rigidity. It encourages users to follow a path, which can discourage the kind of free-form exploration some projects need.

Method 2: Building a Navigation Dashboard for Exploration

If you prefer to let your audience explore on their own terms, creating a "home" or "menu" dashboard with navigation buttons is the most professional and flexible approach. This creates a more web-like experience where users can jump between different sections of your analysis as they please.

Step 1: Design an Engaging Main Menu Dashboard

First, create a new dashboard that will serve as your landing page. Keep it clean and simple. Its only purpose is to act as a directory.

Give it a clear title like "Sales & Marketing Performance Dashboard" or "Project Overview."
Add a short text box explaining what the project is about and how to use the navigation buttons.
You can add a high-level summary KPI or chart to give an immediate overview, but don't clutter the page. The focus should be on navigation.

Step 2: Add Navigation Objects

This is the fun part. In the Dashboard pane on the left, under "Objects," find the Navigation object. Drag and drop it onto your main dashboard where you want your first button to appear.

Once you drop it, a dialog box will pop up. Here's how to configure it:

Navigate to: Use the dropdown menu to select the specific dashboard you want this button to link to.
Button Style: You can choose either an Image Button (if you have custom icons prepared) or a Text Button for simplicity.
Title and Font: If you use a text button, give it a clear, action-oriented title like "View Regional Sales" or "Explore Campaign ROI." Adjust the font, color, and background to match your design.
Tooltip: Add tooltip text that appears when someone hovers over the button. This is good for providing extra context, for example: "Click here to see a detailed breakdown of sales by state and product category."

Click "OK." Repeat this process for every dashboard you want to link from your main menu, arranging the buttons logically on the page.

Step 3: Add "Back to Home" Buttons

To create a truly seamless experience, every detail dashboard needs a way to get back to the main menu. Go to one of your other dashboards and drag another Navigation object onto it. This time, configure it to navigate back to your main menu dashboard. You can make this a simple text button that says "Back to Main Menu" or use a home icon.

Once you've created one "Back" button, you can simply copy and paste it onto your other detail dashboards to save time.

What It's Good For

Complex Projects: Ideal for workbooks that have many different, non-sequential views (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance).
Interactive Portfolios: Empowers potential employers or clients to explore the areas that interest them most.
Business Dashboards: This mirrors the functionality users expect from professional BI applications.

Final Polish: Preparing Your Workbook for Publishing

Before you hit "publish," take a few minutes to clean up your workbook. This ensures a professional and clutter-free experience for your viewers on Tableau Public.

Hide All Unused Sheets: Your viewers don't need to see the underlying worksheets you used to build your dashboards. Right-click the tab for any worksheet, dashboard, or story you don't want to be visible and select "Hide Sheet." Make sure only the dashboards you've linked via your navigation menu (or included in your story) are visible. Your entry point should be either the Story or your Main Navigation dashboard.
Check Pop-up Settings: After you publish, go to the visualization's page on your Tableau Public profile. Click "Edit Details" and look for an option that says "Show sheets as tabs." If you built a navigation menu, you'll generally want to uncheck this box. Disabling tabs forces users to use the navigation buttons you created, providing a much cleaner experience. If you want users to freely click between all visible dashboards, you can leave it checked.
Craft a Great Title and Description: When the workbook is published, give it a descriptive title and write a few sentences explaining the project, the data source, and what insights people can find.

Publishing Your Workbook

With your workbook perfected, the final step is simple. In your Tableau Public desktop app:

Navigate to the Server menu at the top.
Select Tableau Public > Save to Tableau Public As...
If you're not already signed in, you will be prompted to do so.
Give your workbook a title for the public server.
Tableau will process the workbook and upload it. Once it's done, a browser window will automatically open with your published masterpiece!

Take a moment to click through it yourself to ensure all navigation buttons and story points work as expected.

Final Thoughts

Publishing multiple dashboards in Tableau Public is all about packaging your work into a single, navigable workbook using either a story or a main navigation menu. Choosing the right method depends on whether you want to tell a linear story or encourage open-ended user exploration. Either way, cleaning up your workbook by hiding unused sheets and configuring the tab settings will elevate your project from a collection of dashboards to a professional, cohesive analysis.

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