For basic technical information that you need to know before you install Tableau Desktop, read the details below.

System Requirements

Tableau Creator Edition is the current edition of the tool. Tableau Desktop connects to an extensive set of data sources and servers. Tableau desktop allows you to publish workbooks to the Tableau server.

You can install Tableau Desktop on a Windows computer or a Mac computer. For information about which versions of Windows or Mac are supported, or about memory or disk space requirements, see below.

Windows

• Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Microsoft Server 2008 R2 or newer
• Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Opteron processor or newer
• 2 GB memory
• 1.5 GB minimum free disk space

Mac

• iMac/MacBook computers 2009 or newer
• OSX 10.11 or newer
• 1.5 GB minimum free disk space

Compatibility with Tableau Server and Tableau Online

You can run into file compatibility issues when you try to share files between different versions of Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server, Tableau Desktop and Tableau Online, or between different versions of Tableau Desktop. For the complete details on compatibility between versions of Tableau Desktop and with Tableau Server or Tableau Online, see the Make Workbooks Compatible Between Versions or Version Compatibility with Tableau Online Tableau articles.

Tableau Server Web Browser compatibility

• Chrome on Windows, Mac, and Android 4.4 or later
• Microsoft Edge & Internet Explorer 11 on Windows
• Mozilla Firefox & Firefox ESR on Windows and Mac
• Apple Safari on Mac and iOS 8.x or later

Tableau Mobile Apps

• Tableau Mobile iOS and Android Apps are available at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Network access

To use features like maps and licensing, Tableau needs an internet connection. Your network administrator might need to configure firewall and proxy settings. For details, see Tableau's Internet Access Requirements article.

Database drivers

Tableau uses connectors to connect to different databases, and some connectors require drivers to talk to these databases. When it comes to drivers, the easiest approach is to install Tableau Desktop and then try connecting to the data. Tableau installs some drivers by default (details below), and some data sources don't require a driver. If you do need to install a driver for your connection, Tableau lets you know the first time you try to connect by displaying a dialog box like the following:

If this error appears, click the link in the error message to go to the Driver Download page on the Tableau website. Follow the instructions for your connector to get the driver you need.

For more information about the different connectors that Tableau Desktop supports, see Connector Examples in the online help.

Database drivers installed with Tableau Desktop

When you install Tableau Desktop on a Windows computer, drivers for the following data source types are automatically installed:

• Amazon Redshift (version 1.3.7) Note: If this driver is already installed, the install process skips this driver.
• Microsoft SQL Server (13.0.811.168 - ODBC Driver 13 for SQL Server)
• PostgreSQL (version 9.6.2)

When you install Tableau Desktop on a Mac computer, drivers for the following data source types are installed by default:

• Oracle (version 11.2.0.5)
• PostgreSQL (version 9.5.3)
• Simba Spark (version 1.2.5)
• Simba SQL Server (version 1.3.14)
• Amazon Redshift (version 1.3.7)

If you prefer that some or all of these drivers not be installed, you can customize the list from the Customize pane in the installation program for Tableau Desktop.

For more information, view Install Tableau Desktop.