Lesson 01 · the free taster

Hello, Viz: a real extension in your Tableau, in five moves

Sheet 1 of 6
Sheet 1 · the whole lesson

One download, five moves, and it is running in your Tableau.

No theory today. You are going to grab one small file from this site and load a real, hosted viz extension into your own Tableau. The rest of this lesson is that, one move at a time, with a picture for each.

The file is a .trex: a tiny pointer that tells Tableau where the extension lives. This one points at Radial Spike, the same viz extension Tableau lists on its Exchange, hosted right here. Two things get you ready for Sheet 2: grab the file, and have Tableau open.

Get set up · two quick things before Sheet 2
1On the Marks card, choose Add Viz Extension.

Open any worksheet. On the Marks card, open the mark-type menu (the one that usually says Automatic) and pick Add Viz Extension at the bottom.

Tableau · Marks cardillustrationscreenshot
The Marks card mark-type menu open, with Add Viz Extension at the bottom. 1Add Extension
MARKS Automatic ▾ Color Size Label Bar Line Circle Square Add Viz Extension ▸
Step 1 · the door is on the Marks card, not under Dashboard › Objects. That other door is for dashboard extensions.
2Choose Access Local Viz Extensions, then pick your file.

In the dialog that opens, choose Access Local Viz Extensions, then find and open the radial-spike.trex you just downloaded.

Tableau · Add a Viz Extensionillustrationscreenshot
Access Local Viz Extensions chosen, radial-spike.trex selected in the file picker. 1Access Local 2Pick the .trex
Add a Viz Extension My Extensions Access Local Viz Extensions DOWNLOADS ◆ radial-spike.trex sales-dashboard.twbx Open
Step 2 · Access Local is the option for a .trex sitting on your own machine, which is exactly where yours is now.
3Click Allow.

Tableau shows you exactly what the extension can see before it runs anything. Read it, then click Allow. Nothing loads until you do, and that gate is Tableau's governance working for you.

Tableau · permissionillustrationscreenshot
The Allow Extension permission dialog, showing Full Data Access: No, with an OK button. 1It shows what it can see 2Click OK
Allow this extension to run? Radial Spike can read the fields you place on its shelves. It does not see anything else in your workbook. Cancel Allow
Step 3 · the Allow gate is half the reason this whole approach is safe to use at work.
4Drop two fields, and it draws.

New tiles appear on the Marks card. Drop a dimension on Item and a measure on Length. That minimum pair is all it needs to draw.

Item← Sub-Category Length← Sales
Tableau · the new Marks tilesbeforescreenshot
The Marks card after loading Radial Spike: new Item, Length, Size, Color, Detail and Tooltip tiles, with a placeholder asking you to drop fields. Drop your two fields here 1 2
The new tiles appear on the Marks card: Item, Length, Size, Color, Detail, Tooltip. Drop a dimension on the first, a measure on the second.
Step 4 · loading the extension turns the Marks card into its shelves: 1 a dimension on Item, 2 a measure on Length.
Tableau · your worksheetit draws
The worksheet after dropping fields: Radial Spike drawn, one spike per value around an arc, length by Sales.
Radial Spike drawn: one spike per sub-category, arranged around an arc, length by Sales.
And it draws · one spike per item around an arc, a chart Tableau has no native mark for, now a mark type in your worksheet. Drop another measure on Size and watch it follow.
Sheet 6 · the last one
A real extension is running in your Tableau.

You downloaded a hosted .trex, loaded it, allowed it, and drew a chart Tableau does not ship, in about five minutes. That is the whole move, and every other extension in the course loads exactly the same way.

Start Lesson 2: meet your intern → See the whole course

Lesson 1 is free. Lessons 2 through 9 come with the course, $49, yours forever ($83 as the Complete Kit, with all seventeen production extensions). 30-day guarantee.

TableauOps · a lesson is a workbook, a step is a sheet · ext.tableauops.com