Saving Your Workbook in Tableau Desktop – What You Need to Know

Business leaders are increasingly recognizing the financial impact of poor data management. According to a survey by Gartner, organizations estimate that bad data costs them an average of $15 million per year in losses. Even more concerning, nearly 60% of businesses don’t measure these losses, leaving them unaware of the true cost of data issues.

One way to safeguard your insights and maintain data integrity is by effectively saving and managing your Tableau workbooks in Tableau Desktop and its public version. Whether through automatic recovery, version control, or packaged workbooks for seamless sharing, understanding Tableau’s saving options can help prevent data loss and costly errors. Let’s explore the best ways to keep your data secure and accessible.

What You’ll Learn in This Guide

• Understand the impact of poor data management and how it affects business efficiency.
• Learn why proper saving methods in Tableau ensure data integrity and collaboration.
• Learn how Auto-Save helps prevent work loss due to unexpected crashes.
• Differentiate between Tableau Workbooks (.twb) and Packaged Workbooks (.twbx) and their best use cases.
• Explore how to create and use Bookmarks (.tbm) for quick access to frequently used worksheets.
• Step-by-step guide on saving and publishing workbooks to Tableau Public for wider accessibility.
• Learn how to save workbooks locally in Tableau Public Edition for offline access.
• Understand how report automation with ATRS can streamline your workflow, save time, and reduce manual tasks.

Why Saving Properly in Tableau Matters

Saving your work in Tableau isn't just about preventing data loss—it also enables collaboration, version control, and portability. From simple workbook saves to packaged workbooks for seamless sharing, Tableau provides flexible options tailored to your workflow.

Let’s explore how to recover, share and save Tableau workbook with data effectively:

1. Automatically Save Tableau Workbook with Data

Tableau Desktop comes with an auto-save feature, preventing work loss due to unexpected software crashes. This feature is enabled by default, but you can manage it via:
Help > Settings and Performance > Enable Autosave

When Tableau unexpectedly closes, it automatically generates a recovery file with a .twbr extension. This file is saved either in the same directory as your original workbook or within the "Workbooks" folder located in your "My Tableau Repository."

To locate the "My Tableau Repository" folder:

• On Windows: Navigate to C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Documents\My Tableau Repository.
• On macOS: Go to ~/Documents/My Tableau Repository.

The Workbooks folder in the repository contains your .twbr recovery files. These recovery files enable you to restore your work to the state it was in prior to the crash, ensuring minimal data loss.

2. Save a Workbook (.twb)

Workbooks in Tableau store your visualizations, dashboards, and data connections. To save your work:

• Click File > Save
• Choose a file name and location
• Tableau saves the file with a .twb extension

Avoid using special characters (* / \ > < ? " | :) in the file name to prevent errors.

3. Save a Packaged Workbook (.twbx)

Packaged workbooks are ideal for sharing with colleagues who may not have access to the same data sources. These files include the workbook, local data sources, and images, ensuring everything stays intact.

To save a packaged workbook:

• Click File > Save As
• Choose Tableau Packaged Workbook (*.twbx)
• Save the file

Unlike standard workbooks, packaged workbooks disconnect from original data sources, making them portable and easy to share via email or Tableau Reader.

4. Save a Bookmark (.tbm)

If you frequently reuse a specific worksheet, use bookmarks for quick and easy access.

To create a bookmark:

• Select File > Export As Bookmark
• Tableau saves a snapshot of the worksheet in a .tbm file
• You can access it later via the Bookmarks menu

Unlike workbooks, bookmarks do not update automatically—they remain in the exact state as when saved.

Understanding Tableau’s saving options can help you prevent data loss, improve collaboration, and streamline your workflow. Whether you prefer automatic recovery, traditional workbooks, or portable packaged files, choosing the right method ensures your insights remain accessible and secure.

Sharing Data Externally: Saving Workbooks to Tableau Public

If you want to make your data discoveries accessible beyond your organization, Tableau Public offers a free cloud-based platform for publishing and sharing your visualizations. Anyone can interact with your dashboards, download your workbooks, or access your data sources. This makes Tableau Public an excellent tool for open data projects, personal portfolios, and public reports.

