The different Tableau products

There are seven Tableau products:

• Tableau Desktop is the product. It is a software to install on your computer. It is the core tool to connect to the data, build a Data Source, and create visualizations and a dashboard. This book focuses on Tableau Desktop.
• Tableau Server is an online tool for sharing your work in a business environment. You need this tool to secure your data. Tableau Server is accessible with a simple browser. Your company hosts the server.

• Tableau Online is the same as Tableau Server but hosted by Tableau. They do the updates and maintenance, but you lose some personalization features.
• Tableau Reader is a software to install on your computer that can read Tableau Desktop files. With Tableau Reader, you are not able to modify the visualization, but you can read it and keep all the interactivity, making it a better export than a PDF or a picture.
• Tableau Public is a free software with almost the same capabilities as Tableau Desktop, but you can only save your work online in a public environment, and not all connectors are available. Of course, it's not the best if you don't want to share your data with the world, but it's a great place to find inspiration and share public visualizations.
• Tableau Mobile is an application that you can install on your smartphone or tablet. You can connect to a server and visualize your Dashboard directly with the app.
• Tableau Prep is a new software that is very different from the others. It is not a data visualization tool but a data preparation tool. We'll not speak about Tableau Prep in this book, but know that it exists, and it is a great solution for cleaning your data.

Like every tool, Tableau has its wording. Let's learn how to speak Tableau.