Graphed LogoGraphed
Graphed LogoGraphed
How It WorksAgentsIntegrationsPricing

How to Save Data Source in Tableau

Cody Schneider••9 min read

Ever spent a solid hour in Tableau connecting to your data, joining a few tables, cleaning up field names, creating calculated fields, and perfecting your hierarchies, only to have to do it all over again the next time you create a new workbook? Saving your data source is the simple solution that lets you do the setup work once and reuse it forever. This article will show you exactly how to save Tableau data sources, both locally for personal use and centrally on a server for team-wide consistency.

GraphedGraphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Watch Graphed demo video

Why Bother Saving a Tableau Data Source?

Taking a moment to save a data source might seem like a small step, but it’s a foundational practice for serious Tableau users. It moves you from one-off analyses to a more efficient and reliable reporting process. Here’s why it’s so valuable:

  • Saves Time and Effort: This is the most immediate benefit. All the work you do on the Data Source page - creating joins and relationships, renaming fields, changing data types, creating hierarchies, groups, sets, and calculated fields - can be saved. The next time you need that data, you just connect to your saved data source and all that work is already done for you.
  • Ensures Consistency: When everyone on your team connects to the same saved data source, everyone is using the same logic. The "Total Sales (Includes Tax)" calculation is defined identically in every report. Product hierarchies are always structured the same way. This eliminates discrepancies and builds trust in your dashboards.
  • Centralized Management: By publishing a data source to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, you create a single source of truth. If a field name needs to be updated or a calculation needs to be tweaked, you can change it in one central location, and the update will flow through to every workbook connected to it.
  • Improved Security and Governance: Published data sources allow you to manage permissions centrally. You can control who has access to the data source and even embed database credentials so end-users don’t need to know the database username and password themselves.

Think of it this way: Not saving your data source is like writing a complex recipe on a napkin, throwing it away after you bake the cake, and then trying to recreate it from memory every time. Saving your data source is like writing that recipe down, laminating it, and putting it in a binder for everyone in the kitchen to use.

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

Understanding The File Types: .tds vs. .tdsx

Before saving your first data source, it's important to know the difference between the two main file types Tableau uses for saved data sources. Choosing the right one depends on your needs.

What is a .tds (Tableau Data Source) file?

A .tds file is like a blueprint or a recipe for your data connection. It stores all the metadata and modifications you've made, but it does not store the actual data itself. It’s a very lightweight file that contains:

  • Connection information (e.g., server address, database type).
  • Information on any joins, unions, or relationships you’ve created.
  • All custom configurations: renamed fields, calculated fields, hierarchies, groups, bins, and sets.
  • Default formatting properties (e.g., number formats, default colors, sort order).

When you connect to a .tds file, Tableau reads the blueprint and uses it to connect live to your original data source. This is perfect when you want to maintain a live connection to your data but still save all your customization work.

What is a .tdsx (Tableau Packaged Data Source) file?

A .tdsx file contains everything a .tds file does, plus one critical addition: an extract of the data. Think of a .tdsx file as a zip file that packages your data connection blueprint (the .tds) and a snapshot of the data (a .tde or .hyper file) together.

This is extremely useful for a few reasons:

  • Performance: Querying a local extract is often much faster than querying a remote, live database.
  • Offline Access: Since the data is stored in the file, you can build visualizations and analyze your data without an active connection to the original database.
  • Sharing: It’s the easiest way to share a data source with someone who doesn’t have access to the underlying database. You can just email them the .tdsx file, and they will have everything they need.
  • Reduced Database Load: By using an extract, you query your database once to create it, and then all subsequent work in Tableau happens against the local file, reducing the processing load on your production server.

