---
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title: Tableau Prep Conductor
collection: tableau
version: next
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/tableau/next/en-us/online/prep_conductor_online_intro.md
canonical_url: https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/online/en-us/prep_conductor_online_intro.htm
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description: Overview of Tableau Prep Conductor scheduling and tracking on Tableau Cloud.
---
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# Tableau Prep Conductor

Tableau Prep Conductor enables you to leverage the scheduling and tracking functionality available in Tableau Cloud to run your flows automatically to update the flow output. Tableau Prep Conductor is part of Data Management and must be enabled to schedule your flows to run.

**Note**: The Data Management is only required if you plan to run flows on a schedule or set up email notifications. You do not need the Data Management license to publish flows and manually run them on the web. As a Creator, you can also create and edit flows directly on your server. For more information authoring flows on the web, see [Tableau Prep on the Web](https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/online/en-us/prep_web_auth.htm).

Flows created in Tableau Prep Builder must be published to Tableau Cloud before they can be scheduled to run. Publishing flows is similar to publishing data sources and workbooks. You can package files with the flow or specify a direct connection to data sources to update the flow input as data changes. If your flow connects to databases, specify the authentication type and set credentials to access the data.

You can also publish a flow to share it with others or to continue editing it on the web. For example, publish an incomplete flow to Tableau Cloud and then open the flow on the web in Edit mode to continue working on it. You could also create a flow with only Input steps (that are properly configured) and share it with co-workers who can then download the flow to their computers and create and publish their own flows.

For flows to run they must include output steps and have no errors or incompatible features. For more information about publishing a flow, see [Publish a Flow to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud](https://help.tableau.com/current/prep/en-us/prep_conductor_publish_flow.htm). For more information about incompatibility, see [Version Compatibility with Tableau Prep](https://help.tableau.com/current/prep/en-us/prep_conductor_compatibility.htm).

The following table shows the flow management features that are available with and without the Data Management and Tableau Prep Conductor enabled.

<table style="width: 100%;" class="simple-table">
                    <colgroup><col>
                    <col>
                    </colgroup><tbody>
                        <tr>
                            <th><span class="mc-variable Variables.DM_sku variable">Data Management</span> with Tableau Prep Conductor enabled</th>
                            <th>No <span class="mc-variable Variables.DM_sku variable">Data Management</span></th>
                        </tr>
                        <tr>
                            <td>
                                <ul>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>View and monitor the details about your flow, including recent activity in the <span class="uicontrol">Content</span> pages.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>Edit your flow (starting in version 2020.4).</li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>View the results of the flow runs and any errors in the <span class="uicontrol"> Run History</span> tab.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>Use <span class="uicontrol">Administrative Views</span> to monitor server and site activity including a new view that tracks flow performance history.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>Run flows using REST API</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>View detailed alerts for failed flow runs.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>Set up email notification alerts to send emails to flow owners notifying them when the flow failed to run and why.</p>
                                        <p>For more information about setting up alerts, see <a href="https://help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/prep_conductor_monitor_flow.htm">Monitor Flow Health and Performance.</a></p>
                                    </li>
                                </ul>
                            </td>
                            <td>
                                <ul>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>View  the details about your flow, including recent activity in the <span class="uicontrol">Content</span> pages.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>Edit your flow (starting in version 2020.4).</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                        <p>View and edit your connections on the <span class="uicontrol">Connections</span> tab.</p>
                                    </li>
                                </ul>
                            </td>
                        </tr>
                    </tbody>
                </table>

## Enabling Tableau Prep Conductor on Tableau Cloud

After you purchase and license Data Management, you must enable Prep Conductor on Tableau Cloud. For more information, see [](https://help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/prep_conductor_configure_online)[Enable Tableau Prep Conductor on your Tableau Cloud Site](https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/online/en-us/prep_conductor_configure_online.htm) and [License Data Management](https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/online/en-us/dm_license.htm)

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