# Enhanced Image role support for SVGs GIFS and More | New in Tableau 2023.2

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2023-07-23
- **Format:** Video · 16 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Tool strategy
- **Tools:** Tableau (cloud, dashboards, image roles)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/enhanced-image-role-support-for-svgs-gifs-and-more-new-in-tableau-2023-2
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_uMmGatQk

I walk through the enhanced image role support in Tableau 2023.2, which now handles SVGs, GIFs and WebP files. I explain why SVGs are an underused vector format that keeps workbooks small and sharp, and demonstrate a trick for adding animated GIFs as graphical assets to bring a dashboard to life.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau 2023.2 expands image role support to SVGs, GIFs and WebP, and doubles the file size limit from 100KB to 200KB
- SVGs are vector images defined by paths and fill colours rather than pixels, so they stay infinitely sharp at any size and are tiny (often around 1KB)
- You can drag SVGs straight onto a dashboard as image objects in Tableau Desktop, keeping workbooks performant and crisp
- Hosting images on a service like Cloudinary lets you edit the URL to control sizing and padding, and may render images more performantly than the raw original
- GIFs and WebP with transparent backgrounds can be used as animated graphical assets to add flair to a dashboard

## Chapters

- 0:30 Connecting data in web authoring
- 3:09 Enabling image roles
- 4:02 Why SVGs matter: vector explained
- 8:50 Using SVGs in Tableau Desktop
- 9:52 GIF and WebP support
- 11:40 Animated GIFs as dashboard assets

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/enhanced-image-role-support-for-svgs-gifs-and-more-new-in-tableau-2023-2

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena