I have created my first data source for account/opp and thats worked and started creating reports. However I have tried to create a task workbook but it keeps saying "Operation too Large", I have tried a custom SQL but then it says errors like "Malformed Query" or "Unknown error related to remote content", I can't see anywhere I can filter from the data source sheet so I only get tasks this year? Another suggestion was click live in the top right instead of extract but its greyed out?
Hi Shannon!
The Live option being greyed out is expected with the Salesforce connector—Tableau uses extracts for Salesforce data, so switching to Live isn’t an option here.
For the “Operation too Large” error, the Task object can contain a very large number of records, so I’d try to reduce the data being extracted rather than using Custom SQL.
On the Data Source page, add a Data Source Filter for the Task date field, for example:
Activity Date → is on or after → 01/01/2026
You can also remove any unnecessary fields from the data source to reduce the extract size.
If you’re still getting OPERATION_TOO_LARGE, check whether the Salesforce user connecting Tableau has the required access. Salesforce documents this error when large Activity queries exceed the allowed volume for users without View All Data.
I’d avoid Custom SQL initially—it can introduce additional query/wrapping issues with the Salesforce connector. Start with the standard Task table + a date filter and see if the extract succeeds.
