Tableau Desktop and Server compatibility - The Information Lab Nederland

As a partner of Tableau, Alteryx, and Snowflake we offer our customers fast and above all qualitative support. Support is key when working with software solutions. That’s why we are the only partner who gives support totally for free. Using this blog, we discuss some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). 

How can we help you?

Issue

When publishing to Tableau Server using a newer version (nnnn.n) of Tableau Desktop. Bellow an example of a common version compatibility error:

Environment

• Tableau Desktop
• Tableau Server

Cause

The major (nnnn) and minor (nnnn.n) versions do not match between Tableau Desktop and Server. Compatibility issues typically arise only between release versions of Tableau products. There are no compatibility issues between Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server maintenance releases (nnnn.n.n) within the same version series. For instance, if your run Tableau Server version 2021.1.5 then Tableau Desktop version 2021.1.3 is compatible where 2021.2.1 is not.

Resolution

You can publish workbooks and data sources to Tableau Server if the version of Tableau Server is the same or newer than the version of Tableau Desktop.

First, identify which version of the Desktop you are using. Open Desktop, select Help > About Tableau from the top menu. The version number is displayed at the top of the dialog.

Secondly, decide if you want to downgrade your Tableau Desktop version or export your workbook to a previous version. Follow the steps in this Tableau Help article on how to do this.

Bottom line: stay inside the same minor release (nnnn.n) to keep compatibility easy. 

Additional information

• In most cases, there are no compatibility issues with maintenance release versions. However, sometimes Tableau introduces new connector support with a maintenance release. This can introduce issues if Tableau Desktop has been upgraded. So, always double-check the release notes for both Desktop and Server.
• Tableau Prep doesn’t follow the same naming model for its release numbers. Here versions are numbered like Desktop maintenance versions. For instance, 2021.1.3 except Prep doesn’t release a maintenance version of that product.

Helpful resources

• Version compatibility between versions: https://help.tableau.com/current/desktopdeploy/en-us/desktop_deploy_compatibility.htm 
• Make workbooks compatible with older versions: https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/publish_version_compatibility.htm#export-to-an-earlier-version-from-tableau-desktop 
• Version compatibility with Tableau Online: https://help.tableau.com/current/desktopdeploy/en-us/desktop_deploy_tableau_online.htm 
• Version compatibility with Tableau Prep: https://help.tableau.com/current/prep/en-us/prep_conductor_compatibility.htm 
• Tableau Reader and Tableau Desktop compatibility: https://kb.tableau.com/articles/issue/tableau-reader-and-tableau-desktop-compatibility

For more information, please have a look at our website. Finally, if you want to know more or just have a chat? Just contact me through LinkedIn.