I have a couple connections to some flat files that get dumped in daily in the morning. It seems, and I am probably doing this wrong, that I have to go and click on the Es_Completed_Appointfile and then press edit and then click on the file to reupload it. Is there a way for Tableau prep to just do this automatically from the Online environment when I publish the flow? I dont want to have to go back daily and reupload and publish. How do I accomplish this?
Hi
For automatic refreshes of Tableau Prep, with using Tableau Prep with Server or Tableau Cloud (online), then the Data Management (add-on $$$ paid cost, separate from Prep and Desktop) would be needed. It's called Tableau Prep Conductor. More information on Data Management for Prep here.
Enabling Tableau Prep Conductor on Tableau Cloud
After you purchase and license Data Management, you must enable Prep Conductor on Tableau Cloud. For more information, see Enable Tableau Prep Conductor on your Tableau Cloud Site and License Data Management
Otherwise, yes, the Refresh icon would have to be manually use to refresh data from the connection.
But, I also get from your post that you're trying to get away from re-establishing a new connection to the file every time it's updated.
That's the part missing from the post: (1) Is the file name overwritten with the same name (likely not if you're having to reconnect)? If it is the same file name and it doesn't change the connection path, then just the refresh button is all that's needed (2) is the file a new file name? Then there might be a workaround using parameterized incremental refresh (3) is the file an addendum of prior data in the folder and perhaps just needs to be unioned and incrementally refreshed then perhaps a wildcard union of the data in the folder along with incremental refresh?
More information for questions 2 and 3 on incremental refreshes/parametrized here and unioning of data in Tableau Prep here. Best, Don
