Excel Video 503 Power View Maps Part 1

Power View Maps are another way to visualize data, and creating Power View Maps is the topic of Excel Video 503.  In Excel 2016, Microsoft has added 3D Maps which give you more mapping options, but if you want to use maps as part of a Power View visualization, there are more than enough mapping features to get started.  First, note that Power View Maps uses Bing to plot the data, so you need to be connected to the internet for the maps to work.  Watch for the globe icon next to geographic fields in your Power View Field list.  Excel is identifying geographic data available to map.  Drag the geographic fields to the Locations area to build your map.

Once you have a map built, watch for ways to zoom and pan to see the area of the map your users need to focus on.  You can hover over data points for more information, and you can also change map backgrounds if you need to highlight data differently.

This video is enough to get you started with Power View Maps.  Stay tuned.  In the next Excel Video we’ll add some features and complexity to add power to your analysis.  I look forward to seeing you then.