Explore insights in your map with grouping
When you map an Excel file or other spreadsheet using BatchGeo, you typically have more data than just the location column. We intelligently find the best home for the remaining data. Where useful, your columns may be suggested for the grouping feature. Users of your map will be able to select only the markers that meet certain requirements, filtering out the rest. Groups can be combined to zero in on very specific results, giving you insight into the story behind the map.
Example map grouping
View Tallest Buildings in the World in a full screen map
The map above of 100 tallest buildings was created using open data from Wikipedia. In addition to a location (in this case, a city name), it also includes the building’s name, its ranking (1-100), its height (in both meters and feet), the number of floors, and the year constructed. The building name becomes the text box title and everything else is available for group selection.
Try grouping some markers. Let’s say you want only the newest buildings:
- Hover above the drop down in the lower left of the map to reveal the available grouping columns.
- Choose “Built” from the menu. Each marker on the map will change color based on its group.
- Select the top two ranges (“2016-2012” and “2011-2007”). As you select each, the map will filter to include markers that match your selection.
Now try adding a second group. You already have the newest buildings displayed, here’s how you see only the tallest of the newest buildings:
- Hover above the group selection menu in the lower left.
- Choose “Height (ft)” from the menu. Only the height ranges for the current matches will be available.
- Select the top range (“2717-1399”)
You’re now viewing a very specific subset of the tallest buildings dataset. You’ve probably noticed that recent tallest buildings are mostly within China and Hong Kong, with a few exceptions.
To clear group selections, click the “x” on each of your groups, or just click the group menu once.
How to add grouping to your map
There are two ways that a field is determined to be group-able:
- The values are numeric and either unique or have few repeat values.
- The are many repeat values, especially non-numeric, such as a category or type.
Typically, the first group-able column will be displayed by default and the markers will be colored to match the values within the field. You can change the default Group By field in Validate and Set Options screen, either as you create your map or editing afterwards.
Disable Map Grouping
If you prefer not to have data in your map grouped, you can easily disable it by editing your map. In Validate and Set Options, select “Single Color” for the Group By option.
How map grouping works
When you add data to BatchGeo, we try to be intelligent about what is in each field. For example, we’ll usually be able to identify the address, and other location names. Those that are not merely for aid in geocoding will be added as descriptions in the text box. From the non-location values, we look for group-able columns. Some of the best insights come from the categories and numeric data found within your spreadsheet.
The ideal number of groups is five or fewer (though we allow for a couple more). For numeric values, BatchGeo spread these out in ranges based on the distribution of the values within your data. For repeating values, such as categories, we take the most popular groups, then lump the rest into an “Other” category.
When users make multiple selections within one group, we employ an open matching approach. That is, if you’ve selected two categories, we look for “this” category OR “that” category. When selecting across multiple groups, we employ restrictive matching: “this” category AND “that” value, for example. You can see these approaches in action with our tallest buildings example above, when we selected two year ranges and a single height range.
We think we’ve chosen intelligent defaults that make advanced mapping simple. If there’s something you haven’t been able to visualize, be sure to reach out and ask us a question. Or, if you haven’t grouped any data yet, create a new map with your data right now.
