Difference Between Tableau Viewer vs. Tableau Reader
Tableau Viewer is a role-based license tool on Tableau Server that enables business or casual users to access and interact with the visualization content created by other users without disclosing the data security. In contrast, Tableau Reader is a free-to-use desktop application that can be used to open data visualizations built in Tableau, interact with the visuals, and share with users locally. It is an easy-to-use platform with a pricing plan of $15 per user/month. It is helpful for any organization to scale data analytics across all departments. At the same time, the Tableau Reader is primarily used to share local file snapshots for early feedback or viewing.
Some of the key differences between Tableau Viewer and Tableau Reader include:
- Access
- Tableau Viewer can be accessed via web and mobile applications. You can also access contents embedded in external portals, applications, or websites using the Tableau Viewer.
- On the other hand, Tableau Reader doesn’t support access through web or mobile applications, and it doesn’t support access to embedded content in other websites, portals, or applications.
- Interaction
- With Tableau Viewer, you can perform various interactions with visualizations, such as
- Downloading your visual contents, i.e., dashboards or visualization tabs as image (.pdf or .png) files
- Downloading the aggregated data consumed in your data visualization charts or dashboards
- Tableau Reader has very limited interaction capability compared to Tableau Viewer. You can’t download visualization charts or dashboards in your Tableau View.
- With Tableau Viewer, you can perform various interactions with visualizations, such as
- Collaboration
- Tableau Viewer is a very powerful tool when it comes to collaboration features. You can perform several activities that include:
- Performing a variance analysis commentary or other commentaries in your data visualization or dashboard
- Setting up a self-subscription on data-driven movements
- Define configuration to receive any alerts linked to your data.
- Tableau Reader doesn’t have any collaboration feature as compared to the Tableau Viewer tool. It has no functionality to add any commentaries or receive any alerts based on data movements
- Tableau Viewer is a very powerful tool when it comes to collaboration features. You can perform several activities that include:
- Governance
- Tableau Viewer allows users to view the published and managed data contents hosted in a governed platform without any need for data export or sending manual emails, thereby ensuring data security is intact.
- Tableau Reader doesn’t have any governance mechanism supported in this platform.
- Real-time data visualization or dashboard access
- Tableau Viewer enables users to access the Tableau visualization hosted on a Tableau Server. This means that users can see real-time updates to the visualization’s contents.
- Tableau Reader doesn’t support any data hosted on Tableau Server and hence can only process the local files.
What is Tableau Viewer?
Tableau Viewer is primarily created for users who need access to data visualization created by the creators or explorers to get analytic insights to perform their job duties without creating additional visualizations. These users can be business users, casual users, or anyone who wants access to the Tableau visualizations or dashboards to perform daily jobs or be informed. For example, a sales manager may need to access the sales dashboard for a particular region for a while to analyze the sales mix and recommend any corrective measures. With Tableau Viewer, you can perform data drill down, data filters, or download visualizations.
Some of the critical features of Tableau Viewer include:
- Enables business users to perform self-service analytics to drill down on fast, actionable data insights.
- Allows users within an organization to collaborate efficiently by publishing and embedding the content securely.
- Advanced features to securely encapsulate the data.
- Allows you to download the visualization as image files.
- Real-time data access as you can directly access the visualization deployed in the Tableau Server.
- Allows you to download the visualization as image files.
- Real-time data access as you can directly access the visualization deployed in the Tableau Server.
- Tableau Viewer supports Augmented analytic capabilities that allow users to ask questions in natural language processing (NLP) format.
A sample Tableau Viewer user interface looks like the one provided below.
What is Tableau Reader?
Tableau Viewer is a free-to-use software application used to distribute Tableau contents created by creators and analysts in Tableau Desktops. Though it is free to download, you need to pay for application deployment and maintenance. As a pre-requisite to Tableau Reader deployment, you need the source data files to be shared locally and accessed within the network.
