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Tableau | Data prep | Tool strategy

Partner connectors & Datorama connector

Tableau 2020.4 lets partners build their own connectors, but installing the Datorama one is a bit of an Easter egg hunt.

Tim Ngwena •17 December 2020 •1 min read •6 min watch •1.1K

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Tableau 2020.4 introduced partner-built connectors, allowing third parties like Salesforce/Datorama to build their own connectors via Tableau's API rather than relying on native ones.
Partner connectors live in the same gallery as dashboard extensions, under a new 'Connectors' section, so finding them is a bit of an Easter egg hunt.
Installation is manual: download the .taco file and drag it into the Tableau repository's Connectors folder in your Documents.
You must fully quit and reopen Tableau (Command+Q on Mac) for the connector to appear under Connect > More.
On first use you may be prompted to install a JDBC driver before the connector works.

0:00Hey, it's Tim here.

0:01And in Tableau 2020.4,

0:03Tableau have added a new feature

0:04called the Connector Gallery.

0:06Now I'm actually showcasing this for

0:08another connector

0:09called the DataRama connector,

0:11because essentially this has been added to

0:122020.4.

0:13But if I go ahead to Tableau Desktop

0:15and I have a look at the window here,

0:18you will see that there is no DataRama

0:20connector

0:20in this list.

0:21If I just go down here and I search DataR

0:24ama,

0:24you'll see that nothing comes up.

0:25Essentially there's nothing there.

0:26So it's actually a little bit of a cont

0:28rived way

0:28of adding this.

0:29They're not native connectors per se,

0:31but what they're essentially doing

0:32is allowing partners to build connectors.

0:35So DataRama can come along,

0:37look at the way Tableau works using their

0:39API

0:39and actually build their own connector.

0:41Think of these as sort of extensions or

0:43hooks into Tableau.

0:45So if I go back to my browser here,

0:46you'll see that I'm back here on the 2020.4

0:48feature page

0:49where they talk about a DataRama feature.

0:51So to find out where it is,

0:53I'll go over to the What's New in Tableau

0:55Desktop page.

0:56And you'll see here that there's a new

0:57option here

0:57called Finding Partner-built Connectors,

1:00okay?

1:00And these partner-built connectors share

1:02the same home

1:03as the extension gallery.

1:05So I've got another tab open here.

1:06It's a little bit of an Easter egg hunt.

1:08And we've got the dashboard extensions here

1:10.

1:10If you're familiar with dashboard

1:11extensions,

1:12these are essentially plugins you can add

1:14to your dashboard

1:14and they add functionality to your

1:16dashboard

1:16that maybe Tableau don't think they should

1:18build,

1:19but other people in the community think

1:20they should.

1:21And some of those are paid, some of those

1:22are free.

1:23I highly encourage you to try and use these

1:25and find out how they work.

1:27But there's now a new section called

1:28Connectors.

1:29So now they've added that sort of gallery

1:31experience

1:32to the connectors.

1:32And here you can find the Salesforce DataR

1:35ama connector.

1:36And this is how essentially it works.

1:38Now, each of their connectors

1:39has its own installation instructions.

1:41If we go over here to the Salesforce DataR

1:44ama section,

1:45you get a little description of what it

1:46does,

1:46what DataRama can do.

1:48Of course, it's been built by Salesforce

1:51and DataRama,

1:52but there's essentially instructions on how

1:54to install it.

1:54And so it's not your typical installation

1:56as you'd expect, that comes packaged with

1:59Tableau,

1:59which is a slightly less desirable way of

2:03installing these.

2:03But essentially you follow these

2:05instructions

2:06and then when you restart Tableau,

2:08the install is gonna be available.

2:09So that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

2:11I'm gonna take this DataRama connector.

2:13We're gonna fire up Tableau

2:14and we should hopefully see

2:15the DataRama connector in there.

2:17Okay, let's get involved.

2:18Okay, so the first thing I want to do

2:20is download the extension.

2:21So let's go ahead and hit Download.

2:23I'm just gonna save this to my desktop.

