Dashboard Actions and Mapping

We need to establish a connection between Tableau data and WriteBack Extreme semantic models to ensure that dashboard actions and filters work correctly and are translated properly between the two.

As mentioned in the previous section, with the introduction of the Data Service, SuperTables no longer rely on data from the Extensions API. Since the data now comes from two different sources within the same dashboard, we need to establish mapping relationships to correctly translate dashboard actions and filters between Tableau and the semantic model, using the column mapping feature.

Column mapping

Filter column mapping acts as a dictionary, translating column names while performing actions from Tableau to SuperTables and the other way around. A SuperTables column can be mapped to multiple sheet columns if needed.

First, select a SuperTables column from the first dropdown, then select a Tableau column that has been added to a sheet. You can also type in the field to make searching easier. The dropdown supports multiple selections.

Once added, the mappings will appear in the All Mappings section below. You can click the trash bin icon to remove a mapping. If all mappings associated with a SuperTables column are deleted, the entire row is removed automatically.

It is also possible to add a manual mapping entry. For example, if a sheet does not currently contain any data but the columns are already defined, the extension may not be able to fetch those columns. Similarly, if you expect a new column to be added later, you can create a manual mapping in advance.

To do this, click the Manage button in the All Mappings section, then enter the column name you want to map to the corresponding SuperTables column.

Dashboard actions

In the data service, you will need to select the mapping you made when setting up dashboard actions. This field determines which mapping is used when the action is triggered. Since a dashboard can contain multiple mappings, explicitly selecting the correct one ensures that the action corresponds to the intended data and behaves as expected.