Tableau Reader allows you
- Free download and use
- To open the Tableau visualizations or dashboard in your local system
- To access and share the content locally with other users
- To interact with Tableau visualizations and dashboards
Note that Tableau Reader falls apart in terms of key capabilities, which include
- Lack of governance, security, and admin features are impediments to critical production deployments.
- Users with Tableau Reader access have limited access to only local workbooks, and interaction with workbooks is also minimal.
- There is no support for real-time data updates, as you can only open the local Tableau workbooks.
Tableau Reader has some of the below drawbacks, which you need to be aware of:
- Tableau Reader requires you to update the software periodically.
- To share the file locally, you will have to package the workbook and other components.
- You can’t edit or create any content on Tableau dashboards or visualizations.
Below is a sample Tableau Reader user interface. You can download your free copy of Tableau Reader from here.
In the next section, we will look at the key differences between Tableau Viewer and Tableau Reader in a comparative table for easy visualization.
Comparative Table (Key Differences)
There are several similarities and differences between Tableau Viewer and Tableau Reader.
| Category | Tableau Viewer | Tableau Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing Cost | It follows a role-based license application cost. The pricing starts at $15 per user/month and is billed on an annual basis. | It is a free-to-use software application that can be downloaded without paying anything. |
| Access (Web & Mobile) | Tableau Viewer can be accessed via mobile and web browser | Tableau Reader is not supported on the web or mobile. |
| Embed Content Access | Tableau Viewer can access embedded content in applications or portals. | Tableau Reader doesn’t support embedding content access. |
| Interactive | Tabeau Viewer supports interactivity such as downloading the visualization as an image file and aggregated data used in visualization. | You can’t download any of your visualizations as images or export them. |
| Collaborate | Tableau Viewer allows you to create subscriptions and receive data-driven alerts. | Tableau Reader doesn’t allow any form of collaboration. |
| Security | Tableau Viewer comes with security features that allow you to access trusted content on a Tableau Server. | Tableau Reader does not offer security features. |
| Commentary on Tableau Dashboards or visuals | With Tableau Viewer, you can add comments on the visuals or dashboards. | Tableau Reader does not have such functionalities, i.e., you can’t add any comments on any Tableau visuals. |
| Author | You can explore an existing data source published either to Tableau Server or Tableau Online with Ask Data. | Tableau Reader has no such features. |
| Data Quality Warnings | Tableau Viewer allows you to view any data quality warnings raised, and this is available within Tableau Data Management. | Tableau Reader doesn’t have such features. |
| Predictive Models | You can consume predictive models from Einstein Discovery with Tableau Viewer. | No such capabilities are supported within the Tableau Reader. |
| Usability | Tableau Viewer is intended for users who don’t need to create any content but need to consume the visualization to perform their tasks. | Tableau Reader can apply to users who want to share the local Tableau files for viewing. |
| Data Connectivity | Tableau Viewer can directly connect with Tableau visualizations or dashboards hosted on Tableau Servers | Tableau Reader can only open the Tableau packaged workbook files. |
Similarities
Despite many differences between Tableau Viewer and Tableau Reader, there are some similarities that can help you make informed decisions.
We highlight some of the critical similarities below.
- Visualization Interactivity
- Both Tableau Viewer and Tableau Reader allow users to interact with Tableau Visualizations and dashboards. However, note that Tableau Reader allows visual interactivity limited to local files only. You can perform activities such as data filtering, viewing tooltips, and other interaction features.
- Content Creation
- Neither Tableau Viewer nor Tableau Reader doesn’t allow users to create or modify any content on the Tableau Visualizations
To conclude, Tableau Viewer is quite helpful for content access, visual interaction, creating alerts and subscriptions, and interactivity with visuals within an organization, making it a recommended tool for all kinds of users. In contrast, Tableau Reader is more suited for distributing any local Tableau workbooks to users for early feedback or visualization purposes.
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