Chapter 7: What is in the More Actions (…) Menu

In this chapter, you will learn how to utilize the most valuable options located inside the More actions ellipsis (...). This menu provides you with the ability to make important changes to the content on Tableau Server. This is where you can set and review access privileges, view and edit data connection details, view and manage data extract refresh information, monitor the usage of your content, and more.

After completing this chapter, you will have a better understanding of how to utilize the most important options featured within your More actions ellipses.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Examining the More actions ellipsis
• Examining Edit Workbook/Edit View
• Examining Share
• Examining Download
• Examining Tag
• Examining Rename
• Examining Move
• Examining Permissions
• Examining Change Owner
• Examining Revision History
• Examining Delete
• Examining Who Has Seen...

Examining the More actions ellipsis

The More actions menu can be found in various locations for all types of content throughout Tableau Server. It is usually represented by an ellipsis (…) near the item(s) that you are viewing. An example of a More actions menu that is available for a workbook is shown in Figure 7.1:

Figure 7.1 – The More actions ellipsis icon and drop-down menu for a workbook Dashboard image created by Chimdi Nwosu

When you hover over the ellipsis, a tooltip showing More actions will appear. Clicking on the ellipsis will open the drop-down menu.

Note

In some places, the menu is referred to as More actions. In other places, you will only see it labeled as Actions. Both menus have the same functionality, and we will use the two terms interchangeably throughout this book. The major difference between the More actions ellipsis (…) and the Actions option available on Select All is that the ellipsis button performs a...

Examining Edit Workbook/Edit View

The Edit Workbook or Edit View feature is available for workbooks and views, respectively, from the More actions ellipsis (…) menu. If you can see one of these options available, that means you have the proper permissions. Selecting the Edit Workbook or Edit View option will open a Web Edit page that will allow you to make edits to a view or workbook within Tableau Server without leaving your web browser. After clicking on the More actions ellipsis (…), the Edit Workbook feature or the Edit View feature will be located at the top of their respective drop-down menus. Examples of where these features are located inside a More actions drop-down menu is shown in Figure 7.6:

Figure 7.6 – The locations of Edit Workbook and Edit View inside a More actions drop-down menu

After selecting either Edit Workbook or Edit View, a Web Edit page will open. Here, you will see an online layout that appears almost identical...

Examining Share

A simple, but useful, Tableau Server feature that is available for projects, workbooks, views, metrics, and data sources within the More actions ellipsis (…) is the Share… feature. Selecting this option will open a window that will provide you with the ability to either copy a link to share content or share content directly with others. After you click on the More actions ellipsis (…) button, the Share... feature will appear near the top of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu for a workbook is shown in Figure 7.8:

Figure 7.8 – The location of Share… inside a More actions workbook drop-down menu

After you click on Share… from the More actions menu, a new window will open that provides you with the ability to share your selected content. The Share window reminds you that Only people with permission can see this [content type]. Figure 7.9...

Examining Download

A commonly used Tableau Server feature that is available for workbooks and data sources within the More actions ellipsis (…) is the Download feature. Clicking on this option automatically downloads a Tableau workbook that you can open with Tableau Desktop. After clicking on the More actions ellipsis (…), the Download feature can be found near the top of the drop-down menu, just below Share.... An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu is shown in Figure 7.12:

Figure 7.12 – The location of Download inside a More actions workbook drop-down menu

Tip

If you would like the option to download a workbook in a different version of Tableau Desktop, you can do this by going into a view, clicking on the Download button, and selecting Tableau Workbook. This will provide you with a window titled Download Tableau Workbook, and you will have the option to select the current or past versions...

Examining Tag

Tableau Server offers many tools to aid you in finding information. However, the Tag… feature might be one of the most underutilized. A tag is a keyword that can be attached to workbooks, views, metrics, and data sources to help you filter and categorize your content. If you author a piece of published content, then you can add tags to it or remove tags from it. Additionally, if you are assigned a Creator or Explorer site role, then you can add or remove tags on content that you have been granted permission to. After clicking on the More actions ellipsis (…) button, the Tag... option can be found near the top of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu is shown in Figure 7.13:

Figure 7.13 – The location of Tag… inside a More actions drop-down menu

Adding a Tag

To add a tag, begin by clicking on Tag... inside the More actions drop-down menu. This will open...

