Integrate Mapbox with Tableau

This tutorial walks you through the process of adding a Mapbox style to your Tableau visualization.

If you are using Tableau Public or Tableau Online, you are already using Mapbox maps! For more information on taking advantage of these native vector maps, head to the Create vector maps in Tableau section of this guide.

If you are using Tableau Desktop and would like to use a Mapbox map as a background map in Tableau, continue to the Create raster maps in Tableau Desktop section of this guide.

The technology that powers Tableau background maps in Tableau Public and Tableau Online is based on Mapbox vector tiles. With vector tiles, interacting with background maps in Tableau is a smooth experience in which contextual elements load dynamically and the map is crisp and loads quickly, no matter the scale.

To take advantage of Mapbox-powered vector maps in Tableau, you can either:

• Create a map in Tableau Online. This map will be a Mapbox-powered vector map by default.

  • Note that vector maps that you create in Tableau Online will, if downloaded and opened in Tableau Desktop, be loaded with the old raster tile map and style.

• Create a raster map in Tableau Desktop, then publish it to Public. When it is published, the map will be upgraded to Mapbox-powered vector tiles.

  • If your published map is dramatically different or seems to be missing data, report the issue to Tableau Support.

Raster maps styled with the Mapbox Studio style editor or Mapbox Studio Classic can be added to Tableau 10.2.2 as background maps. To complete this tutorial, make sure you have the latest version of Tableau (10.2.2 or higher). (If you are using a version lower than Tableau 10.2.2, please refer to this section.) Additionally, you will need a map style created with the Mapbox Studio style editor.

In Tableau, click Map > Background Maps > Map Services to open the Map Services dialog box.

In the dialog box, click Add > Mapbox Maps.

In Mapbox Studio, navigate to the Styles page and click the Share & use button next to the style you would like to add to Tableau.

When the Share & use modal opens, switch to the Use tab. Click the Third party option, and toggle to Tableau. Copy the URL by clicking the clipboard icon.

Back in Tableau, give your style a name in the Style Name field (this can be whatever you like). Then paste the Integration URL you copied in the previous step into the URL field. The API access token, Username, and Layer ID fields will be populated automatically. Click OK.

If changes made in the Mapbox Studio style editor are not being updated in Tableau Desktop, try clearing the desktop cache in Tableau.

In Tableau, click Map > Background Maps > Map Services to open the Map Services dialog box.

In the dialog box, click Add > Mapbox Maps

In the next dialog box, select the Classic tab, then choose a style name (this can be whatever you like) and enter your access token in the API access token field. You can choose to use a preset style or use a map from your Mapbox account.

To use a preset Style, choose one of the options available in the Mapbox preset style dropdown and click OK.

To add a custom style, click the Custom (with one or more layers) radio button in the Add Mapbox Map dialog box, enter one or more Classic map IDs, then click OK.

If changes made in Mapbox Studio Classic are not being updated in Tableau Desktop, try clearing the desktop cache in Tableau.

You can access the Mapbox maps you've added to Tableau by clicking Map in the menu bar, then selecting Background Maps.

Now that you've added your map to your Tableau workbook, the rest is up to you! You can edit your map style in Mapbox Studio and your changes will be reflected in your Tableau workbook the next time you open it. For more information, visit Tableau's help page for adding and managing map layers.