I am using Tableau Desktop Public Edition, 2024.3.3 (2024.3.3 (20243.25.0114.1153)) on a Windows 11 Home Asus Vivobook. My .twb workbooks are stored locally in C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Workbooks. In my workbook, I am pulling data from a Google Drive folder. This Google Drive connection does not seem to be a problem as this is listed as a installed connection and I can open and access Google Drive from within Tableau. Another error when opening the same workbooks is this one about a missing .hyper file. When I close the error message, a new blank workbook is opened.
@Steven Snijders Unfortunately, of all the times that someone has reported seeing that error (both here and on the Tableau sub-reddit), no one has reported back that they were able to recover the file. The primary problem was saving as a standard workbook (twb) instead of as a packaged workbook (twbx). While Public can work with twb files (and I'm guessing that most of the time it works well), there are circumstances where it fails in a way that will not occur if you save as a twbx. (I don't know the exact circumstances, but it appears to involve multiple data sources and/or using multiple connections within one data source).
If you have data source files that are being updated, there is a benefit to using the twb format (but possibly not enough to justify the chance of loss. Just save frequently enough that you can use version control to return to the last good copy). If your data is not being updated, I can't think of any benefit of a twb.
This is simplified explanation of what Public is doing with the data source and why twbx is the better option for locally saved Public files.
Public can only work with extracts. When you connect to a file, Tableau creates a temporary extract. When you save as a twb, the location of both the original file and the temporary extract are recorded in the twb. When you reopen the twb, a new temporary extract is created (this is where the benefit of twb occurs; the new extract will include updates made to the file). The reference to the temporary extract is updated in the twb.
When you save the file as a twbx, a permanent copy of the 'temporary' extract is placed in the data folder of the twbx file. The twb that is part of the twbx file is updated with this permanent location. Updates made to the original file are not updated in the twbx because the twbx no longer looks to the original file; it only looks to the extract in its data folder.
Your error is the result of Tableau not generating a new extract. Instead, Tableau thinks the previous extract is the original source and is trying to connect to it. Unfortunately, because the extract was located in a temporary folder, your computer deleted it when it was no longer needed. Thus, your workbook no longer has a valid data source. I don't think backup systems automatically include AppData/Local (the location of temporary extracts), so there isn't a great chance at recovery. (Those using virtual machines at school/work may be in a better position since these often redirect the profile as well).
James Emery
Tableau Forums Ambassador
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