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Map visualization

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This article applies to the following Customer Insights roles: Developer


Plots data based on geographic region. Mapped data is most useful when there are definite high data points and definite low data points: if all your data clusters in the middle, then you run the risk of showing a map that is essentially all one color and doesn’t communicate much in the way of useful information.

In this article:

  • Customizing the Visualization
  • The Plot Tab
  • The Map Tab

Customizing the visualization

To customize the map visualization (change colors, change the background map, show or hide borders for empty regions, etc.), click Edit to display the parameters menu:

Each of the tabs on this menu, and each configuration option found on these tabs, is detailed in the next few sections of this documentation.


The Plot tab

Configuration options for the entire visualization.

Heatmap Gridlines

When set to On, regions on the map have darker outlines:

When set to Off, outlines are present, but dimmer:

Gridlines on Empty Regions

When set to On, regions on the map that have null values are outlined:

When set to Off these regions are not outlined:

Heatmap Opacity

Determines the intensity of the colors used on the map, with low values using faint colors and high values more intense colors. (Opacity can be set using any value from 0 to 1, inclusive.) For example, here’s a map with a Heatmap Opacity of .1:

And here’s the same map with an opacity of .8:


The Map tab

Configuration options for the background map.

Map Style

Specifies the color scheme for the map and whether or not labels are displayed on the map. Allowed values are:

  • Light
  • Light (No Labels)
  • Dark
  • Dark (No Labels)
  • Toner Dark
  • Toner Dark (No Labels)
  • Toner Light

For example, this map uses the Light map style:

And this one uses Toner Dark (No Labels):

Map Position

Specifies the starting size and position of your map. Allowed values are:

  • Fit to Data. Positions the map so all of your data points are visible.

  • Custom. Specifies the latitude and longitude the map will center on. For example, these coordinates place Portland, OR at the center of the map:

In addition, you can also specify a Zoom level for the map, with lower values indicating a zoomed-out view and higher values indicating a zoomed-in view. For example, here’s a map with the Zoom level set to 2:

And here’s the same map with the zoom set to 5:

By setting a Custom map position and by disabling zooming, you can easily create a map that focuses on a specific geographic area.

Map Scale Indicator

Specifies how (or if) the map scale is displayed. Allowed values are:

  • Off. The map scale is not displayed.
  • Metric. Values are displayed using the metric system (e.g., kilometers).
  • Imperial. Values are displayed using imperial units of measure (e.g., miles).
  • Metric and Imperial. Values are displayed using both the metric system and imperial units of measure.

Allow Panning

When set to On, users can reposition the map by dragging it.

Allowing Zooming

When set to On, a zoom control is included on the map, allowing users to zoom in and out:

Show Full Field Name

When set to On, the complete field name (including the name of the Explore) is displayed map tooltips:

When set to Off, only the field name is displayed:

Show Region Field in Tool Tip

When set the On, the map region (e.g., country name) is included in map tooltips:

When set to Off, map regions are not included in tooltips:

Draw Map Labels Above Data

When set to On, map labels are distinctly visible above the map:

When set to Off, labels blend into the map background:


The Value tab

Configuration options for individual data points.

Value Colors

Specifies different colors for your map. For example:

Colors can be set using an RGB hex value or a CSS color name; multiple colors can be specified by separating the colors with commas. For example, to use blue, green, red, and yellow as your map colors, type the Value Colors like so:

When you enter multiple colors, the first color entered is applied to your lowest values, the second color is applied to your next-lowest values, etc. If you only type in one color (e.g., red) Customer Insights will replace the color used for the highest values with the new color (red). Entering just one color value will not cause your entire map to be colored red.

Quantize Colors

When set to On, the map is displayed using only the colors specified by your color scheme and will not use a gradient scale for coloring the map. For example, here’s a map where Quantize Colors is set to Off:

And here’s the same map, this time with Quantize Colors enabled. Note the number of different shades of green in the first map compared to this one:

Reverse Color Scale

When set to On, colors used to indicate high values and colors used to indicate low values are reversed. For example, in this map red is used to indicate high values and green is used to indicate low values:

And here’s that same map with Reverse Color Scale enabled:

Minimum Value

Specifies a minimum map value; all map regions that have a value below the minimum value will be grouped together and colored the same.

For example, here’s a map with no minimum value applied:

And here’s that same map with a medium minimum value applied:

Maximum Value

Specifies a maximum map value; all map regions that have a value above the maximum value will be grouped together and colored the same.

For example, here’s a map with no maximum value applied:

And here’s that same map with a maximum value applied:

Updated over 2 years ago