2:25I want to keep this somewhere simple

2:27that I can access it later.

2:28You can see that it's called a DataRama JD

2:31BC.

2:31I'll just call this 2024

2:34so that I know where it's coming from.

2:36And I'll just save it to my desktop.

2:37You'll see I've actually downloaded it once

2:39already

2:39and it's already on my desktop twice

2:41essentially.

2:42Okay, so over the next step,

2:43we need to move it to a specific folder.

2:45Here in the documents,

2:46I actually have that specific folder here.

2:49So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna pause the

2:50video quickly

2:51and then open up that folder

2:52just so you don't see some of my personal

2:54files

2:54in this exact location.

2:56Okay, just give me one second and we'll be

2:58back in a bit.

2:58Okay, so we've navigated to the location

3:00we were asked to go to.

3:01Essentially, this is the Tableau repository

3:03file.

3:03And you can see there's a new place here

3:05called Connectors.

3:06And essentially, you want to add the files

3:08from the desktop into this location.

3:10So what you want to do is essentially drag

3:12it in there.

3:13So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna try and do

3:14a Mac thing,

3:15which is I was actually gonna try and drag

3:16it,

3:17but of course the Finder window went into

3:18the background.

3:19So what I'll do is I'll be a little bit

3:21savvy.

3:21I'll leave this here just off screen.

3:24I'll open up the Connectors folder.

3:26Then I can just use this little gap here

3:28to drag it into the desktop.

3:30And there we go.

3:31There we have the file where it needs to be

3:34.

3:34And it's a TACO file.

3:35This is essentially how extensions sort of

3:37work

3:37inside a Tableau.

3:38And this is essentially a connector.

3:40So we're pretty much good to go.

3:41If I go back to the instructions,

3:43you will see that start Tableau under

3:46Connect,

3:47select Data Armor Connector.

3:49Note, you'll be prompted if the driver

3:51is not yet installed.

3:52So essentially we need to close Tableau

3:54and open it up again.

3:55So let's go ahead and do that.

3:56Let's go back here to Tableau on a Mac.

3:58To close Tableau, it's just Command + Q.

4:00That closes every instance of Tableau.

4:02I'll just open up my Finder here

4:04just to bring up Tableau 2020.4.

4:06And you should see it opening up in a

4:08second.

4:09It might open up on my other screen.

4:10Note, it's opened up here.

4:11This is great.

4:12And now we have this open.

4:14And the moment of truth,

4:15we're gonna see if the connector is

4:16actually there.

4:17So go down to More.

4:18And if I look at it there,

4:20you can see Data Armor by Salesforce.

4:22So now that connector is there.

4:24And if I go ahead and open it up,

4:25it's going to check to make sure I've got

4:27any drivers.

4:28So if you go back to the installation

4:29instructions here,

4:30you can see here that it says,

4:32note, you'll be prompted if the driver

4:35is not yet installed.

4:36So essentially the JDBC driver,

4:38I think is what's essentially going on here

4:40.

4:40And then obviously if you go to the driver

4:42installation page

4:43and you follow the installation

4:44instructions there,

4:45everything should start working fine.

4:48You get your workspace ID.

4:50You basically start using connector as

4:51normal.

4:52So this is a really, really sort of a nice

4:54way

4:54of adding new connectors actually to Table

4:56au.

4:57And specifically, these can be connectors

4:59that Tableau themselves haven't built.

5:01So this should start to open up a world of

5:03possibilities

5:04for people who are wanting to connect to

5:06new data sources.

5:07And maybe Tableau haven't put the time

5:09into developing the connectors,

5:11but actually third parties are willing to

5:13do this

5:13and partners are willing to do this.

5:15And therefore they can go ahead

5:16and deploy this on the gallery.

5:18Okay, that's pretty much a feature in a

5:19nutshell.

5:20We actually covered two things there,

5:22the Data Armor connector and the extension

5:24gallery

5:24for data connectors essentially.

5:26I'm gonna call it the connector gallery

5:28'cause I think it's important to sort of

5:29signify

5:30that they're different things.

