HOW TO: Use Microsoft Map to Display Postal Code Centers in Excel 2000

This step-by-step article explains how to use Microsoft Map in Microsoft Excel 2000 to display postal code centers on inserted maps for the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom.

Postal Code Formats

Microsoft Map can evaluate postal code data for the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The following are the valid postal code formats for each nation.

United States

Microsoft Map can use either the five-digit ZIP code or the nine-digit ZIP code. This data must be formatted in the five-digit or five-plus-four-digit ZIP code format to be considered valid geographic data. To format a range as valid ZIP code data, follow these steps:

1. On an Excel worksheet, type the ZIP code data in column form. For example, type the following:
   A1: 68820
   A2: 68871
   A3: 68801
2. Select the range of the ZIP code data, and then click Cells on the Format menu.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, click Special under Category, and then click Zip Code under Type (click Zip Code+4 if you are using the nine-digit ZIP code format).

Canada

Microsoft Map can accept only the Forward Sortation Area part of the Canadian postal code as valid geographic data. The Forward Sortation Area consists of the first three characters of the Canadian postal code. For example, for the following Canadian postal codes you type data that Microsoft Map uses in an Excel worksheet as follows:

United Kingdom

Microsoft Map can accept only the first two digits of the U.K. postal code as valid geographic data. For example, for the following U.K. postal codes you type data that Microsoft Map uses in an Excel worksheet as follows:

Create a Microsoft Map from a Column of Postal Codes

To create a Microsoft Map from a column of postal codes, follow these steps:

1. Create a list of postal codes, as described in the Postal Code Formats section of this article.
2. Select the column range of postal codes, click Object on the Insert menu, click Microsoft Map under Object type, and then click OK.
   
   These steps create a map of the country that the postal codes belong to. You are not asked which map you want to create.

Add Postal Codes to an Existing Microsoft Map

To add postal codes to an existing Microsoft Map, follow these steps:

1. Type the postal codes in a column, as shown earlier in this section.
2. Double-click the existing Microsoft Map to activate it.
3. Double-click the activated map to open the Map Features dialog box. If the postal code feature is missing, click Add, click the name of the postal code feature for the country that you are using, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: Even after you add the feature to the map, the selection box is unavailable (appears dimmed) and it cannot be selected.
4. On the Insert menu, click Data, select the range of postal codes that you have created, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: You can insert only one column of geographical data at a time. ZIP codes and state names are examples of different kinds of geographical data. You cannot combine different kinds of geographic data in a single column.

Format the Data Symbols

When Microsoft Map adds the symbols for each postal code center, it adds large circle symbols, which you can modify. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Double-click an existing map to activate the map.
2. On the View menu of the activated map, click Microsoft Map Control.
3. In the lower-right box of the Microsoft Map Control, double-click the Graduated symbol (the star shape).
4. In the Format Properties dialog box, click the Graduated Symbol Options tab, and then click Modify Symbol.
5. Click any symbol that is displayed in the Symbol dialog box.
6. To change the size or color of the symbol, click Font, change the number in the Size box, and then change the color in the Color box.
   
   NOTE: You can edit the font size so that it is a number smaller than the number that is displayed in the list.
7. Click OK three times and close Microsoft Map Control.

The shape, size, and color of the graduated symbol used for postal codes cannot be changed for individual postal centers. Graduated symbols change as a group, based on the settings on the Graduated Symbols Options tab.

For more information about creating maps, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type create a map in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about working with maps, double-click an existing map, and then click Microsoft Map Help Topics on the Help menu.