10 Tableau Folder Structure Best Practices

Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool that can help you quickly and easily create stunning visuals from your data. But in order to get the most out of Tableau, it’s important to have a well-structured folder structure.

Having a well-structured folder structure will help you keep your Tableau workbooks organized and easy to find. It will also help you keep track of your data sources and ensure that your Tableau workbooks are up-to-date.

In this article, we’ll discuss 10 best practices for creating a Tableau folder structure.

1. Create a folder structure that is easy to understand

When you have a well-structured folder structure, it makes it easier for users to find the content they need. It also helps keep your Tableau environment organized and efficient.

When creating a folder structure, consider how you want to organize your data sources, dashboards, workbooks, etc. You may want to create folders based on departments or teams, or by project type. Additionally, you can create subfolders within each main folder to further organize your content.

Finally, make sure that all of your team members understand the folder structure so that everyone is able to easily access the content they need.

2. Use consistent naming conventions for your folders and workbooks

When you have a consistent naming convention, it makes it easier to find the workbooks and folders that you need. It also helps other users understand what each folder contains without having to open it up. This is especially important if you are working with multiple teams or departments who may not be familiar with your Tableau environment.

Using a consistent naming convention also allows you to quickly identify which version of a workbook is the most recent one. For example, you could use a date-based naming convention such as “YYYYMMDD_WorkbookName” so that the newest version will always appear at the top of the list.

3. Keep the number of top-level folders to a minimum

Having too many top-level folders can make it difficult to find the content you need. It also makes it harder for users to understand where they should save their work, which can lead to confusion and frustration.

To keep your folder structure organized, try to limit the number of top-level folders to five or fewer. This will help ensure that all of your content is easy to find and access. Additionally, consider creating subfolders within each top-level folder to further organize your content.

4. Avoid nesting too many levels within your Tableau Server folder hierarchy

When you have too many levels of folders, it can be difficult to find the content that you need. It also makes it harder for users to understand where their content is located and how to access it. Additionally, having too many nested folders can slow down performance on Tableau Server.

To avoid this issue, try to keep your folder structure as flat as possible. This means creating fewer top-level folders and using descriptive names so that users can easily identify what type of content is stored in each one. You should also consider setting up permissions at the folder level rather than individual workbooks or data sources.

5. Organize content by project or business area

Organizing content by project or business area allows users to quickly find the information they need. It also helps keep related content together, making it easier for users to understand how different pieces of data are connected. Additionally, organizing content in this way makes it easier to manage permissions and access levels, as well as track changes over time.

Finally, having a consistent folder structure across projects and business areas can help ensure that everyone is using the same conventions when creating and managing Tableau content. This will make it easier for new users to get up to speed with existing processes and procedures.

6. Consider using subfolders to organize content by type (e.g., dashboards, reports)

Subfolders can help you keep your Tableau content organized and easy to find. For example, if you have a lot of dashboards in one folder, it can be difficult to locate the dashboard you need quickly. By creating subfolders for each type of content (e.g., dashboards, reports), you can easily navigate to the right folder and find what you’re looking for.

Additionally, using subfolders can also help with security. You can set permissions on individual folders so that only certain users or groups can access specific types of content. This helps ensure that sensitive information is kept secure and only accessible by those who should have access.

7. Avoid creating more than one level of subfolders

When you create multiple levels of subfolders, it can be difficult to keep track of where everything is located. This makes it harder for users to find the content they need quickly and easily. Additionally, if a user has access to only one level of folders, they won’t be able to see any content in deeper levels.

To make sure your Tableau folder structure is organized and easy to use, try to limit yourself to creating no more than one level of subfolders. That way, all of your content will be visible and accessible to everyone who needs it.

8. Assign permissions at the lowest possible level in your folder hierarchy

When you assign permissions at the highest level of your folder hierarchy, it can be difficult to manage and control who has access to what. For example, if you give everyone in your organization access to a top-level folder, then they will have access to all the subfolders within that folder as well. This could lead to confusion or even security risks.

By assigning permissions at the lowest possible level in your folder hierarchy, you can ensure that only those with the appropriate permissions have access to specific folders. This makes it easier to manage user access and helps keep your data secure.

9. Be careful when moving content between folders

When you move content between folders, Tableau will automatically update the permissions of that content to match the folder it is moved into. This means if you move a workbook from a folder with more restrictive permissions to one with less restrictive permissions, anyone who had access to the original folder will now have access to the new folder as well.

To avoid this issue, make sure to double-check the permissions on both folders before moving any content. Additionally, consider using Tableau’s “Copy” feature instead of “Move” when transferring content between folders. That way, you can keep the original permissions intact while creating a duplicate version in the new folder.

10. Don’t use spaces in your folder names

Tableau is a database-driven application, and databases don’t like spaces in their names. If you use spaces in your folder names, Tableau will replace them with underscores when it stores the data in its database. This can lead to confusion and errors down the line.

It’s also important to keep your folder structure organized and consistent. Create folders for different types of projects or datasets, and make sure that all related files are stored together. This makes it easier to find what you need quickly and reduces the risk of accidentally overwriting or deleting something.