Sample CSV
| Name | Lat | Lng | Magnitude | Continent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tohoku | 38.3 | 142.4 | 9.1 | Asia | 2011 |
| Valdivia | -38.2 | -73.1 | 9.5 | South America | 1960 |
| Alaska | 61.0 | -147.6 | 9.2 | North America | 1964 |
| Sumatra | 3.3 | 95.9 | 9.1 | Asia | 2004 |
How to Create a 3D Globe
A step by step walkthrough for plotting points on a rotating globe, with colour, size, country shading and a timeline in PlotSet.
About 8 minutesYou will end up with a globe that readers can drag and zoom, with one point for each row of your data.
Expect about eight minutes. Most of it goes on choosing what the colour and size of each point mean.
The data you need
One row per point, with a latitude and a longitude and, if you want them, a name, a size, a colour and a date.
Latitude runs from -90 to 90 and longitude from -180 to 180, as plain numbers.
A text column gives each category its own colour and a legend. A number column gives a gradient.
To shade countries, add a column of country names and a value to total for each one.
Only the latitude and longitude columns are required.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Open the 3D Globe template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose 3D Globe from the 3D Plots category. It loads with a sample of eighteen earthquakes.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 02
Add your points
Import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet. Each row becomes one point.
The data view, shown here on a bar chart project. Upload a CSV, lift the numbers out of an image with Magic Import, or sync a Google Sheet. The panel is identical for every chart type. - 03
Check the column bindings
Bind the latitude and longitude columns first. Then add a name, a size, a colour and a time column if you have them.
Bindings decide which column becomes the label, which supplies the values and which drives the colour. Auto Binding guesses them from your headers, so check it rather than assume it. - 04
Style the globe
In the Globe tab, pick the surface, the atmosphere and the lighting. The Background tab adds stars or a solid colour.
The Preview tab for a 3D Globe. Every styling control lives in the outlined panel, each on its own tab: appearance, header, footer and the options specific to this chart type. - 05
Shade countries by a value
In the Regions tab, bind a country column and a value, and each country is coloured by its total.
- 06
Set the starting view
The Viewport tab centres the globe on a region or a latitude and longitude. The Interaction tab turns dragging, zooming and auto-spin on or off.
- 07
Add a timeline
Bind a time column and a slider appears under the globe. The Timeline tab sets its style, and the Timeline chart tab adds a small chart above it.
- 08
Publish and embed
Publish for a live chart and copy the embed code from the Share dialog. Check how it looks at the width of your page before you share it.
Share is how a finished chart becomes a public link and an embed code.
Start from the 3D Globe template with sample data already loaded, then swap in your own.
Open the templatePublish, embed or export it
The last stretch is the same for every chart type: Share turns the chart into a live public link and an embed code, Export writes it out as a static file.
Share: public link and embed code
Activating the embed code and public link publishes the chart. The link is safe to send to anyone, and the embed code drops into any page as an iframe that keeps the hover tooltips and the interactivity. Edit the chart later and hit Recreate to push those changes out to both.
Export: SVG, PNG or JPG
Export writes a static copy at whatever size you need. SVG stays sharp at any scale and can still be edited in a design tool; PNG and JPG are the safe choices for slides and documents. The scale multiplier is what gets you a crisp image on a retina screen.
Styling tips for a 3D Globe
Face the important points
Set the starting view so the main cluster is on the near side.
Let it spin gently
Auto-spin shows the whole planet without asking the reader to drag.
Keep categories few
Five or six colours stay readable in the legend and the filter buttons.
Name your points
A name column makes the tooltip say something useful.
Common mistakes when making a 3D Globe
Points are in the wrong place
Latitude and longitude are probably swapped. Check that latitude is the first number.
Some points seem to be missing
They are on the far side of the globe and faded. Turn the globe or change the starting view.
A country is not shaded
Its name did not match. Use the English country name or its numeric code.
The legend overlaps the globe
Move it in the Legend tab, or make the chart taller.
Learn more about the 3D Globe
Not sure the 3D Globe is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
3D Globe: common questions
Yes. A single row with a latitude and a longitude is enough.
Make your 3D Globe now
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