All users on Tableau Server must be assigned a license level, even if it is that they are Unlicensed. Tableau Server license levels do not correspond to the Tableau Server named user licenses you purchased from Tableau (if you are using user-based instead of core-based server licensing). The user license levels control how much access the user has on the server. There are three types of license levels: Unlicensed, Viewer, and Interactor. This is a summary of the differences between Viewer and Interactor license levels on Tableau Server.
Notes:
- These capabilities are allowed by default with each license level. Additional permissions can be added to specific views, workbooks, and projects.
- In some cases, you may be required to have specific Viewer licenses before you can assign a Viewer license level to a user. In the latest version of Tableau Server, however, a Viewer license level is considered a subset of the Interactor license level. Therefore, a user that is assigned a Viewer license level counts against the total number of available Interactors you can have.
| Capability | Viewer | Interactor |
|---|---|---|
| Add/View Comments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Crosstab (Summarized) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Data (Summarized) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Image | ✓ | ✓ |
| Refresh Data from Data Source | ✓ | ✓ |
| View Tooltips | ✓ | ✓ |
| Use Color Legend Highlighting | ✓ | |
| Add/View Tags | ✓ | |
| Keep/Exclude Data | ✓ | |
| Open Hyperlink to External System | ✓ | |
| Follow Filter Actions to other Views | ✓ | |
| Use Quick Filters | ✓ | |
| Use Sort Tool | ✓ | |
| Select Marks | ✓ | |
| Use Pan/Grab Tool | ✓ | |
| Use Zoom Tool | ✓ | |
| View Data (Not Summarized) | ✓ | |
| Pause/Resume Automatic Updates | ✓ | |
| Customize and Save View Preferences | ✓ | |
| Navigate Date Hierarchies | ✓ |
Here is an example of how license levels work. For this example, there are two users: Allen Smith and Jane Matthews.
Allen was assigned the Viewer license level when his account was created. With that license level he will never be able to interact with quick filters or sort the data in a view.
Jane was assigned the Interactor license level when her account was created. By default, she has all the capabilities listed above. However, specific views, workbooks, and projects may have added permissions that restrict these capabilities. The permission settings can be edited by the workbook author or an administrator.