It is possible to use ERES Maps without Google API Key if you don't select either Google Street Map, Google Satellite Map or Geocoding.

	Tip
	You can use Open Street Maps even without the API key

Open Street Maps are a free alternative to Google Maps. Select Open Street Map in the Map Options dialog if you don't need Google Maps.

Since the time Google Maps were embedded into our products, Google has change their ToS. To keep the ERES Maps compatible, our developers added the option to use your Google API Key in ERES.

To use Google geocoding and Google Maps, you have to get the correct Google API key set up.

All the steps necessary for enabling Google Street Map, Google Satellite Map or Google Geocoding:

Then enable the services you need.

For using Google Maps without geocoding, you have to have “Maps JavaScript API” enabled

For using Geocoding, you have to have both Maps “JavaScript API” and “Geocoding API” enabled

Each ERES Online Map uses data from two data sources - the first one is used for Coordinates and the second one is for the map itself. This chapter explains where and how these data sources are used.

The Coordinates data source is used when you are creating Coordinates. It is used for obtaining all the Point IDs. The Point ID is an identifier of a place (e.g. city name, branch name etc.) and it is loaded from the data source where you selected to create the Coordinates. The Point ID can consist of several Point ID fields - each data source column creates one field (except the fields which contain longitude, latitude, or WKT). For example, if your data source contains two columns - City and State, the Point ID will consist of two fields - City and State.

Each map point should have its unique Point ID, so any map point can be distinguished from the others. The data source should be chosen wisely to fulfill this condition (each row of data should be unique, there must not be duplicates).

It is recommended not to use parameterized data source for Coordinates, because there is no way to set parameter values for Coordinates. If you use a parameterized data source for Coordinates, the default parameter values are always used. This does not apply to multivalue parameters which use all the values (e.g. if you use CustomersInStates HSQL query (Databases/Woodview/Query/CustomersInStates) to create coordinates using geocoding - all param values (states) will be used).

The Point ID is used for mapping map markers to the map data source in the Map File, so it should contain data which occurs in the map data source and which uniquely identifies map points. For example, if you want to display cities where your company has some customers, you should use City name and State name as the Point ID fields. The State name is useful in case when there are more cities with the same name in several different states. Optionally, you can add more Point ID fields for more detailed specification of city. For example if there are two cities with the same name in the same state, you should use more Point ID field(s) which will distinguish between these two cities, a ZIP code for instance.

The Coordinates data source can also contain coordinates (longitudes, latitudes, or WKT) of the map points. The longitudes and latitudes have to be stored in two separated columns of double data type, while WKT is a text field. These columns are not used as Point ID fields. If the coordinates are read from the data source, they are fetched every time the map is generated, so if there is a change in the Coordinates data source, it will be reflected in the map immediately. If the coordinates are not read from the data source, they are stored directly in the Coordinates file. In this case, the Coordinates data source is accessed only when you are creating or editing the Coordinates in the Coordinates Editor. When you are creating or displaying a map that is using this Coordinates, the data source is not accessed at all, because all the necessary information is in the Coordinates file, so it is not necessary for this Coordinates data source to be available when the map is created/displayed.

The map data source has two purposes. The first one is that it contains data that are used for Tooltips and Heatmaps. The second purpose is filtering. The map data source is mapped to the Coordinates as described in the Section 5.2.5 - Coordinates Mapping and only those map points from the Coordinates that have at least one associated row in the map data source are displayed. The map data source can be parameterized. In this case, the whole map is parameterized. If you create/open map that is using parameterized data source, there will be a filter icon in the map which opens parameters dialog that allows you to enter parameter values.

Online Maps can be started by clicking on the Online Maps link on the ERES Main page. After launching Online Maps, you will see a diagram that shows how to work with Online Maps. You can choose to create a new map, open an existing one, or open the Coordinates Editor where you can create/edit Coordinates.

Online Maps Start Options

Click on the Coordinates Editor/Edit Coordinates icon on the toolbar. The Coordinates Editor will open.

