Problem Summary

I'm trying to scrape data from a Tableau Public dashboard (ASU System Open Checkbook), but the table data is rendered as blob images rather than HTML text, making traditional web scraping impossible.

What I've Tried

I've successfully:

• Identified the scroll mechanism (.tvimagesContainer with top positioning)

• Implemented scrolling through the Tableau view

• Located the data container with height: 104599px

However, my text extraction fails because Tableau renders the table as canvas-based blob images instead of DOM text elements

# Scrolling works fine - I can navigate through the data
def scroll_tableau_by_position(self, pixels_down=500):
    current_top = self.driver.execute_script(
        "return parseInt(arguments[0].style.top) || 0;",
        self.images_container
    )
    new_top = current_top - pixels_down
    self.driver.execute_script(
        "arguments[0].style.top = arguments[1] + 'px';",
        self.images_container, new_top
    )

# Text extraction fails - no text in DOM!
def extract_tableau_data_advanced(self):
    all_text = self.driver.execute_script("""
        // TreeWalker finds nothing because data is in blob images
        var walker = document.createTreeWalker(
            element,
            NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT,
            null,
            false
        );
        // Returns empty - text is rendered as pixels in images
    """)

The Core Issue

When I inspect the page, I see:

The table data (Payee names, dates, amounts) exists only as rendered pixels inside these blob images, not as accessible text in the DOM.

What I Need

How can I extract the actual data from this Tableau visualization?

I've considered:

1. OCR on screenshots - Would work but very slow and error-prone

2. Tableau's download button - Can't find it or it's disabled on this public dashboard

3. API/Data endpoint - Not sure if Tableau Public exposes data endpoints

Question

What's the standard/best approach to scrape data from Tableau Public dashboards when the data is rendered as blob images?

• Is there a way to access Tableau's underlying data API?

• Can I intercept the network requests that fetch the tile data?

• Is there a hidden export/download option I'm missing?

• Should I be using Tableau's official API instead?

Environment

• Python 3.x

• Selenium + undetected_chromedriver

• Target: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/asusystem/viz/ASUSystemOpenCheckbook/Main

Any guidance on the best approach would be greatly appreciated!