Migrating Tableau Workbooks from On-Prem to Cloud

Due to changes in how content is organized in Tableau Cloud, users will need to republish existing workbooks on the legacy On-Premises server to the new Tableau Cloud server.

Step 1: To Create a New Project on the Cloud server

Please fill out this form.

We will need your desired Project Folder Name, who the owner is, the administration group, and the MCommunity groups you wish to add to the cloud server. Details are on the form.

You should only need to do this for the Top-Level Project. If you are requesting a sub-project, the owner of the project will be able to create sub-projects for you.

Step 2: To Migrate your Tableau workbooks:

A: Determine Which Workbooks to Move.

This Tableau Dashboard will show you which workbooks have been used in the last six months, and by whom. This data will show you which workbooks are critical to move, and which ones are not being utilized. Note: the Tableau Data Repository only keeps six months worth of data. We can not determine what is an 'only annually' used dashboard.

B: Locate Your Tableau File

If you already have the file: Locate your .twb or .twbx file on your local computer or shared drive.
If the file is only on the On-Prem Server: Log into the legacy On-Premises server, click the three dots (...) next to your workbook name, and select Download. The file will save to your computer as a .twbx packaged workbook. See more information below about .twbx files.)

Note: You must be a Project Owner or Workbook Owner to download server files.

C: Open & Validate Data Connections

Open the file in Tableau Desktop on your computer.
Refresh all data sources and extracts locally to verify that database credentials and network connections are functioning properly.
For additional publishing guidelines, refer to the Publishing and Connection Guidelines service page.
If the workbook is using a Published Data Source, there are a number of additional required steps. The steps are delineated below. If you need assistance, please use the link above to contact the ITS Tableau Team.

D: Publish to Tableau Cloud

In Tableau Desktop, Select Server > Sign In... to sign in to Tableau Cloud (online.tableau.com) and type in the appropriate site URI (UM-AnnArbor, UM-Dearborn, UM-Flint or UM-PHI) and your full U-M email ([email protected]).
Select Server > Publish Workbook.
Select your unit’s designated Cloud Project folder. (Contact your team’s Project Owner if you are unsure which folder to use).
Once published, we recommend that extracts be run to verify that all data connections are working.

Step 3: Communicate to Your Consumers

We have written a form email you can use to educate your consumers about the new server, and the new location of the workbooks. Saved URLs will have to be updated, as well as subscriptions and custom views. The letter can be found here.

Technical Tips:

Extracting .twbx Files

A .twbx file is a compressed archive containing the workbook (.twb file) and packaged data (.hyper file). If you need to extract the raw workbook file or data extract, rename the file extension from .twbx to .zip, accept the warning, and unzip the folder.

Published Data Sources

For workbooks connected to published data sources, there are a number of additional steps. The workbook AND data source need to moved to the new server in a series of steps. If you need additional assistance, please contact the ITS Tableau Team.

In Tableau Desktop, open the workbook containing the published data source.
Right click on the published data source and create local copy.
Replace on prem published data source with local copy data source. Verify functionality throughout the workbook.
Close the on-prem published data source.
1. If the above steps were done properly, there should be no warning, and the published data source should simply close. You are not deleting the published data source from the server, only disconnecting the workbook from it. If you get a warning that workbook tabs might close, review the above steps as the workbook is still using the on prem published data source.
In Tableau Desktop, log out of the on-prem server and connect to the cloud server.
The next steps depend on if the workbook is a 'data-source-only' workbook or contains the visualizations
1. If from a data-source-only workbook, publish the data source to the cloud server but do not replace the local data source with the published data source. Go to step 7 and continue.
2. If from a workbook with the visualizations, publish the data source to the cloud server and replace the local data source with the published data source. Go to step 11and continue
Connect the visualization workbook to the published data source.
Replace local data source with published cloud data source. Verify functionality throughout the workbook.
Close local data source.
Publish visualization workbook to cloud.

Verify functionality throughout the workbook.
Close local data source.
Publish visualization workbook to cloud.