The process of creating a map using Data Map/Microsoft Map consists of
the following steps:
- Select the geographic data.
- Create the map.
- Customize the map.
Select the Geographic Data
The first step in generating a map is to select the data that will appear
on the map. For Microsoft Map (Data Map in version 7.0) to correctly
generate a map, the selected data must be arranged in columns, where one
column contains geographic data, such as country names, states, or postal
codes.
In this example, enter the following data in cells A1:B4
A1: Country B1: Total Sales
A2: Denmark B2: $17,459
A3: France B3: $11,814
A4: Italy B4: $18,449
and select cells A1:B4.
NOTE: If you use postal codes as your geographic data, you must format them with the Zip Code number format before you create your map.
For additional information, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
131929 XL: Zip Codes in Data Map Must Be Formatted with Zip Code Style
Create the Map
After you select the data, follow these steps:
- Click Map on the Insert menu, or click the Map tool (called Data Map in version 7.0).
- Click and drag on the worksheet to create the map.
Data Map examines the selected data and determines whether more than
one map can be used. If the data matches more than one map and the
map is installed, the Multiple Maps Available dialog box appears.
- Select a map in the Multiple Maps Available dialog box, and then click OK.
The map you selected appears in the worksheet, and the Microsoft Map Control dialog box (Microsoft Data Map Control in version 7.0) appears.
Customize the Map
After you insert the map, you can use the
Microsoft Map Control dialog box (
Microsoft Data Map Control in version 7.0) to modify what data appears on the map and how the data is represented.
All six formats that Data Map can use for presenting your data are
represented as icons at the lower-left side of the
Microsoft Map Control dialog box (
Microsoft Data Map Control in version 7.0). The following table lists the six formats and how they represent data:
Format Data presentation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Value Shading Depth of color represents rank.
Dot Density A dot represents data, where each dot is some
known quantity.
Pie Chart A small pie chart represents data for each
geographic area.
Category Shading A different color represents data belonging
to a different category.
Graduated Symbol A symbol represents data, where the size of
the symbol indicates data size.
Column Chart A small column chart represents data for each
geographic area.
To select the data formats and their associated data, follow these steps:
- To use a format, click the icon and drag it to the light gray Format area to the right of the format icons.
Each heading for the geographic data that you select is represented
at the top of the Microsoft Map Control dialog box (Microsoft Data Map Control in version 7.0) as a moveable box. Note that when you place the pointer on top of the box, the pointer turns into a handle.
- Drag the data box to be associated with the format you selected
earlier to the gray Column area. To remove a data type, drag the
data box from the Column area to the top of the dialog box.
- When you finish customizing the map, close the dialog box.
- To add labels to identify countries, regions, or cities, click the
Map Labels button, and click each point at which you want to place a label. Data Map automatically inserts the label for you.
- To add a text box, click the Add Text toolbar button, click into your map and type the text.
To return to the
Microsoft Map Control dialog box (
Microsoft Data Map Control in Microsoft Excel 7.0), click
Microsoft Map Control (
Data Map Control in Microsoft Excel 7.0) on the
View menu.