# Tableau Versions Demystified

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2023-01-28
- **Format:** Video · 6 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Tool strategy, Data visualisation
- **Tools:** Tableau (cloud, maps, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-versions-demystified-tableau-crash-course
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43H-62v_Ik8

This is a snippet from my four-hour Tableau Desktop crash course, focused purely on understanding Tableau versioning. I explain how Tableau releases new versions quarterly with monthly patches, why Desktop, Server and Cloud need to stay in lockstep, and how the 2022 change to Server's release cadence affects organisations.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau ships a new version roughly every quarter (e.g. one in March, then every three months) plus monthly patches that fix issues in already-released versions, including older ones like 21.3.
- The Tableau 'ESDALT' alternate download site is the best place to see every release and patch, with paid products (Desktop, Prep, Server, Online, Bridge) listed but not Tableau Public.
- Features are tied to versions: building with a new capability like the map intersects function and publishing to a Server that hasn't been upgraded means end users won't see it, and Server will warn you on publish.
- Since 2022, Tableau Server only gets feature updates twice a year (January and summer) rather than quarterly, though it still receives monthly patches and fixes.
- Tableau Cloud is managed by Tableau, requires no downloads or upgrades, and always works with the latest Desktop version, so you can update Desktop as often as you like.

## Chapters

- 0:24 Why versions matter
- 0:29 Quarterly releases and monthly patches
- 0:51 The ESDALT download site
- 2:06 Staying in lockstep across products
- 2:41 Feature and version compatibility
- 3:28 Server's twice-yearly update change
- 4:33 Tableau Cloud needs no upgrades

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-versions-demystified-tableau-crash-course

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena