After Installing the Connector you can connect and create a Data Source for data in Slack.

Setting Up a Data Source

Complete the following steps to connect to the data:

1. Under Connect | To a Server, click More....
2. Select the data source called Slack by CData.
3. Enter the information required for the connection.
4. Click Sign In.
5. If necessary, select a Database and Schema to discover what tables and views are available.

Using the Connection Builder

The connector makes the most common connection properties available directly in Tableau. However, it can be difficult to use if you need to use more advanced settings or need to troubleshoot connection issues. The connector includes a separate connection builder that allows you to create and test connections outside of Tableau.

There are two ways to access the connection builder:

• On Windows, use a shortcut called Connection Builder in the Start menu, under the CData Tableau Connector for Slack folder.
• You can also start the connection builder by going to the driver install directory and running the .jar file in the lib directory.

In the connection builder, you can set values for connection properties and click Test Connection to validate that they work. You can also use the Copy to Clipboard button to save the connection string. This connection string can be given to the Connection String option included in the connector connection window in Tableau.

Connecting to Slack

The connector supports the following authentication mechanisms:

• OAuth (Slack's "V2" implementation of OAuth 2.0 and OAuth via OpenId Connect are supported)
• user token authentication

OAuth

Set AuthScheme to OAuth.

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Slack via the available OAuth flows.

There are two supported OAuth authentication methods available. The setup process is the same for all OAuth methods (aside from the scopes set for custom apps), so configure the connector in accordance with the type of app you're using to authenticate.

• Set OAuthVersion to v2 for Modern Slack apps.
• Set OAuthVersion to openid for Slack apps using "Sign in with Slack".

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop; that is, in situations where the user is using a local server not connected to the internet.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Slack console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Before you connect, set these properties:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
• Custom OAuth applications only:
  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the connector opens Slack's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

After you grant permissions to the application, the connector completes the OAuth process:

1. The connector obtains an access token from Slack and uses it to request data.
2. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the connector refreshes it automatically.

User Token

After Creating a Custom OAuth Application and selecting scopes, as an alternative to configuring the standard OAuth credentials (client, client secret, and callback URL), you can use a User OAuth Token to authenticate.

To use a token, set AuthScheme to UserToken and set UserToken to the value of the "User OAuth Token", found in your app settings in Features > OAuth & Permissions.

Next Step

See Using the Connector to create data visualizations.