Working with published data sources often means having useful information spread across separate models. You might have a custom fiscal calendar connected to order data, while another published source contains the shipment information you need for a comparison.
Composable Data Sources let you bring those published sources together using relationships. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through an example that uses one fiscal calendar to compare sales by Order Date and Ship Date in the same view.
Tutorial Video
Follow along as I demonstrate how to relate two published data sources and compare orders and shipments by fiscal year.
Read the Transcript
Lauren: Hi everyone, this is Lauren Cristaldi from XeoMatrix, and today I’m gonna walk you through an example of using composable data sources.
Composable data sources were recently released in 2026.2, and they allow us the ability to connect two or more published data sources from your site.
You’ll notice there’s a new option. We have the “Add Published Data Source”, which is how I brought in this second published data source. I’m just using the Sample Superstore out of the box for the second one, and the first one I’m relating a Custom Fiscal Calendar connection with the Sample Superstore Orders. This is based on the Order Date equal to the Fiscal Date.
To relate the two, very similar to how you would normally relate those published data sources, we’re gonna drag a noodle onto Orders. We could also drag down to People or Returns, but in this case, I want to relate it to the Orders. Now we can have Fiscal Date equal to, and let’s do Ship Date.
At the top, I’m able to see in the context of the Fiscal Year, all of my Orders based on that Order Date. And from the second source, I’m able to see all of my Shipments in the context of that Fiscal Date, as well as the People and Returns that are associated with those Orders that are being shipped.
Another feature to note is with these two data sources, if I wanted the Fiscal Calendar one to only refresh every night or every day or on some kind of fixed extract schedule, I can maintain that schedule, but still have a separate schedule or even a live connection configured for the other source.
If we go to Sheet 1, you can see this in action. You’ll notice on the left, just like with traditional relationships, you have everything broken out by those tables. Now, some of the names might look a little funky, but we’re able to rename those, and we can publish this new composed data source as a separate packaged data source without interrupting any other connections to the two that we brought together. Which is nice, because you don’t want to be that person who renames something in the published data source and then breaks everyone’s workbooks that are connected to it.
So we go through, just as an example, I want to see based on Fiscal Year all of our Sales related to just the Orders, as well as all of our Sales related to Orders that were Shipped. Now, you could also do this in other ways with just the regular relationships and some Calculated Fields. But if I wanna see both of these in the same view, and they’re both connected to that Fiscal Calendar without additional calculations, it’s to me, a lot easier.
Yeah, I hope that was helpful, and happy composing.
What Are Composable Data Sources?
Introduced in Tableau 2026.2, Composable Data Sources allow you to relate multiple published data sources and use the combined model for analysis. You can also extend the model with changes such as field renaming and publish it as a new data source while leaving the original sources intact. Tableau’s Composable Data Sources documentation
In this example, the first published source contains a Custom Fiscal Calendar related to Sample Superstore Orders through Order Date. A second published source contains the standard Sample Superstore model.
By connecting the second source to the calendar through Ship Date, we can answer two questions together:
- How much sales activity falls in each fiscal year based on when orders were placed?
- How much sales activity falls in each fiscal year based on when orders were shipped?
Before You Begin
Use Tableau 2026.2 or later and make sure you have access to both published data sources. If your fiscal calendar is still a local file, publish it as part of a data source first; composing requires published sources. See Tableau’s setup requirements.
The video begins with both sources already added to the dashboard.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using Composable Data Sources
1. Add Your Published Data Sources
Connect to the published source that contains your Custom Fiscal Calendar and order data.
On the Data Source tab, use Add Published Data Source to bring in the second source. In this example, this is the standard Sample Superstore published source.
You now have both models available on the same canvas.
2. Check the Existing Order Date Relationship
In the first source, the Custom Fiscal Calendar is already related to Orders using:
Order Date = Fiscal Date
This relationship places order activity into the appropriate fiscal period based on the date the order was placed.
Keep that date role in mind as you build the next relationship. Both parts of the comparison will use the same fiscal calendar, but each will connect through a different business date.
3. Relate the Fiscal Calendar to Ship Date
Drag a relationship line, often called a “noodle,” from the Custom Fiscal Calendar to Orders in the second published source.
For this relationship, select:
Fiscal Date = Ship Date
The second model also includes People and Returns, but this example connects to Orders because that table contains Ship Date.
You now have two paths from the fiscal calendar: one for orders placed and another for orders shipped.
4. Compare Sales by Fiscal Year
Now, go to your sheet. In this example, mine is called “Sheet 1”.
Use Fiscal Year from the Custom Fiscal Calendar to organize the view.
Then add Sales from each of the two Orders tables.
In this example, we are first dragging our Sales related to Orders.
Then, we are dragging Sales related to Orders that were Shipped.
The first measure shows sales assigned to fiscal years by Order Date. The second shows sales assigned to fiscal years by Ship Date.
An order placed near a fiscal year boundary may ship in the following fiscal year. This comparison lets you examine that difference using the same calendar, without adding calculated fields to handle the two date roles in this example.
Remember that both measures represent sales amounts. The shipment-based measure is sales associated with shipped orders, rather than a count of shipments.
Keep Refresh Schedules in Mind
The underlying published sources can retain separate refresh arrangements. For example, your fiscal calendar source may refresh on a daily schedule while the other source uses a different schedule or a live connection.
That flexibility does not mean both sources are equally current. When reviewing results, consider the freshness of each source and whether you are accessing the composed model live or through an extract.
Reuse Your Composed Data Source
Once the model is ready, you can publish it under a new, descriptive name for reuse. Changes such as field renaming belong to your extended version, so you can make the model easier to understand without renaming fields in the original shared sources.
For Tableau 2026.2, only live composed data sources can be published as standalone data source assets. A workbook containing an extracted composed source can be published, but that extract must be created in Tableau Desktop. Review Tableau’s publishing limitations.
Want Help Bringing Your Tableau Data Together?
At XeoMatrix, we help teams build Tableau data models and dashboards that make business questions easier to answer. Whether you’re aligning reporting to a custom fiscal calendar or bringing published sources together, we can help you create an approach that fits your data and your users.
Connect with XeoMatrix to discuss your Tableau reporting needs.