Coordinates Editor Start Options

5.2.4.1. Select Data Source

Open the Data Source Dialog by clicking on the New Coordinates icon on the toolbar. Select the data registry in the upper left corner of the dialog and then select the desired data source (For more information about managing data registries, visit Section 3.1.1 - Managing Data Registries). A view of the data will appear in the right pane, which will allow you to check whether you chose the right data source. Click on the OK button to close the Data Source Dialog.

Data Source Dialog

5.2.4.2. Create Coordinates

The Coordinates file contains the coordinates of map points. Each Coordinates data record consists of WKT (obtained automatically or manually) and Point ID (for more information about Point ID, see Section 5.2.2 - Data Sources). Note: Existing coordinates files or data sources with longitude and latitude columns are still supported, but only WKT will be generated by geocoding or manual entry.

After selecting the data source, you will be prompted to select a method for obtaining Coordinates from the data source.

Get Coordinates

There are three ways how to get Coordinates, which are described below. Status of each pointID is determined by colors in the pointID table (For more information about colors, see Section 5.2.4.3 - Coordinates Editor Interface):

5.2.4.2.1. From Data Source

This option requires two numeral data source columns containing information about the latitude and longitude or WKT of particular map point. Latitude and longitude have to be in different columns. The data type of these columns should be double and they should contain latitude and longitude in decimal degree notation. Positive longitude means East longitude, negative means West. Positive latitude means North latitude, negative means South.

In this case, map point latitudes and longitudes are read from the data source every time a map, which is using this Coordinates, is open. If the data source changes, the change is reflected in the map (e.g. if a new map point is added, it will be displayed on the map). It is not necessary to edit the Coordinates, updating the data source is good enough.

If Geocoding or Manual insertion of the map point coordinates is used, it is necessary to edit the Coordinates every time you want to add or modify (move) a map point.

If the Coordinates are obtained from a data source, all map points will be placed automatically according to the data from the data source. These rows will have white color. In this case, the Coordinates are read-only - you can only check which map marker belongs to which Point ID by holding mouse over a map marker/Point ID. The associated Point ID/map marker will be highlighted with yellow color. If you want to change the position of a map point, you have to modify the data source directly (i.e. change the longitude and latitude or WKT in the appropriate data source column).

Coordinates from Data Source

5.2.4.2.2. Geocoding

Positions will be determined automatically using point addresses. The addresses can consist of several data source columns. You can select columns, which contain Address 1, Address 2, City, Postal Code, State, Province, and Country. Some of the fields may already be pre-selected when there is a convenient column in your data source (e.g. if the data source contains a column called City, it will be pre-selected in City field). You do not have to fill all the fields. If you do not fill any field, you will be automatically switched to manually option (see the next chapter). The name of the Geocoding fields are only illustrative, they do not have to be filled with exactly this information. The only rule you should keep in mind is to use the more specific information (e.g. street address) before the less specific (e.g. state). If your data source column contains more then just one field, use the first suitable field (e.g. if there is column with full address, you should use Address 1 field and leave the rest empty). Geocoding is very adaptive as it does not require any specific format of addresses and is able to find even inaccurate or incomplete addresses.

Please note that Geocoding may not be supported for all countries. To see the list of currently supported countries, visit Google Maps Coverage and find your country in the list.

If you selected Geocoding, the Geocoding process is started automatically. It goes through all Point IDs and tries to determine positions of the corresponding points from their addresses. If it finds exactly one result, the map point is inserted automatically. The new point and the corresponding Point ID will turn yellow for a moment and then it will turn white, which indicates that the position is already determined. The toolbar is disabled during Geocoding, so you have to wait until it is finished before performing other actions. You can watch the Geocoding progress on the status bar. After the Geocoding is done, you should insert points that were not inserted automatically. These points had either no Geocoding results or more than one Geocoding result. The process is same as inserting the point manually and it is described below.

Coordinates by Geocoding

If you used Geocoding and you insert the rest of the points manually, the Point ID row may turn green instead of dark red after you click on it. This occurs when there is more than one Geocoding result. These results are displayed on the Online map with green markers so you can select the right one by clicking on it. If the desired map point is not among the Geocoding results, you can still add the map point manually on the correct place in the same way as manual inserting. If you hold mouse over a Geocoding result (green map marker), the full address of this map point is displayed to help you identify the correct place.

Selecting Geocoding Result

Please note that the Geocoding is not 100% accurate, so you should check all results that were inserted automatically.

5.2.4.2.3. Manually

This option does not require any geographical data at all. Coordinates of map points are determined manually by clicking on the map.

In the Manually case, all the Point IDs are light red at the beginning, which means that their position is not determined. To place a map point, click on a Point ID (row in the table) first. The Point ID row will now turn dark red. Point option should be active as default on the map toolbar (Point is blue). Mouse over the map and you will see a small blue circle under your mouse pointer. Then click on the location where you want to place your map point. A new map marker will be placed on the selected map point and the appropriate row will become white. Then you can place another map point in the same way. To freely navigate across the map, select Move option on the toolbar. Now you can move and zoom the map any way you need. You can also use another shapes to define a location on the map - Polygon, Square, and Box on the map toolbar. To use these options, select the shape, place the first point on the map by clicking the mouse, move the mouse and place another point(s).

Selecting Location

Selected Location

The following images show the formation of shapes (blue color) and their final form (red color).

Polygon

Square

Box

You can move any of the already existing map points by dragging the appropriate map marker with mouse. You can also resize a shape by dragging the edge of a side to any direction.

5.2.4.3. Coordinates Editor Interface

After choosing a method of obtaining coordinates, you will get a map with a point ID table.

Coordinates Editor

The following buttons are on the toolbar:

	New: Creates new Coordinates.
	Open: Opens existing Coordinates.
	Save: Saves current Coordinates to a file and Organizer. Note that all saved files will include userID and timestamp in addition to the name you provided. If an Organizer item with the supplied name already exists in the folder, you will be given a choice to override the existing item or create a new entry.
	Save As: Allows you to save the existing or modified Coordinates to a different file or location.
	Change Point Mapping: Allows you to change point mapping.

The left part of the window displays the Online Map, which displays individual map points using the map markers. The Online Map can be scrolled and zoomed to find a specific object.

Point ID table in the right part of the window shows all the Point IDs, which were read from the data source, and longitude and latitude of map points. Each row represents one Point ID and can have one of the following background colors:

	White: Location of the corresponding map point has been successfully determined.
	Light red: Location of the corresponding map point has not been determined yet. There are multiple locations for the point. This is not static status color.
	Grey: Location of the corresponding map point has not been determined yet. There is no location for the point. When you click this grey-colored row, it turns into dark red. This is not static color.
	Dark red: Marks the point ID, which is currently under mouse cursor. If you click on it, it will either change into green (multiple locations), or grey (No location found), waiting for users to enter the location manually.
	Yellow: Highlights the row with Point ID of the map point under mouse cursor on the map (this is used to determine which Point ID belongs to which map marker).
	Green: Indicates that there are Geocoding matches for the selected Point ID.

5.2.4.4. Save Coordinates

If you want to use the Coordinates for creating maps, be sure to save it to Organizer (click the Save icon, enter a Coordinates name, and select any Organizer folder). Then click the Done button on the right side of the toolbar to close the Coordinates Editor and go back to Online Maps main window.

Save Dialog

5.2.4.5. Open, Edit Coordinates

To open a saved coordinates file, first open Coordinates Editor by clicking the Coordinates Editor/Edit Coordinates icon on the main toolbar of the Online Maps designer. Then click the Open icon on the main toolbar of Coordinates Editor.

Open Coordinates

You can see all coordinates files from Organizer. Select a coordinates file and click the Open button.

Now you can edit coordinates obtained via geocoding or manual insertion. Coordinates obtained from data source are not possible to edit. You can change a point when you click the respective row in the pointID table - then you can either select again one of the geocoding results (applies only to geocoding coordinates) or replace a current point/shape with a new one in the map.

You can directly edit a map point using the drag and drop feature or edit a shape by stretching its sides.

Shape Editing

Please note that if the coordinates obtained via geocoding are not complete (not all rows are white), the geocoding process starts each time the file is opened.

Once you finish editing the coordinates, save the file and click the Done button to close the Coordinates Editor.

ERES Online Maps needs Coordinates to map the data source records to map points. When creating Online Maps, you have to map the Point ID fields from the Coordinates file to the map data source columns. According to this mapping, data source rows are associated with map points. There can be more data source rows associated with one map point but not vice versa (because Point IDs must be unique). The rows associated with a map point are used to generate Tooltips (see Section 5.2.6.7 - Tooltips) for the appropriate map marker.

Not all the Point ID fields have to be mapped. For example, if your Point ID has three fields - City, State, and Country, you can map only Country and State. But you have to keep in mind that any map point should be uniquely determined by the mapped Point ID fields. So if there are two Point IDs in your Coordinates, which differ only in City, but have equal Country and State, you have to use the City as well to distinguish between those two map points. You will get no error message if you use wrong mapping, but the data can be displayed incorrectly.

Some map points from the Coordinates may not have any associated rows. These map points are not displayed on the map using map markers. Only the map markers, for which some data was found in the data source, are displayed. So you can have Coordinates containing all the major cities in USA, but you can display only the one you are interested in. And you can use the same Coordinates for different map, which will show different set of cities, because the data source will contain data for different cities, so you do not have to maintain too many Coordinates files if you choose suitable Point ID fields.

Example:

Your data source contains the following data and you want to display data grouped by cities on a map:

You will have to create the Coordinates first. In this case, only the City name could be used as the Point ID because it is unique, but we will use two Point ID fields instead - City and State, in case that there will be more cities with the same name in different states in the future. So we will create a data source with two columns - City and State. This data source has to contain all the listed cities (and could contain some more). We can either write a suitable query to obtain these two columns from the original data source (if using a database for the data source) or we can, for example, create a simple text file data source with these two columns.

Next, we can start Coordinates Editor and create the Coordinates. Assuming we have a data source that does not contain data for longitudes and latitudes or WKT, so we cannot use coordinates from data source but we know part of an address, we will use Geocoding. Using Geocoding, we will assign WKT to every city, so the table in the Coordinates Editor will look like this (note that there is one extra city - Orlando, which is not in the map data source):

Now you can create a map from the data source using these Coordinates. You map City Point ID field to the City data source column and State Point ID field to the State data source column. The Point IDs will be paired with the data source rows - San Francisco with the first and fourth, and Chicago with the sixth. Orlando does not have any matching row in the data source, so it will not be displayed at all. If you add a Tooltip, the associated rows will be used to generate it. For example, the Tooltip for San Francisco will be created using data from the first and fourth row of the data source.

If you add a new city to the data source and you want to display it too, you have to edit the Coordinates data source first and add the city there. Next, you can open the Coordinates in the Coordinates Editor and there will be one new row in the table with this new city. This enables you to add the new map point for this city. You do not have to modify anything in your map. Therefore, if this Coordinates is shared among several maps, the map point is added automatically to all these maps.

ERES Online map is a special kind of report that allows displaying geographical data on map. It points out the reported geographical data on a map using map markers. Markers can be used as drill-down links to parameterized reports, charts, or maps. Markers may also have tooltips. Tooltips look like bubbles, containing a report or chart. When tooltips are enabled, every map marker has its own tooltip bubble, which displays data associated to this map point. Only one tooltip bubble can be displayed at the time. A tooltip appears when you move your mouse cursor over a map marker. It closes automatically when you open a different tooltip, or it can be closed by clicking on the X sign in the upper right corner of the tooltip bubble.

To create a Online Map, launch Online Maps from the ERES main page.

5.2.6.1. Select Data Source

To create a new Online Map, click on the New Map icon on the toolbar. The Data Source Dialog will appear. Select a data source for your map and click OK.

Data Source Dialog

5.2.6.2. Select Coordinates

Once you select a data source for your map, you will be prompted to select Coordinates file.

