With Tableau 2019.2, Vector-based maps are introduced. These maps provide better visualization and user experience when the user zoom in/out to explore the geographical data.

In Tableau, maps are created to plot data on geographical locations. To learn some basic concepts in Tableau Maps visit How to create Maps in Tableau.

Vector-based Maps vs Map tiles

In the earlier versions, Tableau used Map tiles or map images. When user performed zoom on these maps, these images become distorted or blur.
Vector-based maps calculates the coordinate of each point in an image. This resulted in no distortion or pixelation when zoom is used on the map.

New Map Layer

Apart from using Vector-based Maps, Tableau has also introduced new options in Map layer under Style and Map Layers.

Creating a Vector-based Map

The steps to create a Vector-based Map is same as before.

1. Connect to the excel data source Sample – SuperStore.xls. I am using Tableau 2019.2, it is located in \Documents\My Tableau Repository\Datasources\2019.2\en_US-US. How to connect to excel data in Tableau.
2. Double click on Country, State and City. This will create a symbol Map.
3. Navigate to Menu, select Map Layers. Select new Style such as Streets,Outdoors and Satellite. Earlier these map layers were used using Map box services. How to integrate Tableau with Map box services.
4. Explore other options under Map layers, such as, water labels, Points of Interest etc.
5. Try zoom in and zoom out on your map and see the difference.