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Use CData Tableau Connectors and Tableau Desktop to visualize live OData services.
Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData Tableau Connector for OData, you can easily get access to live OData services within Tableau. This article shows how to connect to OData in Tableau and build a simple chart.
The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live OData services in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with OData and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing OData services using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to OData services.
NOTE: The CData Tableau Connectors require Tableau 2020.3 or higher. If you are using an older version of Tableau, you will need to use the CData Tableau Connector for OData. If you wish to connect to OData services in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect Cloud.
About OData Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live OData services data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Access OData versions 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, working with legacy services and the latest features and capabilities.
- Leverage advanced query options, including $filter, $select, and $expand, enhancing data retrieval from 3rd party tools.
- Use Server-side execution of aggregation and grouping to minimize data transfer and boost performance.
- Authenticate securely using a variety of schemes, including Azure AD, digest, negotiate, NTLM, OAuth, and more means secure authentication with every connection.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage OData service entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
Customers use CData's solutions to regularly integrate their OData services with preferred tools, such as Power BI, MicroStrategy, or Tableau, and to replicate data from OData services to their databases or data warehouses.
Getting Started
Connect to OData in Tableau
Open Tableau and click More under Connect -> To a Server. Select "OData by CData," then configure the connection and click "Sign In."
The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid OData user credentials. In addition, you will need to specify a URL to a valid OData server organization root or OData services file.

Discover Schemas and Query Data
- Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
- Select OData from the Schema pull-down menu.
- Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables.
- Select Update Now or Automatically Update. Update Now lets you preview the first 10,000 rows of the data source (or enter the number of rows you want to see in the Rows text box). Automatically Update automatically reflects the changes in the preview area.
- Click the tab for your worksheet. Columns are listed as Dimensions and Measures, depending on the data type. The CData Tableau Connector discovers data types automatically, allowing you to leverage the powerful data processing and visualization features of Tableau.
- Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
- Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.

Using the CData Tableau Connector for OData with Tableau, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on OData services. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.