Quick Comparison

  • .tds: The Recipe. Small file, maintains a live connection, needs access to the original data.
  • .tdsx: The Recipe & The Ingredients. Larger file, contains an offline data extract, great for performance and sharing.
GraphedGraphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Watch Graphed demo video

How to Save a Data Source Locally (.tds or .tdsx)

Saving a data source for your personal use is a straightforward process. You’ll save it as a file directly on your computer, making it readily available whenever you open Tableau Desktop.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Connect and Prepare Your Data: Start a new workbook in Tableau Desktop. On the "Connect" screen, connect to your data (e.g., an Excel file, a SQL Server database, etc.). Once connected, you’ll land on the Data Source page. This is your workspace - perform any necessary joins, drag in calculated fields, rename columns, and generally get the data model exactly how you want it.
  2. Choose Live vs. Extract: In the top-right corner of the Data Source page, you'll see options for "Live" and "Extract".
  • If you want to save a .tds file that maintains a live connection, leave "Live" selected.
  • If you want to create a .tdsx file with an embedded data extract, select "Extract." Tableau will immediately prompt you to save the extract file and create it.
  1. Save the Data Source: Once your data is prepped and you've chosen your connection type, saving is simple. Navigate to the main menu bar at the top of the window.

Click on Data > Add to Saved Data Sources.

  1. Name Your File and Save: A file browser window will pop up, already pointed at the "Datasources" folder within your "My Tableau Repository" directory. Give your data source a descriptive name.
  • If you chose a Live connection, it will save as a Tableau Data Source (.tds) file.
  • If you created an Extract, it will save as a Tableau Packaged Data Source (.tdsx) file.

And that’s it! The data source is now saved and ready to be reused.

Reusing Your Locally Saved Data Source

The next time you open Tableau Desktop and want to use this data source, the process is incredibly fast:

  1. On the startup screen, under the "Connect" section on the left, click on Saved Data Sources.
  2. You will see a list of all the data sources you’ve saved in your repository.
  3. Click on the source you just created, and you’ll be taken directly to a new worksheet, data loaded, with all your custom fields and settings intact.

Publishing a Data Source to Tableau Server or Cloud

While local data sources are great for individual work, publishing a data source is the gold standard for teams. It centralizes your data model, ensures everyone works from the same playbook, and automates data refreshes.

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Prepare Your Data Source: Just like before, set up your data connection, joins, and custom fields exactly as you want them in Tableau Desktop. Decide if you want this to be a published Live connection or a published Extract. If it's an Extract, make sure to create it first before publishing.
  2. Sign In to Your Server: In the top menu, go to Server > Sign In. Enter your Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud address and provide your credentials.
  3. Publish the Data Source: Once you are signed in, go back to the top menu: Server > Publish Data Source. Then select the currently active data source you wish to publish.
  4. Configure Publishing Options: A powerful dialog box will appear with several important options:
  • Project: Choose the project folder on the server where you want to store the data source.
  • Name & Description: Give it a clear name and a helpful description so others know what it is and how to use it.
  • Permissions: This is key for governance. Click "Edit" to define which users or groups can connect to, edit, or overwrite this data source. By default, it will lock the project permissions.
  • Authentication: This tells the server how to access the underlying database. You can embed the database password (so users never have to enter it) or prompt users for their own credentials. Embedding is usually preferred for published extracts.
  • Refresh Schedule (for extracts only): If you’re publishing an extract, this is where the magic happens. You can schedule the extract to refresh automatically on a recurring basis (e.g., daily at 6 AM), so your data is always up-to-date without any manual effort.
  1. Click Publish: Once everything is configured, hit the "Publish" button. Tableau will upload the data source (and the extract, if you have one) to the server. You'll get a confirmation when it's complete.

Connecting to a Published Data Source

Now, anyone on your team with the proper permissions can leverage this centralized data source:

  1. In Tableau Desktop, under the "Connect" pane, select Tableau Server.
  2. Sign in.
  3. A search window will appear, listing all the content you can access. Simply search for the data source you just published.
  4. Select it and click "Connect." Instantly, you have a perfectly configured, governed, and trusted data source ready for analysis.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to save a data source in Tableau is a simple skill that pays massive dividends in efficiency and reliability. Whether you're saving a .tds file locally for a personal project or publishing a centrally managed data source on Tableau Server for your entire organization, you’re investing time now to save yourself and your team countless hours later.

While tools like Tableau offer powerful ways to prepare and manage data, the initial setup can still be a heavy lift. We built Graphed because we believe getting insights shouldn't require mastering complex BI tools. Instead of manually configuring joins and publishing sources, you can connect your platforms like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce in seconds. From there, you just ask questions in plain English - like "create a dashboard showing new vs returning users by traffic source for the last 90 days" - and Graphed builds a live, interactive dashboard for you instantly.

Related Articles