"[SQLSTATE:42P21] collation mismatch between explicitly provided collations" Error When Running Flow using Union Step Combining Multiple Excel Sheets

Tableau / Tableau Prep Builder
In Review

Created

Feb 25, 2025

Found in Release

2024.3 and older

Last Updated

Feb 26, 2025

Reference ID

W-17872999

Summary

In Tableau Prep Builder, running a flow using a union step combining multiple Excel sheets results in a collation mismatch error.

Error Details

[SQLSTATE:42P21] collation mismatch between explicitly provided collations "xxxxxx" and "binary"

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create a Flow in Tableau Prep Builder connecting to Excel, using multiple Excel worksheets. In testing, five (5) sheets were used.
  2. Add a Union step in the Flow to combine the Excel sheets.
    1. Please see Union Your Data for more information.
  3. Create the remainder of the Flow as desired, including an Output step.
  4. Attempt to run the Flow.
  5. The error appears.

Workaround

  1. Create a copy of the generated output file (Using a different file name, as Prep does not allow to use the same output file name as the input).
  2. From connection menu, choose to add a Tableau Extract File and use the copy file of generated output from step 1.
  3. Break down the flow into two separate flow files using the input file from step 2 as input for the latter part of the flow.
  4. Once the flow steps are split into two, the flow runs without issue.
Reference IDW-17872999
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