5:31Tableau call it partner built connectors.

5:33It's one of these things where what is it

5:35actually called?

5:36Is it extension gallery?

5:37Is it dashboard extensions?

5:38Are they connectors?

5:39Who knows?

5:40The name will get decided by the community

5:42at some point,

5:43whatever name sticks is whatever will

5:44happen.

5:45So I'll wait to see what happens there.

5:46But otherwise, if you've enjoyed the video,

5:48you know what to do, drop a like, subscribe

5:50,

5:50you do the usual thing.

5:51If you don't, send this video to someone

5:53you don't like,

5:54maybe they'll like it instead.

5:55Take it easy and I'll catch you in the next

5:57one.

5:57Thank you for watching!

Rollup

Tableau 2020.4 lets third-party partners build and distribute their own connectors, using the Salesforce Datorama connector as a working example. Because these aren't native, installing one is a manual, slightly hidden process rather than a simple in-app search.

Tim wants to use the new Datorama connector in Tableau Desktop but it doesn't appear anywhere in the standard Connect list or search. He tracks down where partner-built connectors actually live and walks through getting one installed and working.

The Breakdown

What partner-built connectors are 0:00

Tableau 2020.4 allows partners like Salesforce to build their own connectors against Tableau's API, rather than Tableau building native support themselves. These won't show up in Tableau's built-in connector search because they aren't packaged with the software.
Find them in the Connector Gallery 0:45

Partner-built connectors share a home with the dashboard extension gallery, under a new 'Connectors' section on Tableau's website. Each connector listed there has its own description and its own specific installation instructions, so check the gallery page for the connector you want rather than searching inside Tableau.
Download the .taco file 2:20

From the connector's gallery page, download its installer file (a .taco file) and save it somewhere easy to find, such as your desktop.
Move it into the Tableau repository's Connectors folder 2:41

You must place the downloaded .taco file into the Connectors folder inside your Tableau repository (in Documents). This manual copy step is required — the connector won't be found by Tableau until the file sits in that exact location.
Fully restart Tableau 3:40

After the file is in place, quit Tableau completely (not just close the window — on Mac that's Command+Q) and reopen it. The connector only appears under Connect > More once Tableau has been fully restarted.
Install the driver if prompted 4:20

The first time you select the new connector, Tableau may prompt you to install a required driver (in this case a JDBC driver) before the connection will work. Follow that prompt's installation instructions, then use the connector as normal.
Why this matters 5:01

This mechanism opens the door for third parties to build connectors to data sources Tableau hasn't prioritised natively, expanding what you can connect to without waiting on Tableau itself.

Worth Knowing

The connector doesn't appear anywhere in Tableau's normal Connect search — you have to know to look in the separate online gallery.
Installation is entirely manual (download, move file, restart) rather than a guided in-app install, which feels clunky compared to native connectors.
You may hit a further driver-install step on first use, so budget time beyond just placing the file.
Even Tim notes the naming/terminology (extension gallery vs connector gallery vs partner-built connectors) is unsettled, so documentation language may vary.

Use It When

Reach for this when you need Tableau to connect to a data source it doesn't support natively but a partner has built a connector for — expect a short manual setup rather than a one-click install.

How this Rollup was made provenance & method

A Rollup is drafted by AI from the video's transcript, then reviewed and edited by Tim. Everything used to produce this one is listed below — the model, the exact prompt, and the source video — so the process is transparent and reproducible.

Transcription: On-device — NVIDIA Parakeet v3 for recent videos, OpenAI Whisper large-v3 for earlier ones. The transcript never leaves the machine or gets published.
Drafting: Claude Sonnet 5 in the cloud, from that transcript.
Prompt: The exact Rollup prompt (v2) — the full system prompt, unedited.
Source video: Watch on YouTube
Drafted: 5 July 2026 at 09:38
Reviewed & edited: 5 July 2026 at 09:41 · by Tim Ngwena

Model + prompt + video is everything you'd need to recreate a Rollup like this yourself. The one thing we don't share is the transcript.

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