Multiple data sources in Tableau - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

This feature lets you connect and combine data from different places in one Tableau workbook. It helps when your information is spread across files, databases, or online sources and you want to analyze it together.

When your sales data is in an Excel file but customer info is in a database and you want one report.

When you have monthly reports in separate files and want to compare them in one dashboard.

When you want to blend web analytics data with your product inventory data.

When you need to join data from a cloud service with your local data source.

When you want to create a dashboard that shows data from different departments stored in different systems.

Steps

Step 1: Open Tableau and start a new workbook

- Start page

A blank workbook is ready for data connections

Step 2: Click 'Connect' to a data source

- Start page or Data pane on the left

The connection options appear for you to choose your first data source

Step 3: Select your first data source type and connect

- Connect pane

The data loads and shows in the Data pane

Step 4: Click 'Add' under Connections to add another data source

- Data pane

A new connection option appears to select a second data source

Step 5: Select and connect to the second data source

- Connect pane

The second data source loads and appears in the Data pane alongside the first

Step 6: Create relationships or joins between data sources if needed

- Data Source tab

Tables from different sources link logically for combined analysis

Step 7: Use fields from both data sources in your worksheet

- Worksheet view

Visualizations show combined data from multiple sources

Before vs After

Before

Only one data source connected showing sales data from Excel

After

Two data sources connected showing sales data from Excel and customer info from SQL Server combined in one worksheet

Settings Reference

Add New Data Source

📍 Data pane > Connections > Add

To connect additional data sources to the workbook

Default: None

Data Relationships

📍 Data Source tab > Relationships

To define how tables from different sources relate for combined analysis

Default: None

Data Blending

📍 Worksheet > Data pane > Link icon next to secondary data source

To blend data from different sources on common fields

Default: Enable when multiple sources used

Common Mistakes

Trying to join tables from different data sources directly in the Data Source tab

Tableau requires relationships or data blending for multiple sources, not direct joins across sources

Use Relationships in the Data Source tab or blend data in the worksheet using common fields

Not linking fields properly when blending data

Without linking, Tableau cannot combine data correctly and results will be incomplete

Click the link icon next to the secondary data source and select matching fields

Summary

You can connect multiple data sources in one Tableau workbook to analyze combined data.

Use Relationships or Data Blending to link data from different sources correctly.

Remember you cannot directly join tables across different data sources in Tableau.