# Tableau 2020.2: ESRI web data connector in Tableau

> 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:** 2020-05-06
- **Format:** Video · 9 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Data prep
- **Tools:** Tableau (data modelling, extensions, maps, relationships)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-2020-2-esri-web-data-connector-in-tableau
- **Watch:** https://www.youtu.be/EcY9o3X09-Y

I walk through the new Esri web data connector added in Tableau 2020.2, showing how to connect to ArcGIS server data simply by entering a server URL. I then demonstrate building a spatial map and performing a cross-database spatial join between two Esri connections using Tableau's new data modelling features.

## Key takeaways

- The Esri ArcGIS server connector in Tableau 2020.2 lets you connect to location data just by pasting an ArcGIS server URL or Geo Service API URL.
- These connections always create an extract rather than connecting live, signalled by the two-cylinder icon, because of how Tableau needs to work with the spatial data.
- Spatial fields can return both polygons and multi-polygons within a single shape column, giving you mixed spatial types to work with.
- You can perform cross-database spatial joins using a spatial intersect rather than matching on equal columns, which is more reliable than trusting potentially error-prone city columns.
- Colour-coded bars (blue and orange) in the join interface indicate which connection each table is coming from, helping you track data across multiple sources.

## Chapters

- 0:00 Finding the Esri web data connector
- 0:50 Connecting and inspecting the metadata
- 1:59 Building a simple spatial map
- 2:56 Setting up cross-database joins
- 4:40 Spatial intersect join configuration
- 6:53 Visualising buildings within service districts

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-2020-2-esri-web-data-connector-in-tableau

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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