How to Save a Workbook to Tableau Public

To publish your work to Tableau Public, follow these steps:

Open your workbook in Tableau Desktop Professional or Tableau Desktop Public Edition.

• Navigate to Server > Tableau Public > Save to Tableau Public. (Note: This option is only available if your visualization contains at least one field.)
• Sign in to your Tableau Public account. If you don’t have one, you’ll be prompted to create a new account.
• Enter a name for your workbook and click Save.

Tableau will extract the data and publish your workbook to your Tableau Public profile, where you can manage and customize it.

Customizing Your Tableau Public Profile

Once your visualization is live on Tableau Public, you can fine-tune how it's presented:

• Feature or Hide a Viz: Hover over a visualization to set it as your featured viz, or choose to hide, download, or delete it.
• Edit Metadata & Settings: Click View on a viz to open its details page, where you can update the name, description, permalink, and other settings.
• Share & Embed Your Viz: Click Share at the bottom of a published viz to get a direct link or embed code for websites, blogs, or social media. (This works for both your own and other users’ public visualizations.)

Saving Work Locally with Tableau Desktop Public Edition

If you're using the free version of Tableau Desktop Public Edition, you have two saving options:

• Save directly to Tableau Public for online access and sharing.
• Save workbooks locally to your computer.

Saving locally is useful when working offline or handling sensitive data that cannot be shared publicly. This allows you to refine your work privately before publishing it on Tableau Public when ready.

Best Practices for Saving Tableau Workbooks

To efficiently manage and save your Tableau work, consider the following best practices:

Choose the Right File Format

Decide between a packaged workbook (.twbx) and a standard workbook (.twb) based on your sharing needs. A .twbx file includes both the visualization and its data, making it ideal for comprehensive sharing. In contrast, a .twb file contains only the visualization structure, suitable when the data source remains constant and accessible.

Implement Consistent Version Control

Label each file with dates or version numbers to minimize confusion, ensure all team members are working with the most current file, and facilitate tracking of changes over time.

Establish Regular Backup Routines

Regularly back up your workbooks to external drives or secure cloud storage. Consistent backups act as a safeguard against accidental loss or corruption, providing peace of mind and ensuring that you can recover your work if needed.

Secure Sensitive Information

Before publishing your work to platforms like Tableau Server, Tableau Online, or Tableau Public, thoroughly review your workbooks to ensure that no confidential data is included. Implement stringent security measures to protect sensitive information and comply with data privacy regulations.

Optimize File Size for Efficiency

Keep your workbooks efficient by compressing images and removing unnecessary data. This not only speeds up the sharing process but also conserves storage space, making your files easier to distribute and maintain.

By following these best practices, you can enhance the efficiency, security, and performance of your Tableau workbooks, leading to more effective data analysis and collaboration.

Optimize Your Tableau Reporting Workflow with ATRS

Ensuring your Tableau work is saved, shared, and distributed efficiently is key to maintaining data integrity and business continuity. But what if you could take it a step further? Instead of manually generating and distributing reports, automation can handle it for you—saving time, reducing errors, and improving productivity.

That’s where Advanced Tableau Report Scheduler (ATRS) from ChristianSteven Software comes in.  Our powerful tool is designed to streamline your reporting processes with:

• User-Friendly Interface– Easily manage and automate reports without technical expertise.
• Flexible Scheduling– Set custom schedules, including 4-4-5, daily, weekly, or even at 2 AM—because data never sleeps!
• Multi-Format Outputs– Generate reports in PDF, Excel, images, and more, tailored to your team’s needs.
• Robust Security– Your data is protected with enterprise-grade security protocols.

Whether you're a business leader, data analyst, or IT professional, ATRS adapts to your workflow, ensuring a seamless, efficient, and secure reporting process.

Take control of your reporting today by adding your Tableau account to ATRS. Explore how our tool can revolutionize your workflow and eliminate manual reporting tasks—so you can focus on what really matters.