# Tableau versions and version numbers explained in 10 minutes

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2022-01-10
- **Format:** Video · 10 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Tool strategy, Productivity
- **Tools:** Tableau (cloud, prep, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-versions-and-version-numbers-explained-in-10-minutes
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwlJEzcgVIQ

I walk through how to find which version of Tableau you're running across Tableau Online, Server, Desktop, Public and Prep on both Mac and Windows. I then explain what each part of the version number means and why the patch number matters when chasing down bugs and known issues.

## Key takeaways

- Find your version via the question mark menu in Tableau Online/Server, or the About page under the Help menu (Windows) or the app title menu (Mac) in Desktop and Prep.
- Version numbers read as year.release.patch, e.g. 2021.4.2 is the year 2021, the fourth quarterly release, and the second patch.
- Tableau ships roughly four releases a year, one per quarter, with patches deployed as subsequent point releases to fix reported problems.
- The patch number matters because bug fixes for known issues are tied to specific patches, so you need to know your exact version to get the fix.
- Check both the Tableau release notes and the known issues pages, and report bugs to Tableau support, as not every known issue is logged publicly.

## Chapters

- 0:13 Finding the version in Server and Online
- 0:54 Checking versions on Mac: Prep and Desktop
- 2:21 Checking versions on Windows
- 2:52 Utilities and background tools
- 3:24 What version numbers actually mean
- 4:49 Patches, release notes and known issues
- 8:51 Different release cadences per product

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-versions-and-version-numbers-explained-in-10-minutes

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena