Unable to Update the UNC Path for a Published Excel Data Connection

Issue

When working with an Excel data connection published to Tableau Server, there is no option to update the UNC path for the data connection.

Environment

Tableau Server
Microsoft Excel

Resolution

Use the following workaround:

Download the workbook from Tableau Server.
Open the workbook in Tableau Desktop.
If a published data source is used, right-click the connection and select Create Local Copy.
In the Data pane, right-click the data source, and select Edit Connection.
In the Excel Workbook Connection dialog box, type the full universal naming convention (UNC) path to the Excel data source in the Step 1 text box. For example, D:\datasource.xls has a UNC path that looks like the following: \\workstation1\d$\datasource.xls, where "workstation1" is the full computer name.
Select Server > Publish Workbook.
In the Publish Workbook to Tableau Server dialog box, clear Include External Files, and then click Publish.

Cause

The ability to update the UNC path for Excel data connections in Tableau Server is not currently available.

Additional Information

UNC paths differ depending on your operating system.

Example UNC path on Windows:
\\servername\folder

Example UNC path on Mac:
smb://servername/folder

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