How to Build Tableau reports on SQL Server Data using SQL Server ODBC Driver
Introduction
Progress DataDirect SQL Server ODBC Driver offers a high-performing, secure and reliable connectivity solution, for ODBC applications to access SQL Server data. If you want to use our ODBC SQL Server Driver with the Tableau Desktop application, Progress
DataDirect has you covered. In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure the DataDirect SQL Server driver within Tableau Desktop to create reports. These steps can also be used to configure any ODBC connection with Tableau.
This tutorial assumes that you have ODBC drivers installed and a data source configured. If you have not yet done these steps, please follow these instructions:
Download and install the Progress DataDirect SQL Server ODBC driver using the 15-day trial software. In this tutorial, we are connecting to Microsoft SQL Server.
Configure a data source for your database. See the DataDirect documentation for assistance with setting up your
data source. You will learn how to configure a SQL Server Datasource in the following steps.
Start Tableau and select the “Other Databases (ODBC)” option.
In the pop-up window, select the “DSN” radial button and choose the data source previously configured to connect to SQL Server in the dropdown.
Click on “Connect” and another Logon Dialog popup screen will appear. Enter your credentials and click on “OK.”
Enter any additional parameters required to connect to your SQL Server Datasource, such as a username and password, and select “OK.” The original connection screen will now display the connection attributes.
Select “Sign In” and the Tableau configuration screen should now appear.
You can use Tableau's schema and table drop-down list to browse and select your data. Or you can execute SQL statements by clicking on the "New Custom SQL" option.
For example, you can execute a statement such as "Select * from schema_name.table_name" and then click on the "Sheet 1" option at the bottom of the Tableau screen. This screen will allow you to select data and create tables or charts, such as the
sample below: