View, zoom and projection
These settings decide what part of the world the map shows and how readers can move around it: whether the map zooms to your data, how far readers can zoom and tilt, and whether the map is flat or a globe.
The two ways a map chooses its view
A map is in one of two modes.
- Fit to data. With Auto Zoom on (the default), the map moves to frame the data it is showing. When a slicer or filter changes the data, the map frames it again.
- A fixed view. With Auto Zoom off, the map opens at the view you set: a center, a zoom level, a tilt and a rotation.
Auto Zoom is in Format pane > Map > Zoom. The fixed view is in Format pane > Map > Defaults.
Set a fixed view
- In Format pane > Map > Zoom, switch Auto Zoom off.
- While editing the report, pan, zoom, tilt and rotate the map to the view you want.
The map writes the view to Default Latitude, Default Longitude, Default Zoom Level, Default Pitch and Default Bearing as you move it. You can also type the values. This happens only while you are editing the report. A reader moving the map changes nothing.
Fit to data, once
To frame the data when the report opens and then leave the view alone, keep Auto Zoom on and switch on Only Zoom on Initial Load.
Icon Map Slicer can also filter the rest of the report page to what the map shows: each time a reader pans or zooms, other visuals show only the rows inside the view. See Filter by the map view.
Where the settings are
In the Format pane, the settings on this page are on the Map card (groups Zoom and Defaults) and the User Interface card (group Controls).
On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, the dialog's View and zoom tab has most of them with plainer names, plus a few that are only in the dialog. Where a setting is in both places, both change the same setting, so they always agree. See The Basemaps dialog for how to open it.
| Section in the dialog | Setting in the dialog | Setting in the Format pane |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to data (Auto Zoom) | The section's switch | Map > Zoom > Auto Zoom |
| Space around the data | Map > Zoom > Zoom Padding | |
| Zoom level for a single item | Map > Zoom > Zoom Level When Single Item | |
| Only when the report opens | Map > Zoom > Only Zoom on Initial Load | |
| Selections and highlights | Zoom to selected items, Zoom back out afterwards, Zoom to the selection when the map redraws | Dialog only |
| Zoom range | Farthest out | Map > Zoom > Min Zoom Level |
| Closest in | Map > Zoom > Max Zoom Level | |
| Projection | The map opens as | User Interface > Controls > Projection |
| Show the globe button | User Interface > Controls > Globe Toggle | |
| Tilt | The section's switch, Steepest tilt | Dialog only |
| Map edges | Wrap the world, Keep readers inside an area and its four edges | Dialog only |
| Animation | The section's switch | Dialog only |
| Duration | Map > Zoom > Duration (seconds) |
The default view settings (Default Latitude, Default Longitude, Default Zoom Level, Default Pitch, Default Bearing) are only in the Format pane.
Zoom
Format pane > Map > Zoom
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Min Zoom Level | How far out readers can zoom. 0 shows the whole world, 5 is about a country | 1 |
| Max Zoom Level | How far in readers can zoom. 15 is street level. Up to 24 | 22 |
| Zoom Padding | Space kept between the auto-zoomed data and the edge of the map, in pixels | 50 |
| Zoom Level When Single Item | When the data is a single point there is nothing to frame, so auto zoom goes to this level. Supports conditional formatting (fx) | 15 |
| Auto Zoom | Moves the map to frame your data | On |
| Only Zoom on Initial Load | Auto zooms once when the map first loads and leaves the view alone on later data updates | Off |
| Duration (seconds) | How long each move the map makes itself takes, 0 to 10 seconds | 0.5 |
A few things to know:
- The map glides to its new view over Duration (seconds). The first zoom after the map loads is never animated.
- Readers can lock the view for their session with the Zoom Lock control. See Map controls.
- Selecting items on the map does not zoom the map by default. It filters the rest of the report page. See How Icon Map Slicer filters.
The default view
Format pane > Map > Defaults
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Default Latitude | The center of the fixed view | 51.5072 |
| Default Longitude | The center of the fixed view | -0.1276 |
| Default Zoom Level | The zoom level of the fixed view | 1 |
| Default Bearing | The rotation of the camera in degrees, -180 to 180. Rotating the map while editing updates it | 0 |
| Default Pitch | The tilt of the camera in degrees, 0 to 85. Tilting the map while editing updates it | 0 |
The map also opens at this view when there is no data to frame.
Zoom to a selection
On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, the Selections and highlights section of the View and zoom tab has three switches. All are off by default.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Zoom to selected items | Clicking or lasso-selecting items on the map zooms in to frame them |
| Zoom back out afterwards | Shown when Zoom to selected items is on. When the selection is cleared, the map returns to the view of all the data, whether or not Auto Zoom is on |
| Zoom to the selection when the map redraws | Each time the map redraws with items selected, it zooms to frame them: when the report opens with a saved selection, when a bookmark is applied, or when a reader selects items |
Neither zoom happens while a reader has the Zoom Lock control on.
Tilt and rotation
Readers tilt and rotate the map by dragging with the right mouse button, or with two fingers on a touch screen. Tilt is measured in degrees of pitch: 0 looks straight down, 90 looks at the horizon.
To open the map tilted, set a fixed view while tilted, or type a Default Pitch. With Auto Zoom on, the map still frames your data and keeps the pitch.
The Pitch and Bearing buttons tilt and rotate the map 10 degrees per click. Both are on by default, in Format pane > User Interface > Controls.
Readers can tilt the map up to 85 degrees. On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, the Tilt section of the View and zoom tab changes that:
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Tilt (the section's switch) | Lets readers tilt the map. Off keeps the camera at the Default Pitch: no gesture or key can tilt it | On |
| Steepest tilt | The steepest tilt in degrees, 0 to 180. Above 60 some basemaps and layers may not draw cleanly | 85 |
With tilt off, set Default Pitch to 0 for a map that always looks straight down. The Pitch buttons are hidden while tilt is off. With tilt on, they stop at the Steepest tilt.
A tilted map is where 3D buildings, 3D columns, 3D terrain and the sky become visible. See Terrain, hillshade, sky and lighting.
Flat map or globe
The map can be drawn flat (Mercator) or as a globe.
Format pane > User Interface > Controls
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Globe Toggle | Shows a button on the map that switches between the flat view and the globe | Off |
| Projection | Mercator (flat) or Globe: the projection the map opens with | Mercator (flat) |
- While you are editing the report, selecting the globe button on the map also saves the Projection. A reader's click lasts for their session.
- When you zoom in close, the globe changes to the flat view by itself.
- The projection stays the same when the basemap changes.
- The glow around the globe is set by Atmosphere Blend in the Sky settings. See Terrain, hillshade, sky and lighting.
The other controls on the card, including zoom buttons, the zoom level display and the scale bars, are described in Map controls.
World copies
The flat map carries on past its east and west edges, so readers can pan all the way around and your data repeats on each copy.
This is on for every map. On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, you can switch it off with Wrap the world in the Map edges section of the View and zoom tab. Off shows the world once.
World copies have no effect on the globe, which is one world.
Keep readers inside an area
On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, you can stop readers panning or zooming out of an area. In the Map edges section of the View and zoom tab:
- Switch on Keep readers inside an area.
- Type the West edge (longitude), East edge (longitude), North edge (latitude) and South edge (latitude), or select Use the area the map shows now to take them from the report map's current view.
- Select Apply changes.
The map then cannot be panned or zoomed outside the box. The box is ignored unless its west edge is less than its east edge and its south edge is less than its north edge.
Animation
The moves the map makes itself, such as auto zoom, glide to the new view over Duration (seconds). This is on for every map.
On maps that use the Basemaps dialog, the Animation section of the View and zoom tab can switch it off. The map then jumps straight to each new view.
Tips and limits
- If the map keeps moving away from the view you set, Auto Zoom is on. Switch it off, or use Only Zoom on Initial Load.
- If the map does not follow your slicers, check Only Zoom on Initial Load, and whether a reader has switched on the Zoom Lock control.
- The map zooms smoothly, so there is no zoom increment setting.