Configure Personal Access Token Authentication for Tableau Plugin

The article describes how to enable Personal Access Token (PAT) Authentication for Tableau Plugin.

NOTE: PAT Authentication works only with REST API. REST API is a default option only for getting Objects hierarchy.

To enable collection of data, images, and PDFs, you can either:

– [Preferred] manually enable REST API OR

– [For getting better-quality images] provide Username and Password Parameters to automatically proceed to collection with Web API. A user can be different from the one in Tableau Account.

Currently, it’s not possible to use Trusted Auth if PAT is enabled in the Plugin Connection Profile.

Beginning in [v6.4.4], Tableau Server Plugin can collect user-specific images and data via Personal Access Token and REST API.

For this, the following prerequisites are required:

  • Tableau impersonation must be enabled on the Tableau server side.
  • Username in MI must exactly match the one on the Tableau server side OR must be specified in User Editor under Username for Trusted Server Sign-on.

NOTE: Tableau Online Plugin does not support collecting user-specific images.

1. Create Token

Access the Tableau Account

  1. From the account menu, access My Account Settings
  2. Under Personal Access Tokens, input Token Name
    • This is the Token name Parameter used in Metric Insights
  3. [Create new token]
  4. [Copy to clipboard]
    • Copy and save the Token Secret value in a safe location as it is shown only once. Token Secret is the Token Parameter used in Metric Insights.

2. Provide the Required Parameters

Access the existing Tableau Data Source or create a new one

  1. Input a descriptive phrase in Data Source Name
  2. Select Password under Auth Type
  3. Specify the URL to the Tableau Server 
  4. Provide the Tableau Site ID

NOTE: For data, image, and PDF collection, Username and Plugin Password Parameters are not required if REST API is enabled under Plugin Config.

To collect images, data, and PDFs without enabling REST API, these fields are mandatory. In this case, the collection will be performed via Web API.

3. Configure PAT Auth under Optional Parameters

  1. Input "token" under Auth Method
  2. Provide the previously-saved Token Secret value from Tableau under Token
  3. Enter Token Name value from Tableau under Token name

For more information on Tableau Optional Parameters, refer to Tableau Parameters (Mandatory and Optional)

4. Enable REST API to Get Data, Image, PDF

The Parameter for content loading strategy controls the API setting only for collecting data, images, and PDFs. These can be collected both via REST and Web API; however, Web API provides better-quality images.

4.1. [Before 6.4.2]

Access the Plugin Config Page at <hostname>/admin/plugin-config

  1. In case the loadingStrategy Parameter in not on the list, click [+New Plugin Parameter]
  2. Choose "Tableau" from the drop-down
  3. Enter "loadingStrategy" under Parameter
  4. Set Value to "REST"
  5. [Save]

4.2. [6.4.2+]

Access Optional Parameters

  1. Input "REST" under Content loading strategy