Prerequisites

The connector supports Tableau Desktop 2020.1 or later. For earlier versions of Tableau Desktop, use either the CData ODBC Driver or JDBC Driver for Google Sheets instead.

Install the Connector

After the prerequisites are satisfied, complete the following steps to install the connector:

1. Download and run the CData setup.
2. Follow the instructions in the "Licensing The Connector" section to ensure the connector is properly licensed.
3. Follow the instructions in the "Register The Connector" section to enable the connector in Tableau Desktop.

License the Connector

On Windows, no additional steps are required. The connector setup prompts for a product key and registers a license as part of the install process.

On MacIntosh systems, you must run the licensing tool after the setup is complete. Open up a terminal and run the following commands to license the connector:

cd "/Applications/CData Tableau Connector for Google Sheets 2024/bin"
sudo ./install-license <key>

To activate a trial, omit the <key> input.

The second command may prompt for a password. If it does, provide the password you use to login to your Mac user account.

Register the Connector

If you are using Tableau Desktop 2020.3 then no additional steps are required. The connector setup copies the connector to the right location automatically.

For earlier versions of Tableau Desktop, complete the following steps:

1. Find your Tableau repository. Your repository is usually located in your documents folder with the name My Tableau Repository.
2. Go to the lib folder in the connector install directory. This is typically either C:\Program Files\CData\CData Tableau Connector for Google Sheets 2024\lib or /Applications/CData Tableau Connector for Google Sheets 2024/lib depending upon your platform.
3. Copy the cdata.googlesheets.legacy.taco file into the Connectors directory within your Tableau repository.

Note that the exact names of the My Tableau Repository and Connectors directories depend upon your system language settings.

Files Installed by the Connector

The setup attempts to register both the driver and the connector with your Tableau install. By default it copies the driver JAR file into either of these locations:

• Windows: C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers
• MacIntosh: /Users/myuser/Library/Tableau/Drivers

It will also attempt to copy the connector TACO file into one of these locations. The exact path will depend upon your platform language settings:

• Windows: C:\Users\myuser\My Tableau Repository\Connectors
• Mac: /Users/myuser/Documents/My Tableau Repository/Connectors

Next Step

See Configuring a Connection for the next step, which includes establishing a connection via the connection builder.