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Knowledge Base / Designer / How to create Tableau TDS file to be used in Tableau Output Tool?
How to create Tableau TDS file to be used in Tableau Output Tool?
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Created/Edited - 11/26/2025 by Clara Boo | Alteryx

How To
If you are uploading a data source to Tableau Server containing multiple tables via Tableau Output tool, you must first have a Tableau .tds file ready and add it to the Data Source MetaInfo option in the Tableau Output Tool. The article provides the steps to create a .tds file.
Environment
  • Alteryx Designer
    • Version >= 2021.4
  • Tableau Output Tool
    • Version: All
Prerequisites
Procedure

Uploading a new Data Source to Tableau Server

  1. For uploading a new data source to Tableau Server, you will need to create a .hyper file locally first using Tableau Output tool. Use the Local Output option to create the .hyper file locally.
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  1. Once the .hyper file is created, open it in Tableau Desktop.
  2. Create a workbook for this data source.
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  1. Create the .tds file in the workbook by any of the following actions:
a. Click Data > NAME_OF_DATASOURCE > Add to Saved Data Sources.

Example:

 

image.png
 

b. Right-click on the data source in the Data tab and select Add to Saved Data Sources.

Example:
 
image.png

 

Editing an existing Data Source in Tableau Server

  1. Open Tableau Desktop.
  2. If you have a workbook connecting to the local data extract (.hyper) that you will be using, open this workbook and skip to step 6.
  3. If you do not have a workbook connecting to the local data extract (.hyper), open the local extract of the data source you will be using and skip to step 5.
  4. If you do not have the local extract, connect to the Tableau Server and extract the data by doing any of the following actions:
a. Click Data > NAME_OF_DATASOURCE > Extract Data...

Example:
 
image.png
 
b. Right-click on the data source in the Data tab and select Extract Data...

Example:
image.png
 

 

  1. Create a workbook for this data source.
  2. Create the .tds file in the workbook by any of the following actions:
a. Click Data > NAME_OF_DATASOURCE > Add to Saved Data Sources.
b. Right-click on the data source in the Data tab and select Add to Saved Data Sources.
 

Please refer to Tableau documentation here for further details on creating .tds file.

NOTE: The .tds file must contain the following elements to be considered a valid .tds file in the Tableau Output tool: 
 

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Configure the Tableau Output Tool

 

Once your .tds file has been created, reference it in the Tableau Output Tool configuration.

  1. Add the Tableau Output Tool to your workflow.

  2. In the configuration window, once your connection is set up, go to Data Source MetaInfo

  3. Select the .tds file you created in Tableau Desktop. This tells Designer which data source metadata to use when publishing the data.

  4. Complete the remaining Tableau Output configuration options (for example, selecting the Tableau Server or Tableau Online connection, and specifying whether to create or overwrite a data source).

  5. Run the workflow to publish the data source using the .tds metadata.

Additional Information
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