Select Coordinates

Select a Coordinates file and click the Next button. You can also launch the Coordinates Editor from this dialog by clicking the Create Coordinates button and creating a new coordinates file. Once the new coordinates file is saved, click the Done button in the upper right corner of the Coordinates Editor. You will be brought directly to Coordinates Mapping which is described in the next chapter.

5.2.6.3. Coordinates Mapping

You will be prompted to select point mapping, i.e. you have to pair columns that will enable ERES Online Maps to assign records from maps record's data source to suitable Point ID fields from the Coordinates (e.g. if you want to show cities with your affiliates on map, your Coordinates may contain a column called City which is mapped to Affiliates_City from the map's data source). For more information, see Section 5.2.5 - Coordinates Mapping. Please note that Online Maps designer automatically recognizes which columns are the most suitable for Coordinates mapping. Therefore, some of the fields may already be pre-selected when there is a convenient column in your data source (e.g. if the data source contains a column called City, it will be pre-selected in City field).

Coordinates Mapping

You have to map at least one column. Then click Apply and the Online Map will appear.

Online Maps Designer

You can change the Coordinates mapping by clicking the Change Point Mapping icon on the toolbar.

5.2.6.5. Map Options

To set map options, click on the Set Map Options icon on the toolbar.

Map Options

Dimensions:

Allows you to set width and height of the map (in pixels).

Zoom:

Allows you to set minimal and maximal zoom of the map (in the range 1-17).

Map Controls:

Zoom Control - shows/hides the zoom controls in the upper left corner (large, small, none).

Zoom Control Large

Map Type - allows you to set map type (Open Street Map, Google Street Map, Google Satellite).

Google Satellite

Map Scale Control - shows/hides the scale control in the lower right-hand corner.

Scale Control

5.2.6.7. Tooltips

Tooltips may contain a report or chart that shows up when you move your mouse cursor over any map marker on the Online Map. Tooltips display single or multiple-row data that is related to the particular map point. As an example, a report tooltip will display data from the map datasource using parameter(s) from the Map Data of the corresponding map point. The Map Data is the same as the list in the Change Point Mapping dialog box. The report or chart file that is displayed in the tooltip bubble is called Tooltip Template.

Online Map with Tooltip

To enable tooltips for ERES Online Map, open the map in Online Maps and click on the Tooltip Template icon. The Add Tooltip Template options will appear in the left pane.

Add Tooltip Template

You can select an existing tooltip, create chart tooltip, or create report tooltip.

Select Existing:

To select an existing Tooltip Template, select it from Available reports/charts list and click the Select Existing button. Using this option, you can also use the report/chart templates created in the Report Designer/Chart Designer, so you are not limited to use just the QuickDesigner Charts or QuickDesigner Reports to design Tooltip Templates. In this case, it is recommended to use exactly the same data source for creating this Tooltip Template report/chart as for the map, otherwise there might be a problem with data mapping.

New Chart Tooltip:

Launches QuickDesigner Charts that will allow you to create a new chart file. Create a chart, save it, and leave QuickDesigner Charts by clicking the Return to Map Designer icon on the toolbar. (For more information about working in QuickDesigner Charts, see Section 4.4 - QuickDesigner Charts.)

New Report Tooltip:

Launches QuickDesigner Reports that will allow you to create a new report file. Create a report, save it, and leave QuickDesigner Charts by clicking the Return to Map Designer icon on the toolbar. (For more information about working in QuickDesigner Reports, see Section 4.3 - QuickDesigner Reports.)

To edit, select, or remove the current tooltip, click on the Tooltip Template icon. The Edit Tooltip Template options will appear in the left pane. Please note that from this dialog, you can only directly edit files created in QuickDesigner Reports and QuickDesigner Charts (.qdr or .qch).

Edit Tooltip Template

Select Existing:

Allows you to select other Tooltip Templates.

Edit Tooltip:

Launches QuickDesigner Report or QuickDesigner Chart where you can edit the current tooltip template if it's a .qdr or .qch file (i.e. files from one of the QuickDesigners).

Remove Tooltip:

Removes current Tooltip Template.

