Certain data connections are made to data that is hosted in the cloud. These include Amazon Redshift, Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Salesforce, and many others. It is beyond the scope of this book to cover each connection in depth, but as an example of a cloud data source, we'll consider connecting to Google Sheets.

Google Sheets allows users to create and maintain spreadsheets of data online. Sheets may be shared and collaborated on by many different users. Here, we'll walk through an example of connecting to a sheet that is shared via link.

To follow the example, you'll need a free Google account. With your credentials, follow these steps:

1. Click the Add new data source button on the toolbar, as shown here:

2. Select Google Sheets from the list of possible data sources. You may use the search box to quickly narrow the list.
3. On the next screens, sign into your Google Account and allow Tableau Desktop the appropriate permissions. You will then be presented with a list of all your Google Sheets, along with preview and search capabilities, as shown in the following screenshot:

4. Enter this URL (for convenience, it is included in the Chapter 02 Starter workbook in the Connect to Google Sheets tab, and may be copied and pasted) into the search box and click the Search button: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fWMGkPt0o7sdbW50tG4QLSZDwkjNO9X0mCkw-LKYu1A/edit?usp=sharing.
5. Select the resulting Superstore sheet in the list and then click the Connect button. You should now see the Data Source screen.
6. Rename the data source to Superstore (Google Sheets).
7. For the purpose of this example, switch the connection option from Live to Extract. When connecting to your own Google Sheets data, you may choose either Live or Extract.
8. Navigate to the Connect to Google Sheets sheet. The data should be extracted within a few seconds.
9. Create a filled map of Profit by State, with Profit defining the Color and the Label.