# Tableau now supports mixed geometry in a single column

> 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:** 2026-02-01
- **Format:** Short · 1 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation
- **Tools:** Tableau (maps)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-now-supports-mixed-geometry-in-a-single-column
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfLXPGra57A

I walk through Tableau's new mixed geometry support, which lets you visualise points, lines and polygons from a single column. Previously you had to split each geometry type into separate columns, so this is a nice quality-of-life improvement for mapping work.

## Key takeaways

- Spatial analysis works with three geometry types: points, lines (formed from points), and polygons (a line that closes around an object)
- Previously Tableau forced you to keep each geometry type in its own column, splitting points, paths and polygons separately
- Mixed geometry support lets you hold points, lines and polygons together in a single column
- The feature streamlines getting into visualisation by handling natively what people were already doing manually

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-now-supports-mixed-geometry-in-a-single-column

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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