	Note
	To create a new chart/report tooltip you have to remove current tooltip at first and then will be New Chart Tooltip and New Report Tooltip options available.

To configure dimensions of the tooltip bubbles, click on the Tooltip Options icon on the toolbar. Set new dimensions and click Apply.

Tooltip Options

Changes will take effect after closing the current tooltip bubble (if a bubble is open, otherwise the changes will take effect immediately). It is not necessary to close the current tooltip bubble, you can just mouse over some other map point.

5.2.6.8. Parameter Setting

You can change parameters directly on the map by clicking the Set parameters icon in the upper left corner of the map (The icon is displayed only if the data source is parameterized). A new dialog will open where you can select parameter value(s).

If the parameter is single-value, the next dialog will display a drop-down list. Select a parameter value and click the Submit button to apply it on the map. (You can reset your selection by clicking the Reset button.)

Parameter Setting

If the parameter is multi-value, the next dialog will display a list of parameter values. You can select parameter values by clicking on them (use Ctrl+click for multiple selection), select all parameter values by clicking the Select All icon, deselect all parameter values by clicking the Select None icon, and reset your selection by clicking the Reset button. Then apply your selection to the map by clicking the Submit button.

Parameter Setting

5.2.6.9. Drilldowns

To enable drilldowns in a map, click on the DrillDown Options icon. Check the Enable Drilldown checkbox which will show you all parameterized reports, charts and maps saved in Organizer. Click on a suitable parameterized report, chart, or map and select parameter mapping. All drilldown parameters have to be mapped to some Point ID field from the Coordinates. Mapping in this case means that the Point ID values of the selected map point will be used as drilldown parameter values (each map marker has unique Point ID). When you click on a map marker on the map, the drilldown report/chart/map will open in a new browser tab.

Drilldown Options

If all the drilldown parameters are multi-value (see Section 3.1.3.2.2.1 - Multi-Value Parameters), you will be allowed to select multiple map markers at once. For example, you can use Examples/QuickStart/QuickStart Maps/MultiValue data source, map MULTIVALUE parameter to STATE column, and then click Apply.

Multi-value Data Source

Selecting multiple map markers can be done by clicking the multi-value Drilldown button (see the image below; the button is displayed only if the map contains multi-value Drilldown).

Multi-value Drilldown Button

After clicking the Multi-value drilldown button, the Multivalue drilldown dialog will appear.

Multi-value Drilldown Dialog

You can choose a shape of the bounding box (rectangle or circle). The circle can be fixed or drawn. Once you select a shape, click the OK button. Then you can select multiple map markers by dragging using bounding box. Left click on the map (this determines rectangle corner or circle center), hold mouse button down and drag it, and then release the mouse button to determine size of the bounding shape.

Bounding Box

If you select fixed circle as a bounding box, you can set a diameter of the circle. Write a diameter value and click the OK button. You will see a circle with the diameter you just set. Then click to the map. Your click is a center of the circle bouding box. A new tab with a drilldown of your selection (markers within the circle) will appear.

Fixed Circle Bounding Box

5.2.6.10. Map Title

To enable map title, click on the Map Title Options icon and check the Enable Map Title checkbox. Then you can insert the map title text and select various options - font, text alignment, font style, title position, font size (positive integers only), and text color. The color can either be chosen from swatches or inserted manually by entering red, green and blue components (all the values has to be integers from 0 to 255).

Map Title Options

You can save the Online map by clicking the Save button on the toolbar. This will open a dialog allowing you to specify a name for the map. Enter a name for the map, select a project where you want to save it, and click the OK button.

Save Dialog

After saving or opening an existing Online map, the Save As button allows you to save the existing or modified map into a different name or location.

You can open a saved map by clicking the Open icon on the main toolbar. The Open Map dialog will appear.

Open a Map

All Online maps created in Online Maps designer are visible in Organizer. Select a map and click the OK button to open it.

You can exit Online Maps designer either by clicking the Home icon in the upper right corner, clicking the Online Maps title, or by clicking the Logo icon in the upper left corner. Before closing, you will be asked if you want to save an unsaved map.