Customizing Maps

You need to customize maps to their specific needs once they are created. This section discusses the following customizations:

As discussed in Map Formatting, maps can be customized on three different levels. This section discusses both map-wide customizations, and data-item-specific formatting. Additional information on customizing a map through the use of map ranges is available in Map Ranges.

Move, resize, and delete the entire map as you do any other object in Corda® Builder™ (see Common Object Actions for more information). In addition, maps can be disbanded back to their component shapes.

Disbanding Maps

Instead of deleting a map, Corda Builder lets you disband it, leaving behind its shapes. This is useful for using shapes from one map to create a new map.

To disband a map

  1. Select the entire map.

  2. Select Properties > Convert Map to Shapes.

    The map disappears, and the map shapes are converted to regular shape objects. Each resulting shape is listed separately in the Object List.

Working with Layers

As discussed in Map Layers, maps consist of one or more layers. The two most common layers are Area and Point. The properties for these layers (data, colors, fill settings, outlines, drilldown, etc.) are independent of one another. Thus, when customizing a map, make sure to select the correct layer to customize. For information on modifying map data, see Map Data.

At their most basic, maps layers are collections of shapes; therefore, shape options are available for customizing the look and display of layers and shapes within a map:

Dividing a Map Shape

When dividing an individual map shape into multiple shapes, the process is the same as that for dividing a regular shape object, in which you create a divider object and then divide the map shape along the boundary created by the divider object. For more information on dividing a shape, see Dividing A Shape.

Note: In order to manipulate an individual map shape, use the Select a Point cursor from Shape Tools. For more information, see Select a Point.

Creating a Map Region

Creating a map region allows you to take existing map shapes and combine them together into a new shape. For example, you might want to organize a map of the United States into five regions, instead of labeling every state.

To create a map region

  1. Add a base map to the project.

    For more information on creating maps, see Creating Maps.

  2. Select the map shapes for which you want to create a new map region by pressing the <Ctrl> key and selecting each individual map shape, either from the Object List or in the Project Canvas.

    Note: In order to select individual map shapes in the project window, you must enable Edit > Preferences > Advanced map edit mode.

  3. Select Properties > Combine into new region.

  4. Type a name for the region.

  5. Select Remove inner lines if you want to eliminate the boundary lines between the original shapes when the new region shape is created.

  6. Click OK to create the new region shape.

Creating a Map Region Layer

A variation on map regions makes a copy of the map's existing Area layer and uses it to define new region shapes. This has the advantage of maintaining the previously existing shape data as you create the new region shapes.

For example, you might want to break up an existing map of the United States into sales regions, each containing multiple-state map shapes. To preserve the label, fill, hover, and other data associated with each state object, use a region layer to represent the sales regions and overlay that layer on the existing map in order to preserve existing data and still represent the new region information.

To create a region layer

  1. Add a base map to the project.

    For more information on creating maps, see Creating Maps.

  2. In the Object List or Project Canvas, select the map to which you want to add a new region layer.

  3. Select Properties > Copy Area Layer.

  4. From the drop-down list, select the appropriate Area Layer to copy.

    The new region layer is created.

To distinguish it from the original Area layer, the new region layer has thicker boundary lines between the shapes that comprise the layer.

After it is created, the new region layer can be manipulated just as any other Area map layer, including the creation of new region shapes. For more information on creating map regions, see Creating a Map Region above.

Hiding Shapes with No Data

In creating the map, you might decide to not use all of the data items defined in a map. Instead of deleting them, the map can hide data items with no data in the published image. Data items without associated data still appear on the Project Canvas, but if you preview or publish the map, empty data items are excluded.

Note: Although this option is available for the Area layer, it doesn't usually make sense to use it because data items in this layer typically contribute to map structure even if there is no data associated with a given data item. Regardless of the layer in question, data items must have a value of No Data (the default setting) to be hidden.

Properties and attributes related to hiding shapes with no data are available from the Layer Settings property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Working with Individual Map Shapes

As discussed in Map Formatting, the most granular point at which to apply formatting is the individual data item (map shape). Map shape properties are typically controlled as a group through layer-level formatting and data ranges, but each map shape maintains its own formatting properties, and can be managed individually, if necessary. For information on modifying map data, see Map Data.

This section discusses the following individual map shape customizations:

Selecting Map Shapes

Select individual map shapes from the Object List or by using the Select a Point tool from the Tools view. Once selected, modify the map shape's properties in Object Properties.

