The Tableau error “Tableau Data Engine Error: 40583: error measuring utf8 to utf16” can be caused when creating a TDE in Alteryx.
Alteryx and the Tableau error measuring utf8 to utf16
I have seen this error when using the Alteryx Output tool to output a Tableau Data Extract file (TDE) based on CSV files (and possibly other file types).
There are a couple of options I know to resolve this error.
Resolving the error measuring UTF8 to UTF16
Solution 1
In Alteryx change the field type to a V_WString.
An Alteryx Select tool can be used to change the field type.
When the TDE is regenerated the characters are represented with the appropriate accents in Tableau.
Solution 2
In the Alteryx Input data tool change the encoding to Unicode UTF-8.
This will remove the error in Tableau when the TDE is regenerated, however, the characters aren’t correctly represented in Tableau.
The accent characters are reflected as a black diamond shape with a white question mark in the middle, like this:
Therefore Solution 1 of V_WString is the better way to resolve this Tableau error.