Make a map in Tableau

Make a map in Tableau

1. Make sure that your data source contains geographical data. It’s represented by theicon in the side navigation bar.

If you want to practice mapping on a sample data set, open a Tableau worksheet, click on Connect to data and choose the Sample – Superstore data source.

2. To build a basic map, drag your primary geographic dimension and drop it in the column shelf, then click on Show me and select a Map icon.

An example of a primary geographic dimension is country.

3. Create a proportional symbol map to show a visual representation of two values across a geographic region.

Choose the geographic region that your map will cover; drag your primary geographic dimension to the Column shelf and click on Show me > [proportional symbol map icon]. Choose the level of granularity your map will display. For example, show data at the state, region, or city level; drag a secondary geographic dimension to the detail mark under Marks. Choose the value that you want to base symbol size on. For example, revenue; from the navigation bar, drag a measure to the size mark under Marks.  Choose the value that you want to base symbol color on. For example, profit; from the navigation bar, drag a measure to the color mark under Marks. You can now easily see which regions generate the highest sales, represented by the size of the symbol, and how profitable the regions are, represented by the color symbol diverging from red to green.

4. Build a filled map to display differences in a single value across a geographic region.

Choose the geographic region that your map will cover: drag your primary geographic dimension to the Column shelf and click on Show me > [filled map icon]. Choose the level of granularity your map will display. For example, show data at the state, region, or city level; drag a secondary geographic dimension to the detail mark under Marks. Choose the value that you want to base the color of each region on. For example, revenue; from the navigation bar, drag a measure to the color mark under Marks.  Your map will display every area in your geographic region, colored according to the value of the metric you chose in that area. For example, if you chose state as your secondary geographic dimension and revenue as your color metric, your map might look similar to the one below.

5. Enhance your filled map with pie charts to display more advanced regional data, like breakdowns of product sales.

From the side navigation bar, drag Latitude (generated) to the Rows shelf. This will create a second map in the view. Right-click on the second Latitude (generated) pill in the rows shelf and select Dual axis. This will layer the maps on top of each other. On the marks card, click one of the Latitude (generated) pills, and change Map to Pie in the drop-down menu. Drag your breakdown dimension that you want to represent in the pie chart for example, product category, and drop it on the color mark. Adjust the size of the pie charts by clicking on the size mark and using the slider. Your filled map will now display pie charts in each area that break down your selected category of data.

6. Filter your map to display only specific areas by dragging a geographic dimension to filters and selecting the values you want displayed.

For example, to display only California, drag State to Filters and select California.

7. Add labels to your map by dragging dimensions to the label mark under Marks.

For example, to add product category names and sales figures to the pie chart in the above map, drag Product category and drop on the label mark, drag Sales and drop on the label mark. Product category name and sales value are now displayed on the map chart.