# Shapetype Function in #Tableau for spatial analysis #analytics #data #mapping

> 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:** 2023-08-19
- **Format:** Short · 1 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Analytics
- **Tools:** Tableau (calculated fields, maps, shapetype)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/shapetype-function-in-tableau-for-spatial-analysis-analytics-data-mapping
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZiTIga9LXQ

I show a new Tableau function called SHAPETYPE that helps when working with spatial data. Using water bodies in London as an example, I demonstrate how the calculation returns the geometry type, such as single-line or multi-line geometries.

## Key takeaways

- The SHAPETYPE function was introduced in Tableau 23.2 for working with spatial data
- You build the calculation simply by wrapping SHAPETYPE around a geometry field
- It returns the geometry type being used, such as single-line or multi-line geometries
- Despite its name, it is essentially a geometry type function

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/shapetype-function-in-tableau-for-spatial-analysis-analytics-data-mapping

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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