Creating a map chart
The Spotfire Business Author map chart is a container designed to hold map layers to display data in a geographical context. The map chart has its own properties that control the characteristics of the container and the layers you add to it. When you create a map chart, a map layer is also supplied by default, and optionally a feature or marker layer (depending on the data Spotfire Business Author is interpreting).
Prerequisites
The data you use to create a map chart in Spotfire Business Author must have geographical context, such as columns with latitude and longitude values.
You can add multiples of other available layers and control the properties for each layer separately. Spotfire Business Author also provides navigation controls in the visualization for zooming and panning.
- Each layer contains multiple properties to add fine control for the specific type of layer.
- Transparency, a property in each layer, gives the designer fine control over the layer display.
- The marker layers can add indicators for a data column, such as locale or zip codes, major cities, or country names.
- The feature layers can add shapes defining areas such as regions, countries, or continents.
- Third-party services (TMS and WMS) add specific field interest or beauty to the map charts.
Procedure
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On the toolbar, click
Add new visualization, and then select
Map Chart.
A default map chart, which reads data from the available geographical columns, is created.
Map chart example
This example shows creating a map chart from the existing GeoAnalytics public data, available in Spotfire Business Author. The data table, already loaded, shows Australia States and Territories. When the map chart is created from this data table, it uses the categorical values in Continent, Country, and Subregion to display the map chart, and then it automatically adds the map layer and a feature layer to render the filled-in shapes using the other data columns (Geometry, State, and so on). This image shows the default properties settings for this built-in data before any customizations are added.

- Setting map chart properties
The Spotfire Business Author map chart is the container and foundation of the map visualization. The map chart contains properties for title and description, zooming (or controlling navigation), trellis views, and the legend display. Before you add layers to a map chart, review and define the properties that are specific to it. - Adding a map layer
Spotfire Business Author supports adding multiple map layers. A map layer gives a geographical context to your data by rendering a worldwide map background under your data layers. - Adding a marker layer
Markers display positional coordinates on a map in Spotfire Business Author. The markers are customizable shapes that are placed on the map based on the position coordinates (latitudes and longitudes) or based on the geographic information provided in your data that represent zip codes, cities, counties, regions or countries. - Adding a feature layer
Features display colored areas on a map in Spotfire Business Author. The features are administrative areas that are placed on the map based on the geographic information provided in your data that represent zip codes, cities, counties, regions or countries. - Adding a TMS layer
The Tile Map Service (TMS) is a widely supported map protocol. Use it to display a map background from a third party provider or to change the default map layer. - Adding a WMS layer
The Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol for serving map images that a map server generates using data from a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. Spotfire Business Author supports adding a WMS layer to a map chart visualization to provide specialized context. - Removing a layer
You can remove a layer from the map chart visualization if you no longer need it. Removing a layer deletes it and all of its properties. - Changing layer orders in a map chart
You can refine a map chart visualization by reordering the layers that are displayed. The layers displayed, top to bottom, correspond to the order of the layer list in the Map chart properties dialog, first to last. - Hiding a layer
You can hide a map layer while you are designing a map chart visualization in Spotfire Business Author. This is a useful technique for design. Users viewing the map can hide a map layer from the Layers drop-down. - Viewing the geographic coordinates for a location
You can view the geographic coordinates, that is, the latitude and longitude, for a location in the map chart. - Navigation controls
You can navigate the map chart by zooming and panning. - Fixing geocoding issues
Sometimes the automatic geocoding does not work as expected. Below are some tips of what you can do to fix some geocoding issues. - Supported administrative boundaries
Spotfire Business Author provides colored feature areas for recognized administrative boundaries. For a marker layer, if the data contains no geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude), Spotfire Business Author places markers in the center of the recognized administrative boundaries. - Map chart properties
In a map chart, you specify properties for the map chart as such and properties for each of its added layers. To change the properties for the map chart as such, right-click and select the top level of the list of layers. To change the properties of a specific layer, select the layer in the list.