9 Replies Latest reply on Jun 6, 2018 8:05 AM by Adam Ware

new column not appearing in tableau

robin.dinunzio Nov 9, 2016 7:41 AM

I added a new column to my data source (an .xlsx file) which is currently connected to Tableau. I saved the xlsx file and then refreshed the data source in Tableau. The newly added column is not showing up. I already have sheets/dashboards created that are associated with this data. I tried closing the data source file and Tableau and reopening, and this did not correct the problem. I also tried adding the same data as a new source, and Tableau still isn't recognizing the new column.

Any ideas why this is happening?

1. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

Walt Reed Nov 9, 2016 8:07 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

Hey Robin,
This depends on a couple things. One--is the file saved as .TWB or .TWBX? And is the connection to the Excel file Live or an Extract?

From my experience, the file had to be saved as a .TWB and be a Live connection. Once this is done, refresh the datasource and let me know it works.

Walt
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2. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

Doug Carter Nov 9, 2016 8:16 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

Hi Robin,

I would say that Walt is on the right track. Is the data source live or an extract, and are you working with a twb or a twbx?
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3. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

robin.dinunzio Nov 9, 2016 8:20 AM (in response to Walt Reed)

Hi Walt,

The file is saved as a .twbx and is a live connection. Based on your feedback, I saved the file as a .twb and then refreshed the data source, but that didn't work. I also closed the file and reopened. Still no luck!
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4. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

robin.dinunzio Nov 9, 2016 8:27 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

I saved the data source as a .csv and then associated the .twb file with the new data source. This solved the problem! I am working in Tableau 10, by the way.

Any idea why I would have to do this?
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5. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

Walt Reed Nov 9, 2016 8:30 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

Hey Robin,
I'm sorry, I misspoke. So what you need to do is save the Excel file, make sure the Tableau file is saved as .TWB, make the Excel connection an Extract, then refresh the extract.

Sorry--I did this a few weeks ago and couldn't remember exactly how I did it. Hopefully this will work.

Walt
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6. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

Walt Reed Nov 9, 2016 8:53 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

So did you try making the connection an Extract then refreshing (from my previous post), or did you only go the route you just described? It would be helpful to know for my own reference.

As for your question on why you have to do this--I do know that saving as .TWB references the actual file used, whereas if you package the workbook, the reference files are "packaged" or "zipped" with the workbook when you save it initially as .TWBX.
But as to why the Live connection doesn't show the updated data whereas the refreshed extract does, I'm not sure.
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7. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

robin.dinunzio Nov 9, 2016 10:30 AM (in response to Walt Reed)

Thanks Walt - I did the save as a csv file before I received your reply. However, I did try to execute your solution as well, but oddly enough it didn't work.

One other thing that did work is after connecting my twb to the csv file, I reverted back to the xlsx file connection, and the column showed up. This was without creating any kind of extract.

I'm wondering why the csv method worked. I would have expected your extract solution to work as well and am surprised it didn't, but perhaps through all my changing data connections I screwed something up!
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8. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

robin.dinunzio Nov 9, 2016 10:30 AM (in response to Walt Reed)

I also just tried adding another column to the csv file, saved it and then refreshed the data connection in my twb file, and the column appeared. No extract.
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9. Re: new column not appearing in tableau

Adam Ware Jun 6, 2018 8:05 AM (in response to robin.dinunzio)

A student pointed me here after coming across this issue...one factor could be related to excel / your computer's operating system... and that could be why csv worked-- in case you have not already tried this-- quitting Excel after saving, quitting Tableau and re-opening the file should resolve-- let me know if that helps
best,
Adam
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