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Did you know? X-DB Joins on Tableau Data Extracts (TDEs)

Back with Tableau 10.0 - we released the ability to perform cross-database (X-DB) joins on a multitude of databases. The full list is pretty comprehensive (and growing!) but one that tends to get missed is the "More..." option:

"More..." allows you to connect to local (important) Tableau Extract files (.TDEs) - in other words, you can actually connect to pre-created TDE files, either as the initial or secondary connection, and X-DB join on the result.

I've found myself playing with this scenario recently for some niche use cases - and it can come in handy. For example, suppose you'd like to take your fact data off your server and in to an extract BUT you'd still like to refer back to a SQL server with a live connection purely for user filtering - rather than extracting each combination. You can set that connection up as follows:

The primary challenge with this is that you'll need a method of refreshing the extract files external to the Tableau Server (as X-DB joins are currently unavailable for already published connections).

I went for a combination of Alteryx and opening up a network path to my Tableau Server instance, then creating and place the latest extract file on my server (not publish!). You could then connect and publishing this connection on to the server and run the Alteryx flow whenever you need it updated.

If I had more time, a Tab CMD script or REST API could likely be tweaked to refresh the extracts and place them physically on the server to have the same effect.

Note: This is technically an unsupported method - but it does work!

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