Understand Map Backgrounds and Map Layers

A map visualization combines a map background with one or more layers that appear on top of the background. As a workbook author, you use these parts to show your data in a geographic or spatial context.

Map Backgrounds

A map background is the base map or image behind the information shown in a map visualization. It provides visual context, such as roads, borders, terrain, satellite imagery, or another reference image.

You can select from a list of map backgrounds available in your instance. Administrators and users with the Manage Maps permission create and manage map backgrounds in the Console, see Manage Map Layers and Map Backgrounds.

For example, you might choose:
  • A road map background to show customer or store locations.
  • A satellite map background to inspect geographic context.
  • A terrain map background to understand physical features.
  • An uploaded image background to analyze data against a floor plan, equipment diagram, or other non-geographic image.

The available map backgrounds depend on what's configured for your Oracle Analytics environment. You can choose a different background for a map visualization when more than one background is available.

A map background does not usually represent your dataset directly. It helps users understand where the data layers and reference layers appear.

Data Layers

A data layer displays values from your workbook dataset on the map.

You can add a data layer using one or more columns from your dataset. Oracle Analytics uses those columns to place the data on the map. Depending on the data, the layer might show locations, areas, lines, density, clusters, or connections.

For example, you can use a data layer to show:
  • Customers, stores, assets, or incidents as points.
  • Sales by country, state, district, or territory as colored areas.
  • Revenue by city as bubbles sized by value.
  • Routes, paths, or boundaries as lines.
  • Dense concentrations of events as a heatmap.
  • Nearby points grouped into clusters.
  • Connections between origins and destinations as dynamic lines.

A map visualization can contain more than one data layer. For example, you might add one data layer for store locations, another data layer for sales territories, and another data layer for delivery routes.

Each data layer can have its own columns, layer type, formatting, tooltip, label, visibility, and interaction settings.

When you add location-based columns to a data layer, Oracle Analytics tries to match the values in your data to a suitable map layer.

For example:
  • A country column might be matched to a country layer.
  • A sales territory code might be matched to a custom territory layer.
  • A part ID might be matched to shapes drawn on an uploaded image.

If your data is ambiguous, Oracle Analytics might not be able to match every value correctly. For example, a city name might exist in more than one country, or a territory code might not match the expected key in a custom layer. See Review Location Matches for a Map.

Reference Layers

A reference layer adds supporting spatial context to a map visualization. It helps consumers compare the data in the map with boundaries, zones, paths, or other contextual information.

Unlike a data layer, a reference layer isn’t created from the columns in your workbook dataset. Instead, you can select from a list of reference layers available in your instance. Administrators and users with the Manage Maps permission create and manage these layers in the Console, see Manage Map Layers and Map Backgrounds.

You can use a reference layer together with one or more data layers. For example, a map might show customer locations as a data layer and a service boundary as a reference layer. This helps users see which customers are inside or outside the service area.