---
schema_version: "1"
id: 2da5cd67116253393eef801fc3a7cd1a9d05bc6befd6950df0556251101028e3
title: Start Page
collection: tableau
version: next
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/tableau/next/en-us/public/desktop/environment_startpage.md
canonical_url: https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/public/desktop/en-us/environment_startpage.htm
source_site: help.tableau.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: f4a6e252f357ff1f82b2394f93ab86b735fee222d419a903d45b96f4459dff7b
description: "The start page in Tableau Desktop is a central location from which you can do the following:"
---
[Skip to main content](#main-content)

# Start Page

Start Page

The start page in Tableau Desktop is a central location from which you can do the following:

- Connect to your data
- Open your most recently used workbooks
- Discover and explore content produced by the Tableau community

Tableau Studio version 26.3.1

When you open Tableau Studio, the start page provides a centralized workspace to connect to data, launch AI-driven queries, access recent assets, and explore learning resources.  
  
![](/tableau/next/en-us/public/desktop/en-us/Img/Studio_start_page.png)

### Action Controls

Located in the upper-right corner of the window, quick action buttons provide fast access to core workflows:

Connect: Dropdown menu to choose and connect to data sources.

Create: Dropdown menu to build new workbooks, data models, or assets.

Open: Button to select and open existing files or workbooks.

### Tableau Agent search bar

Enter natural language queries to analyze data and automatically generate visualizations directly from the start screen.

### Central content area

#### Recents

Displays your recently accessed workbooks and data sources.

#### Accelerators

Provides pre-built, domain-specific templates to jumpstart your analysis. Select View More to browse the full accelerator catalog.

#### Sample workbooks

Offers sample workbooks designed to showcase visual design inspiration, chart techniques, and best practices.

#### Discover Pane

Located along the right sidebar, the Discover pane provides access to onboarding material, official documentation, and community resources:

Meet Tableau: Quick-start links including Get Started, Tour the Tableau Environment, Connect to and Prepare Data, Build Charts and Analyze Data, and Learn more...

Training: Direct access to View all training videos.

**Resources**: Quick links to Get Tableau Prep, Tableau Community Forums, Tableau Accelerators, and the latest blog posts.

**Feature Highlights**: Promotional cards highlighting new tools and capabilities, such as agentic analytics features.

## Tableau Desktop version 26.3 and earlier

The start page consists of three panes: Connect, Open, and Discover.

### Connect

Connect to data.

![Connect pane on the Tableau start page](/tableau/next/en-us/public/desktop/en-us/Img/environment_startpage_connect_pub.png)

On the Connect pane, you can do the following:

- **Connect to data:** Under To a File connect to data stored in Microsoft Excel files, text files, Access files, Tableau extract files, and statistical files, such as SAS, SPSS, and R. Under To a Server, connect to data stored in OData, Google Sheets or connect to data using the Web Data Connector. For more information about how to connect to Google Sheets, see [Google Drive](https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/public/desktop/en-us/examples_googledrive.htm). For more information about the Web Data Connector, see [Web Data Connector 2.0 (retired)](https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/public/desktop/en-us/examples_web_data_connector.htm)

### Open

Click the Open from Tableau Public link to find workbooks you have saved to Tableau Public.