Examining Rename

There may be times when you need to rename an item that has already been published to Tableau Server. One way to do this is by completely republishing the item from Tableau Desktop to Tableau Server. However, this method requires you to not only republish an item but remove the original item and fix or replicate any broken connections, such as favorites, metrics, subscriptions, and more. Fortunately, you can avoid this by renaming the item directly on Tableau Server using the Rename… option in the Actions menu, as presented in Figure 7.20:

Figure 7.20 – The Rename… option Dashboard image created by Mark Bradbourne

Clicking on this option will open the Rename Workbook pop-up window, as shown in Figure 7.21:

Figure 7.21 – The Rename Workbook pop-up window

From this window, you can edit the existing text or enter a new name and click on Rename to save or Cancel to exit without saving your changes...

Examining Move

Sometimes, there is a need to reorganize items on the server by changing their project location. After content has been published, Tableau Server conveniently allows you to move it within a site. Depending on your site role and permissions settings, content that can be moved within the server includes projects, workbooks, metrics, and data sources. Individual views cannot be moved because they are considered to be part of a workbook.

To move an item, click on the More actions menu and locate the Move… option, as indicated in Figure 7.22:

Figure 7.22 – The Move… option 
Dashboard images created by Chimdi Nwosu

Clicking on this option will open the Move Content pop-up window. This contains each project available to you on the Tableau Server site. Once you have identified the desired project location, click on Move Content to confirm the change, or click on Cancel to close the window without saving any changes. Figure...

Examining Permissions

Permissions determine what content Tableau Server users can access, interact with, edit, and manage. They can be managed at multiple layers throughout the server, such as projects, workbooks, views, metrics, and data sources. Permissions can also be applied to groups of users or specific individuals.

Understanding permissions can be overwhelming. In this section, we will only focus on the basics of editing the permission settings for content-level permissions using the Actions menu. A broad understanding of permissions is presented in Chapter 1, What is Tableau Server? For further information regarding this topic, please refer to the Tableau Help pages at https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/permissions.html.

Note

Throughout various Tableau communities and resources, you might see a phrase such as "download permission." This phrase is easy to understand and is fine to use in a broad context, but when studying permissions, it is important...

Examining Change Owner

Another interesting Tableau Server feature that is available for projects, workbooks, metrics, and data sources on the More actions ellipsis (…) is the Change Owner feature. Selecting the Change Owner… option will allow you to transfer ownership of an item to another user. After you click on the More actions ellipsis (…) button, the Change Owner... feature can be found around the middle of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu for a workbook is shown in Figure 7.28:

Figure 7.28 – The location of Change Owner… inside a More actions workbook drop-down menu

After you click on the Change Owner... option, a Change Owner window will open. This window advises you to transfer the ownership of a selected piece of content. The Change Owner window advises you to Choose an owner for [your selected piece of content]. You can select the user you would...

Examining Revision History

Tableau Server tracks changes to workbooks and data sources in its Revision History. Any time a change is made using the Web Edit feature or from overwriting an existing workbook or data source by publishing from Tableau Desktop, a new version is saved in Revision History. Understanding how to view and manage content using this history allows you to recover earlier versions of files that might have been inadvertently changed, edited to accommodate fluctuating business requirements, are experiencing unknown errors, or other issues.

This option can be found in both workbooks and data sources. You can view Revision History using the Actions menu by clicking on the More actions ellipsis (...) button and selecting Revision History…, which is located near the bottom of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a workbook's More actions menu is shown in Figure 7.30:

Figure 7.30 – The Revision...

Examining Delete

An important part of managing content on Tableau Server well includes removing unnecessary content, including items that are no longer in use. This is beneficial because it saves space on the server, and it helps you to keep your content organized. Removing excess server content also helps developers and users to avoid confusion on which items are currently being used and which items are no longer active or needed.

