Permissions determine how users can interact with content such as workbooks and data sources. Permissions are set in the permission dialog or via the REST API(Link opens in a new window). At the top of the dialog, permission rules configure capabilities for groups or users. Below, the permissions grid displays the effective permissions for users.
There are several interrelated topics that discuss how to think about, set, and manage permissions. The main topics are:
Additionally, if Data Management is licensed, permissions for external assets have additional considerations. For more information, see Manage Permissions for External Assets.
Permissions fundamentalsProjects and groups
Tableau sites use projects to organize content and groups to organize users. Managing permissions is easier when permission rules are:
Permissions can only be established for users, groups, projects, or assets that already exist. For more information about creating users and groups, creating projects, and publishing content, see Manage Users and Groups, Use Projects to Manage Content Access , and Publish Data Sources and Workbooks(Link opens in a new window).
Capabilities and permission rulesÂ
Permissions are made up of capabilitiesâthe ability to perform actions like view content, web edit, download data sources, or delete content. Permission rules establish what capabilities are allowed or denied for a user or group on an asset.
For more information about capabilities and permission rule templates, see Permission Capabilities and Templates.
Note: When talking about permissions in general, itâs common to see a phrase like "a user must have the delete permission." This is easy to understand in a broad context. However, when working with permissions at a technical level like in this article, itâs more accurate to say "the delete capability." In this topic weâll use the more precise term capability, but you should be aware that you might see permission in other places.
For a breakdown of the capability icons and their meanings, see Permission Capabilities and Templates.
The interplay between license level, site role, and potentially multiple permission rules factor into the final determination of what a user can or canât do. For each user this becomes their effective permissions. For more information, see Effective permissions.Some tasks such as creating new workbooks from a browser (web authoring) or moving content might require specific configurations of several capabilities rather than being captured in a single capability. For more information, see Permission settings for specific scenarios.
Set permissionsPermission rules are set differently at the project level, at the content level, or when publishing content from Tableau Desktop.
Note: The phrase "project permissions" can have two meanings. There are the permission capabilities for a project itselfâView and Publishâthat control how a user can interact with a project. There is also the concept of project-level permission rules for other content types. In this article âproject-level permissionsâ means permission rules for workbooks, data sources, and the other assets that are configured in the permission dialog for a project. This is in contrast to âcontent-levelâ permission rules that can be set on a specific workbook, data source, etc.
For administrators, project owners, and project leaders
To set permissions at the project level:
The permissions dialog opens. This dialog has two main areas: permission rules at the top and the effective permissions grid below. Each content type has a tab. The image below shows the Data Sources tab.
With a row selected at the top, the effective permissions grid populates. Use this to verify permissions. Hovering provides information about why the capability is allowed or denied for that specific user.
One click sets the capability to Allowed, two clicks sets it to Denied, and a third click clears the selection (Unspecified).
Remember that the permissions dialog for a project contains tabs for each type of content. You must set permissions for each type of content at the project level or users will be denied access to that content type. A capability is only granted to a user if theyâre expressly allowed it. Leaving a capability as Unspecified will result in it being denied.
Tip: Every time you create a permission rule at the project level, make sure you look through all the content type tabs.
Configure the asset permissions settingPermission rules set at the project level act as a default for content saved in that project and any nested projects it contains. Whether those project-level default rules are kept uniform or are able to be edited depends on the Asset permissions setting. This setting can be configured in two ways, either Locked or Customizable. For more information, see Lock asset permissions.
For administrators, project leaders, and content owners
If project Asset permissions are Customizable, permissions for individual assets can be modified. The information below isnât relevant to assets in locked projects. For more information, see Lock asset permissions.
Tip: While it is possible to set permissions on individual assets in Customizable projects, we recommend managing permissions at the project level.
Set permissions on assetsThe permissions dialog opens. This dialog has two main areas: permission rules at the top and the effective permissions grid below. (Note the lack of tabs across the topâan asset-level permissions dialog has no tabs.)
With a row selected at the top, the effective permissions grid populates. Use this to verify permissions. Hovering over a capability square provides information about why the capability is allowed or denied for that specific user.
One click sets the capability to Allowed, two clicks sets it to Denied, and a third click clears the selection (Unspecified).
Tip: While itâs possible to set view-level permissions within a workbook, we strongly recommend managing permissions at the project (or, if necessary, workbook)Â level.
If a workbook is published with Show Sheets as Tabs checked, the views in that workbook will inherit all permissions set for the workbook. The permission dialog for a view will be read-only.
In some situations, it may be valuable to specify permissions on a view independently from the workbook that contains it. If the workbook is published with Show Sheets as Tabs unchecked (sheet tabs hidden), the views will start with the workbook permissions but will be independent thereafter and can be set independently. Note that this means if the permission rules are modified for the workbook, those changes wonât be applied to the viewsâeach viewâs permissions will need to be managed individually.
See Show or Hide Sheet Tabs for more information.
For content publishers
If project Asset permissions are Customizable, permissions for individual assets can be set when publishing from Tableau Desktop. The information below isnât relevant for content in locked projects. For more information, see Lock asset permissions.
Tip: While itâs possible to set permissions on individual assets in Customizable projects, we recommend managing permissions at the project level.
Note that effective permissions canât be inspected from the publishing dialog.
Note:Â Permissions canât be set while publishing flows from Tableau Prep Builder. To set permissions on a flow, refer to the steps for Project-level permissions or Content-level permissions.
Clean up the All Users groupBy default, all users are added to an "All Users" group that has basic permissions for content. To start with a clean slate when building your own permission rules, we recommend that you delete the rule entirely or edit the rule for All Users to remove any permissions (set the permission role template to None). This helps prevent any ambiguity down the road by reducing the number of rules that applies to any given user and therefore making effective permissions easier to understand.
Permission settings for specific scenariosCertain actions require combinations of permission capabilities and possibly site roles. The following are some common scenarios and their necessary permission configurations
Saving, publishing, and overwritingIn the context of permissions, saving is essentially publishing. As such, the Overwrite and Save a Copy capabilities can only be given to users with a site role that allows publishing:Â Administrator, Creator, or Explorer (can publish). Explorer or Viewer site roles canât publish, overwrite, or save a copy.
Itâs important to note that users arenât able to Publish or Publish As a piece of content unless they have the Publish capability for at least one project, because all content must be published into a project. Without the Publish capability at the project level, the content canât be published.
Overwrite and claim ownershipIn web editing, the Publish option in the File menu only appears to the content owner. If a user who isnât the owner has the Overwrite capability (allowing them to save the content), they must use File >Â Publish As... and name the workbook the exact same name. This prompts a warning that theyâre about to overwrite the existing content, which they can do. Conversely, a user with only the Save a Copy capability trying to use the same name gets an error stating they donât have permission to overwrite the existing content.
If a user who isnât the content owner overwrites content, they become the owner, with all the permissions that entails. The original ownerâs access to the content is then determined by their permissions as a user rather than the owner.
Note: Download/Save a Copy is a joint capability for workbooks. Explorers can be given this capability but theyâre only able to download the workbook, not save a copy using Publish As. Giving the capability to Explorer (can publish), Creator, or Administrator site roles gives them both the ability to download workbooks and save a copy using the publishing options in the File menu.
Web editing and web authoring allows users to edit or create workbooks directly in the browser.
The permission capability is called Web Edit and the site setting is called Web Authoring. This section refers to any web-based editing or publishing action as web authoring.
To enable this functionality, there are several requirements.
Optional indicates this capability isnât involved in the desired functionality
Data access for published Tableau data sourcesData sources published to a Tableau site can have native authentication as well as permissions within the Tableau environment.
When the data source is published to the Tableau site, the publisher can choose how to Set Credentials for Accessing Your Published Data, which addresses how data source credentials are handled (such as requiring users to log into a database or enter their credentials for Google Sheets). This authentication is controlled by whatever technology holds the data. This can be embedded when the data source is published, or the data source publisher can choose to prompt the user for their credentials to the data source. For more information, see Publish a Data Source.
There are also data source capabilities that allow or deny users the ability to see (View) and connect to the published data source (Connect) in the context of Tableau. These capabilities are set like any other permissions in Tableau.
When a workbook is published that uses a published data source, the author can control how the Tableau authentication behaves for someone consuming the workbook. The author sets the workbookâs access to the published data source, either as Embed password (using the authorâs Connect access to the data source) or Prompt users (using the Connect access of the person viewing the workbook), which may require data source authentication as well.
Note that this applies to consuming a workbook, not web editing. To web edit, the user must have their own Connect capability.
For information on embedding passwords when you publish Tableau content such as a data source or workbook that uses a virtual connection, see Virtual connections(Link opens in a new window) in the Tableau Server help.
Users with the Explorer (can publish) site role or higher can be granted the Extract Refresh capability on workbooks or data sources. This capability provides users with the same interface as the asset owner for triggering an extract refresh. The extract must either be a published data source or, if it's local to a workbook, have embedded credentials.
