# WKT support and GeoJSON: New in Tableau 2021.3

> 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:** 2021-11-23
- **Format:** Video · 3 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Data prep
- **Tools:** Tableau (data modelling, maps)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/wkt-support-and-geojson-new-in-tableau-2021-3
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=000Swuql6QM

I walk through the WKT and GeoJSON support added in Tableau 2021.3, showing how to connect to spatial data held as text inside delimited files like TSV or CSV. I demonstrate converting a text-based polygon field into a spatial field, then connecting directly to a GeoJSON file.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau 2021.3 lets you connect to spatial data stored as text inside delimited files such as TSV, CSV or Excel, without first converting to a shapefile via a script
- To turn a text-based polygon column into usable spatial data, connect to the text file then change the field's data type from abc to the spatial option
- Once converted, you can double-click the polygon field to instantly map the geometry on a sheet
- GeoJSON is treated as a spatial file format, so connect to it through the spatial file connection option rather than the text file option
- Previously these formats required external scripting, so the built-in support saves significant data prep effort

## Chapters

- 0:19 Connecting to WKT in a text file
- 1:22 Converting text to spatial polygons
- 2:04 Connecting to a GeoJSON file

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/wkt-support-and-geojson-new-in-tableau-2021-3

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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