1. Visualizing Data and Building Reports in Oracle Analytics Cloud
  2. Visualize Data
  3. Apply Map Backgrounds and Map Layers to Enhance Visualizations
  4. Add Map Backgrounds

Add Map Backgrounds

You can add Google, Baidu, and other web map service backgrounds to use in visualizations.

Topics:

Add Google Map Backgrounds

You can add Google map backgrounds to use in map visualizations.

  1. On the Home page, click Navigator, and click Console.
  2. In the Console, select Maps, click Backgrounds, and then click Map Backgrounds.
  3. Click Add Background and select a Google from the list.
  4. Enter a helpful description if needed.
  5. Click Account Type to select your account.
  6. Copy and paste your Google Maps API access key.

    To use Google Maps tiles, you must obtain a Google Maps API access key from Google. Google prompts you to enter your Maps API access key and, when applicable, your Google “Client ID”. Usage of the tiles must meet the terms of service specified by Google in the Google Developers Site Terms of Service.

  7. Click Default Map Type if applicable.
  8. Click Save to include the map in the list of available map backgrounds.

Add Baidu Map Backgrounds

You can add Baidu map backgrounds to use in map visualizations.

  1. On the Home page, click Navigator, and click Console.
  2. In the Console, select Maps, click Backgrounds, and then click Map Backgrounds.
  3. Click Add Background and select Baidu from the list.
  4. Enter a helpful description if needed.
  5. Copy and paste your Baidu Maps API access key.

    To use the Baidu Maps tiles, you must obtain a Baidu Maps API access key from Baidu. Baidu prompts you to enter your Maps API access key. Usage of the tiles must meet the terms of service specified by Baidu in their user agreement.

  6. Click I agree to trust this external host if applicable.
  7. Click Save to include the map in the list of available map backgrounds.
  8. For Baidu Maps in Analytics Cloud, you must add the following URLs as safe domains. You do this in the Console, from the Safe Domains page.
    • *.map.baidu.com [Image, Script]
    • *.map.bdimg.com [Image, Script]
    • *.bdstatic.com [Image, Script]

    You must select both the Image and Script options. This indicates these domains can be trusted to provide image tiles and the necessary scripts to run, ensuring that Baidu map content renders successfully.

Add Web Map Service (WMS) Backgrounds

You can add web map service backgrounds and use them in map visualizations.

Web map service backgrounds are hosted dynamically on a web server using the Web Map Service (WMS) protocol. You can use them to integrate maps containing information that you might not have in your enterprise, and easily present it spatially with your data.
  1. On the Home page, click Navigator, and click Console.
  2. In the Console, select Maps, click Backgrounds, and then click Map Backgrounds.
  3. Click Add Background and select Web Map Service from the list.
  4. Click the General tab and enter a name and description.
  5. In URL, enter the full URL for the web map service.

    Contact your web map service provider to find out the correct URL.

    For example, https://www.gebco.net/data_and_products/gebco_web_services/web_map_services/mapserv.

    Version automatically displays the web map service protocol version used by the WMS provider. The default value is 1.1.1 but you can select an alternative version from the drop-down list.

    Coordinate Reference System automatically displays the reference system used by the host provider. The default value EPSG:3857 is the coordinate system used for projecting maps in 2 dimensions. Hover over the tooltip icon for details.

  6. Click I agree to trust this external host to automatically add the host to your list of safe domains.
  7. In Layers, enter the name of each background map layer that you want to use. Click the cross (x) icon to remove a layer.
  8. Click Format if you need to change the image type.
  9. Display the Parameters tab and click Add Parameter.

    Parameters that you enter are included in the URL and tell the hosting server what to display in the map background (for example, image type, layer, geographic extent of the map, size of the returned image).

  10. Enter parameters that you want to pass in the URL to the host server in key:value format.

    Use this URL to find parameters that you can use for this web map service:

    http://<url_of_the_map_server>?request=getCapabilities&service=wms

  11. Click Save to add the background map layer to the list of available map backgrounds.

    You must refresh a page to see any changes.

  12. Click Preview to display a preview of the map background.

    The Preview tab only becomes available after the page is saved and refreshed . This is because the refresh enables recognition of the safe domains.

Add Tiled Web Map (XYZ) Backgrounds

You can add tiled web map (XYZ) backgrounds and use them in map visualizations.

Tiled web map (XYZ) backgrounds are displayed in a browser by seamlessly joining dozens of individually requested image or vector data files over the Internet through a web server. You can use them to integrate maps containing information that you might not have in your enterprise, and easily present them spatially with your data.

You configure tile URL strings to specify vector tiles or raster tiled map images to load. The host evaluates each string and determines which tile to load.

Contact your tiled web map service provider to find out the correct URLs. Parameters in the URLs tell the hosting server what to display in the map background. For example, the map name, version, and the number of tiles to use at the specified focus. Here are some examples of Mapbox tiled web map background URLs:

  • https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/streets-v11/tiles/256/{z}/{x}/{y}
  • https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/satellite-v9/tiles/256/{z}/{x}/{y}
  • https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/light-v10/tiles/256/{z}/{x}/{y}
  • https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/dark-v10/tiles/256/{z}/{x}/{y}
  • https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/mapbox/outdoors-v11/tiles/256/{z}/{x}/{y}
  1. On the Home page, click Navigator, and click Console.
  2. In the Console, select Maps, click Backgrounds, and then click Map Backgrounds.
  3. Click Add Background and select Tiled Web Map from the list.
  4. Click the General tab and enter a name and description.
  5. In URL, enter the full URL for the host tiled web map service.
  6. Click the plus (+) icon to enter additional server URLs in the same domain, for load balancing.
  7. Click I agree to trust this external host to automatically add the host to your list of safe domains.
  8. Display the Parameters tab and click Add Parameter.

    Parameters that you enter are included in the URL and tell the hosting server what to display in the map background (for example, image type, layer, geographic extent of the map, size of the returned image).

    For example, you might enter access_token with a value of exampleaccessTokenXyZ123456789nnnxxxZZz.

    Contact your provider for details.

  9. Enter parameters that you want to pass in the URL to the host server in key:value format.
  10. Click Save to add the specified tiled web maps to the list of available map backgrounds.

    You must refresh a page to see any changes.

  11. Click Preview to display a preview of the map background.

    The Preview tab only becomes available after the page is saved and refreshed . This is because the refresh enables recognition of the safe domains.

Web Map Background Troubleshooting Tips

You might experience errors when you add a web map background. For example, a web map background image isn't displayed in the Preview tab or in a visualization.

Use these methods to find and diagnose web map background errors:

  • Click F12 to display the browser Developer Tools application and search for errors in the browser console tab. For example, search for error or CORS. Error messages are displayed in red text.
  • If you see an error message similar to Access to image at http://example.com has been blocked by CORS policy..., contact the host provider to resolve the issue. Error messages that refer to the Cross Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy can only be resolved by the host provider.