3D maps

3D Maps (PowerMaps) is tool for graphical representation of data in relation to geographical locations on a 3D model of the planet Earth. It is an Excel add-in that is of version 2016 became an integral part application. Based on location data from the Model Excel is connected with Bing maps and finds geographical coordinates on which to draw map charts for given reporting dimensions, such as turnover (sales) or price difference …

To view information on the 3D maps will use the example about sales of various beverages in a chain of retail stores. First, choose the Insert toolbar, and then click 3D Maps. In the menu that opens should select the option Open 3D Maps which opens a separate window, similar to window of Data model.

This window has only one ribbon, which holds options for working with 3D maps divided by groups. On the left side there is a panel called Tour Editor. Every time you launch Power Maps you actually create a tour that consists of one or more scenes. In the central part of the window there is a 3D model of the planet Earth. On the bottom there are commands to move through the map and zoom its content. We don’t use these options very often because you’ll be more likely to use mouse to move and scroll button on your mouse to zoom. Field list is a panel on the right which contains list of available fields (reporting dimensions), a Layer Pane is the name of the control panel on the right side, which is similar to the panel in the Pivot Table. It adds a layers (Layers) and do the manipulation with them. Also, here we add and arrange the elements of the chart. Tour Editor, or Layer Field List pane can be hidden or shown by clicking the appropriate icon within View or Home ribbon.

Let’s make a simple map chart! First, it is necessary to add a dimension to the Location area, marked in yellow in the right pane. Here we add a field that contains a geographic location, such as city name, location, country … Before you add a dimension it’s a good idea to previously create calculated column containing concatenated string that consists of city name and country name. For example:

=Lokacija[MESTO]&“,“&Lokacija[DRZAVA]

This is necessary for Excel not to confuse locations. Believe it or not, there are several towns named Belgrade in the US. If you do not specify true that this is Belgrade in Serbia can happen that Excel shows data charts on a wrong place. Thus created dimension should drag in the Location area, and then in the menu on the right choose the option City to confirm that dimension contains names of cities.

Further, in the field Height we choose reporting dimension that refers to the height of the chart columns that will be shown on a map. This can be sum of quantities, amounts, price differences etc. Category is used to add dimensions on which we categorize reports, such as:

KLASIFIKACIJA (CLASSIFICATION), ROBNA GRUPA (COMMODITY GROUP), PRODAJNA GRUPA (SALES GROUP), PROIZVOĐAČ (MANUFACTURER), MARKA (BRAND) … This is information from which we present further details regarding the given aggregation sum. In the Time we can add time dimensions, such as DATUM (DATE), if we want to create a chart that tracks sales over time.

Each map chart can have one or more layers (Layers). The layers are separate graphs located one above the other. To the right of the layer name are three icons that resemble the eye, pencil and cross. Clicking on the first icon shows or hides the layer, on the second is changing its name, and by clicking on the third you can delete it. Below is a group of icons by which we can change the chart type. Supported charts include: Column (Stacked & Clustered Column), Bubble, Heat Map and Region. At the bottom of the panel there are filters (Filters) and options to adjust the properties of the layer (Layer Options). Features include a color of layer for each of the series, the relative dimensions of the chart, the distance between the series …

When you create a chart, we can stop there, or to add a new scene from the New Scene menu in Home ribbon. When you create multiple scenes can determine the duration of each of them, and how transitions between scenes occur, like in the Power Point presentation. Using the option Create Video at the end there is a possibility to make a video recording in MP4 format.

In the Home ribbon there are a number of useful options. MapLabels is used to activate or deactivate the display place labels. In the Themes menu we can change the theme, which affects the display of 3D charts. Option 2DChart can be used to transform 3D to 2D map. In the Home ribbon there are also many additional options for minor adjustments of the final look of the map chart, such for adding shapes, additional text etc.