Properties and attributes related to individual map shapes are available from the Shape Settings property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Adding Point Layer Data Items

Most map templates include a Point layer with some pre-defined data items. However, you might find that you need to add additional data items to the map's Point layer. This is an easy task to perform.

To add a Point layer data item

  1. Right-click the location on the map where you want to add the data point and select Add a data point to map.

    Alternatively, select Properties > Add a data point to map or hold down the <Alt> key as you click a point inside the map.

  2. Enter the data item name, value, and description in the Add Data Point dialog.

    If you have latitude and longitude coordinates for the data item, enter them here as well.

  3. Select OK to finish adding a data item to the map.

Adding Area Data Items

To add new data items to the map's Area layer, first create it either by using shape tools in the Tools view or by disbanding another map and selecting one of its former shapes (see Disbanding Maps above).

To add a Area layer data item

  1. Select both the map and the shape you want to add to the map.

    Hold down the <Ctrl> key to select multiple objects at once.

  2. Select Properties > Add Shape to Map Layer.

  3. From the drop-down list, select the appropriate Area layer to which you want to add the shape.

    The shape is added to the Area layer.

Deleting Data Items

Although you can delete unnecessary data items, it might be better to hide data items that don't contain data. For more information, see Hiding Shapes with No Data.

To delete a data item

  1. Select the data item you want to delete.

  2. Select Edit > Delete Object or press the <Delete> key.

Moving Data Items

You can move map data items around in the map if the default placement isn't effective.

Note: When moving a data item on the map, make sure to move it relative to the map, not the Project Canvas.

To move a Point layer data item

  1. Select a Point layer data item from the Object List or by using the Select a Point tool from the Tools view.

    Be careful to select a specific data item instead of the entire map. The data item is outlined when moused over, indicating that it can be selected.

  2. With the data item outlined, click and drag it to the desired location.

    Point layer data items don't retain original position data, so you can’t restore a Point layer data item to its original location.

To move an Area layer data item

  1. Open the Tools view and select the Select a Point tool.

    Remember that map data items are just shapes. For more information, see Select a Point.

  2. Select the Area layer data item.

    The Select a Point cursor prevents you from selecting the entire map.

  3. With the data item outlined, click and drag it to the desired location.

  4. To return a background shape to its original position, select the shape in the Object List, right-click it, and select Restore to Original Position.

Other Data Item Formatting

Within a data item's properties are properties for configuring general settings such as symbol type (Point layer only), fill, and outline, as well as other related formatting such as labels, hover, drilldown, and descriptive text. However, it is important to remember that a published map's final settings are typically defined by the range properties defined for each map layer. Default properties are always overridden by range properties (unless a data item has no data), while range properties are overridden by individual map shape settings.

Important: To always use a map layer’s default settings, set Layer Settings > Use Ranges to False in Object Properties.

Warning: It is generally a bad practice to override formatting for an individual data item. If the project is used as an Image Template file with Corda Server™, it might make the map impractical to use with certain data sets, and less flexible to a developer who might want to change its formatting on-the-fly.

Many data item formatting options are intuitive, but the following sections provide ways to use some of the formatting options effectively:

Symbol Notes

Corda Builder provides several shape types to use as symbols for Point layer data items.

Shape Types

Shape

Rectangle

Round

Triangle

Diamond

Rounded Rectangle

Polygon

 

Properties and attributes related to individual map shapes are available from the Shape Settings property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Fill Notes

Corda Builder supports four different types of fill. Specify the type you want to use in the fill-type property:

Properties and attributes related to a data item's fill are available from the Shape Settings property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Label Notes

For more information on labels, see Map Data Labels.

One common issue with maps is label positioning. Since many data items can be grouped close together, labels can easily overlap or become cluttered and illegible. To resolve this problem, override one or more of the following label characteristics:

Properties and attributes related to data item labels are available from the Label property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Drilldown Notes

For information on drilldown, see Map Drilldown.

Properties and attributes related to data item drilldown are available from the Drilldown property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.

Hover Item Notes

A powerful feature of Corda Builder is the ability to create hover items—that is, maps, graphs, shapes, and other objects that "pop up" as you mouse over data items in the map.

Note: Hover items work only in Flash* and SVG* output.

To do this, select the object to which you want to add a hover item, and then specify another object in the project to act as the hover item by selecting it in the dialog associated with the Hover Items property.

For information about hover text in maps, see Map Hover Text.

Properties and attributes related to data item hover text are available from the Hover Text property in Object Properties. More information on these properties and attributes is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.