You must have an Explorer (can publish) or Creator site role and have the Delete capability for the item to remove it. You can also delete an item if you are the content owner or if you are the project owner or leader where the item is located.

To delete an item, first, you must navigate to it, then click on the More actions ellipsis (…) button. The Delete feature can be found at the bottom of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu for a workbook is shown in Figure 7.32:

...

Examining Who Has Seen This View?

Who Has Seen This View? is a great option that is only available in the More actions drop-down menu of a view in which you are the owner. It helps to answer a question that plagues so many of us who publish content to Tableau Server regularly: "Is anybody looking at my dashboard?" Selecting this feature will open a window that lists all the users who have seen that view. After clicking on the More actions ellipsis (…), the Who Has Seen This View? feature can be found near the bottom of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions menu is shown in Figure 7.34:

Figure 7.34 – The location of Who Has Seen This View? inside a More actions view drop-down menu

After you click on Who Has Seen This View? on the More actions menu, a new window will open that provides you with a list of all the users who have seen your view. This list provides you with the name of the user...

Examining Edit Connection

When data connections are published to Tableau Server, the connection information is stored so that the data can refresh on a schedule and users can interact with the data. A password can be embedded in the connection, or the user can be prompted to enter a password when attempting to view the data. If you need to update the data connection information, you can do so by using the Edit Connection option found on the More actions ellipsis (…).

Note

If you cannot see this option available, you might not have the required site role and/or be the owner of that item. Another method that you can use to edit the connection is to republish and overwrite the workbook or data source with the updated connection details.

If a workbook or data source has multiple connections, you will need to specify which connection you wish to edit. As discussed in previous chapters, you can view the individual connections using the Connections tab on a published data...

Examining Refresh Extracts

Refresh Extracts is an efficient way in which to run an automatic extract refresh on your data or schedule an extract refresh. This option is available on the More actions drop-down menu of a workbook or data source. After clicking on the More actions ellipsis (…) button, the Refresh Extracts… feature can be found near the bottom of the drop-down menu. An example of where this feature is located inside a More actions drop-down menu is shown in Figure 7.40:

Figure 7.40 – The location of Refresh Extracts… inside a More actions workbook drop-down menu

Selecting the Refresh Extracts... option opens a Refresh Extracts window. You will be presented with two options: Refresh Now and Schedule a Refresh.

Refresh Now

The first tab and default option on the Refresh Extracts window is Refresh Now. You can view an example of this window in Figure 7.41:

Figure 7.41 – The Refresh Extracts...

Examining Tabbed Views

If you are publishing a workbook that has multiple views (such as dashboards, worksheets, and stories), you have the option to show tabs during the publishing process. Tabs are buttons at the top of a view that allow users to navigate through multiple views within a single workbook. This is highlighted in Figure 7.43:

Figure 7.43 – Tabbed View

Dashboard images created by Chimdi Nwosu

After a workbook has been published, you can manage this preference from Tableau Server using the Tabbed Views option from the More actions ellipsis (…), as shown in Figure 7.44:

Figure 7.44 – The Tabbed Views… option

Dashboard images created by Chimdi Nwosu

Clicking on the Tabbed Views… option will open a pop-up window that allows you to either Show Tabs or Hide Tabs, as shown in Figure 7.45:

Figure 7.45 – The Tabbed Views pop-up window

The option that...

Summary

As we conclude this chapter, you should now be acquainted with the More Actions menu, which is often represented by ellipses (…) that can be found throughout Tableau Server. You should have a better understanding of the various places where you can find this menu. Additionally, you learned how to edit views, share, and download content, and tag items so that they can be easily identified in a search or by a filter. You also learned how to rename and move content, adjust permissions rules, and change content owners. Lastly, you learned how to view an item's revision history and delete content. You also know how to discover who has seen a view, edit data source connections, refresh data extracts, and show or hide tabs on a published view.

In the next chapter, you will learn about the many features available when viewing an item on the server. These features can help you to customize the Tableau Server experience for yourself and your users.