# How to use the Distance calculations in Tableau Desktop 2019.4 and newer.

> 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:** 2019-12-09
- **Format:** Video · 2 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Analytics
- **Tools:** Tableau (calculated fields, distance, makepoint, maps)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-the-distance-calculations-in-tableau-desktop-2019-4-and-newer
- **Watch:** https://www.youtu.be/vqA-rli_lJM

I show how to use the new DISTANCE calculation introduced in Tableau Desktop 2019.3, calculating the distance between a pickup and drop-off point built with MAKEPOINT. I cover the function syntax, the units argument, and how to visualise the results.

## Key takeaways

- The DISTANCE function takes a start point, an end point and a distance unit such as 'kilometers'
- Use MAKEPOINT with latitude and longitude to create the start and finish points the function references
- Tableau calculates distance 'as the bird flies' — a straight line, so treat it like a radius between two points
- You can drag the distance measure onto columns and add trip ID to build a bar chart, then use it as a filter
- This removes the need to pre-calculate distances outside of Tableau

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/how-to-use-the-distance-calculations-in-tableau-desktop-2019-4-and-newer

---
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