Applies to Write-Back Server and Write-Back Cloud

Troubleshoot

There are occasions where Tableau takes a lot of time to refresh when submitting data with Write-Back (and auto-refresh is ON) or Write-Back takes a long time to load.

Solution

You don’t need to follow any particular order as these are some general steps to try while troubleshooting.

Step 1: Make sure you are not overloading the dashboard

When working with Write-Back, it is recommended that you do not exceed over 1000 marks at least on the worksheet that Write-Back is reading.

This applies even more when using the inline form as Write-Back is reading the worksheet to check when a mark is selected.

Step 1.2: Use a filtered viz

If you do have a lot of rows of data or data points, make sure to use filters to drill down to the data that you need to interact with.

A good rule of thumb is to think that Write-Back is going to be used by a human and humans will have a hard time reading hundreds of marks on a worksheet.

Step 1.3: Use a different dashboard for submitting data

If it is not possible to narrow down the data in the dashboard, consider using a helper dashboard where data can be filtered and use Write-Back in that one. This will also help making the dashboard story telling more directed towards the actions the users need to take to fill in the information on Write-Back.

Step 2: When possible, use Tableau Relationships

If you are using Write-Back to show changes right away on your dashboard, consider using a relationship to link your data with the Write-Back data as they tend to be more performant.

https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/relate_tables.htm

Step 3: Data blending to refresh only the Write-Back datasource

If you have a very heavy data source or cannot refresh it because it is an extract, you can check if data blending is a viable solution for this because when you have auto-refresh enabled, you can simply choose to refresh the Write-Back datasource instead of the main one, making it so that only a small fraction of the data is being refreshed on the dashboard.

Helpful Tableau Articles

https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/perf_record_create_desktop.htm

https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-us/perf_record_create_server.htm