Because extract refreshes can be resource intensive and may already be scheduled, consider the following best practices when assigning the Extract Refresh capability:
To move an item, open its Action menu (...) and click Move. Select the new project for the item, then click Move Assets. If Move is unavailable or there are no available destination projects, verify the appropriate conditions are met:
When moving a database with its tables, the user must have the Move capability for both the database and its tables.
For information about how permissions are handled when moving content and projects, see Move projects and content.
Metrics (retired 2024.2)Tip:Â The information in this section is for the legacy metrics feature, which was retired in Tableau Cloud in February 2024 and in Tableau Server version 2024.2. For information about permissions for Tableau Pulse metrics, see Set Up Your Site for Tableau Pulse.
Retirement of the legacy metrics feature
Tableau's legacy metrics feature was retired in Tableau Cloud in February 2024 and in Tableau Server version 2024.2. In October 2023, Tableau retired the ability to embed legacy metrics in Tableau Cloud and in Tableau Server version 2023.3. With Tableau Pulse, we've developed an improved experience to track metrics and ask questions of your data. For more information, see Create Metrics with Tableau Pulse to learn about the new experience and Create and Troubleshoot Metrics (Retired) for the retired feature.
Metrics are created from views in published workbooks. Users can create metrics if they:
For more information, see Create and Troubleshoot Metrics (Retired) and Set Up for Metrics.
Note: Prior to 2021.3, the ability to create a metric on a view was controlled by the Download Full Data capability.
Because metrics are independent assets, itâs important to note that the permissions for metrics are managed independently from the view they were created from. (This is unlike data-driven alerts and subscriptions, where the content of the alert or subscription can only be seen if the user has the correct permissions for the view itself.)
Although the capabilities for metrics are straightforward, the View capability should be considered carefully. It may be possible for a workbook with restricted permissions to be the basis for a metric with more open permissions. To protect sensitive data, you might want to deny metric creation for specific workbooks.
Metrics display data from their ownerâs perspectiveWhen you create a metric, you capture your perspective of the data from that view. This means that any users who can access your metric will see the data as it appears to you. If the data in the view is filtered based on your credentials, the data you see might be different from what other users see when they access the same view. Limit the View capability for your metric if you're concerned about exposing your perspective of the data.
Explain DataWhen Explain Data is available, a user can select a mark in a view and click Run Explain Data in the markâs Tooltip menu. A combination of settings must be enabled to make Explain Data available in editing mode and viewing mode.
Requirements for authors to run Explain Data or edit Explain Data settings in editing mode:
Note: The Download Full Data capability for a Creator or Explorer (can publish) controls whether they see the View Full Data option in Extreme Values explanations. Viewers are always denied the Download Full Data capability. However, all users can see record-level details when the Extreme Values explanation type is enabled in Explain Data settings.
Requirements for all users to run Explain Data in viewing mode:
In the context of published content, sheet tabs (also referred to as tabbed views)Â is a distinct concept from sheet tabs in Tableau Desktop. Showing and hiding sheet tabs in Tableau Desktop refers to hiding sheets in the authoring environment. For more information, see Manage Sheets in Dashboards and Stories.
Showing and hiding sheet tabs (turning tabbed views on or off)Â for published content refers to navigation in a published workbook. When sheet tabs are shown, published content has navigational sheet tabs along the top of each view.
This setting also impacts how permissions function and may have security implications (see note).
Note: Itâs possible to have the View capability for a view without the View capability for the workbook or project that contain it. Normally if a user lacks the View capability for a project and workbook, they wouldnât know those assets exist. If they have the View capability for a view, however, a user may be able to see the project and workbook name when looking at the view, such as in the navigational breadcrumb. This is expected and accepted behavior.
Turn off tabbed views to allow independent view permissionsAlthough it isnât recommended as a general practice, there are times when it can be useful to set permissions on views independently of the workbook that contains them. To do so, three conditions must be met:
When a workbook shows sheets as tabs, all views inherit the workbook permissions and any changes to the workbook permissions affect all of its views. When a workbook in a customizable project doesnât show tabbed views, all views assume the workbook permissions upon publication, but any subsequent changes to the workbookâs permission rules wonât be inherited by the views.
Changing the configuration of sheets as tabs on a published workbook will also impact the permission model. Show Tabs overrides any existing view-level permissions and reinstate the workbook-level permissions for all views. Hide Tabs breaks the relationship between the workbook and its views.
Important:Â In a customizable project, any modifications to the workbook-level permissions wonât be applied if navigational sheet tabs are hidden (aka tabbed views are off). Changes to permissions must be made on individual views.
CollectionsFor information on managing permissions in Collections, refer to Collections.
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