Visualize Live Harvest Data in Tableau

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with the CData API Driver for Tableau, you can easily get access to live Harvest data within Tableau. This article shows how to connect to Harvest in Tableau and build a simple chart.

The CData Tableau Connectors enable high-speed access to live Harvest data in Tableau. Once you install the connector, you simply authenticate with Harvest and you can immediately start building responsive, dynamic visualizations and dashboards. By surfacing Harvest data using native Tableau data types and handling complex filters, aggregations, & other operations automatically, CData Tableau Connectors grant seamless access to Harvest data.

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 API Driver for Tableau. If you wish to connect to Harvest data in Tableau Cloud, you will need to use CData Connect.

Connect to Harvest in Tableau

Open Tableau and click More under Connect -> To a Server. Select "Harvest by CData," then configure the connection and click "Sign In."

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Harvest Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Harvest.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Harvest (see below).

Harvest API Profile Settings

To authenticate to Harvest, you can use either Token authentication or the OAuth standard. Use Basic authentication to connect to your own data. Use OAuth to allow other users to connect to their data.

Using Token Authentication

To use Token Authentication, set the APIKey to your Harvest Personal Access Token in the ProfileSettings connection property. In addition to APIKey, set your AccountId in ProfileSettings to connect.

Using OAuth Authentication

First, register an OAuth2 application with Harvest. The application can be created from the "Developers" section of Harvest ID.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• ProfileSettings: Set your AccountId in ProfileSettings.
• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the client ID that you specified in your app settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client secret that you specified in your app settings.
• CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that you specified in your app settings.
• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage how the driver obtains and refreshes the OAuthAccessToken.

Discover Schemas and Query Data

1. Select CData from the Database pull-down menu.
2. Select API from the Schema pull-down menu.
3. Drag the tables and views you wish to visualize onto the join area. You can include multiple tables.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Drag a field from the Dimensions or Measures area to Rows or Columns. Tableau creates column or row headers.
7. Select one of the chart types from the Show Me tab. Tableau displays the chart type that you selected.

Using the CData API Driver for Tableau with Tableau, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Harvest data. Download a free, 30-day trial and get started today.