Creating a map is a vital part of telling your data story. Maps provide spatial context and help readers better understand your data.
Step 1: Select Map in the Component Selection Tool
To begin, follow these steps to open the map tool:
Add a map component: In your Dashboard or Report, navigate to where you want the map to appear and select the teardrop/plus icon.
Select Map from the available options.
Step 2: Choose Your Data Source
Once the map tool is open, you’ll have two options for adding a data layer:
Add mySidewalk Layer: Use data from the mySidewalk data library.
Add My Layer: Use data you or a colleague uploaded to your account.
Adding a mySidewalk Layer:
In the edit panel on the right, click Add mySidewalk Layer. Your default geography will appear on the map. If you'd like to change this geography, click under "Select geography" to make a new selection.
Select a sub-geography like census block groups for a more detailed map, or to add data to the map.
To add data to the map, select Style By Data and use the search bar or filters to find the data you want to display on your map.
If you can't find the data you want, try changing your wording. For example, if you're looking for employment data, "work" or "job" may bring up other results.
Your layer should now be in the map! You can stop now, or refine it by reading Change the way your map looks.
Adding a User Layer (My Layer):
In the edit panel, click Add My Layer to choose from layers you or your team have added to your Layers library. Click the blue plus to add one to the map.
If your layer includes data, click Style by Data to choose how to display it.
If you have a lot of data in one layer you may have to choose what specific data you want to use.
If the data you want to display automatically pops up after clicking Style by Data, great! You can now pick from that.
Otherwise, click on Change Data, then click the blue plus sign by the data you want to visualize.
Step 3: Organize Your Layers
You can add multiple layers to your map, and each will appear in a stack, similar to layers in Photoshop or GIS. To organize them:
Hover over the layer you want to move.
Click and drag the double bar icon to rearrange the layers.
Tip: The layer on top is the most visible. If you have too many layers, your map may become cluttered.
(Optional) Step 4: Finalize Map Settings
To refine your map’s appearance, follow these steps:
Go to Map Settings to adjust the background style or orientation.
Map Style changes the way the background of your map looks.
Map Orientation allows you to set the view a visitor sees when they first see the map. Navigate to the area you want your visitors to see first and click Set Current View. Or, click Layers, and a drop-down menu will provide the list of your map layers to select from. By selecting one of your layers, the app will automatically zoom to the optimal view for your data layer.
Add a Title and Footnotes. For your title, describe the data and/or the main takeaway from your map. For footnotes, maps don’t automatically display the sources of user data, so you can manually add those here, as well as other information that may be important to share with your audience.
Accessibility descriptions help viewers with visual impairments understand your map. Include the main takeaways from your map and anything else a visually impaired person would need to understand the map contents.
