# Map layer controls: New in Tableau 2021.2

> 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:** 2021-06-27
- **Format:** Video · 8 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation
- **Tools:** Tableau (cloud, maps, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/map-layer-controls-new-in-tableau-2021-2
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Ikidt8taQ

I walk through the new map layer controls introduced in Tableau 2021.2, which let users toggle, lock and hide individual map layers. I show how to enable and disable the control as an author, and how the settings can be persisted in custom views when published to Tableau Server or Tableau Online.

## Key takeaways

- Map layer controls appear automatically once you add a second layer by dragging a geometry or mapping field into the view, and they're enabled by default for authors
- The control gives two options per layer: a tick box to show or hide the layer, and a lock to stop interaction so you can select elements underneath it
- Authors can switch the whole control off via Map > Map options > Layer Control, but cannot lock individual layers from being unlocked by users
- Layer controls are great for accessibility and progressive storytelling, such as disabling decade-by-decade layers to show change over time
- On Tableau Server or Online the settings reset on each visit unless saved into a customised view, which persists your chosen layer state as a default

## Chapters

- 0:00 What map layer controls do
- 0:29 Enabling layers and using the control
- 1:16 Locking and hiding layers
- 2:31 Disabling the control as an author
- 3:15 Use cases and accessibility
- 4:10 Persisting settings in custom views

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/map-layer-controls-new-in-tableau-2021-2

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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