Sample CSV
| Origin | Destination | Migrants (thousands) | Destination region | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | United States | 860 | North America | 2015 |
| India | United Arab Emirates | 2360 | Asia | 2015 |
| India | United States | 1850 | North America | 2015 |
How to Create a Connections Globe
A step by step walkthrough for drawing flows between countries as arcs on a rotatable globe in PlotSet, with a ranked leaderboard, year slider and an embed code you can paste anywhere.
About 8 minutesAn interactive globe with arcs between countries, a ranked list of the biggest connections and an optional year slider, ready to embed on a page, is what you will have at the end.
Expect about eight minutes. You need a table with one row per connection: where it starts, where it ends and, ideally, how large it is.
The data you need
One row per connection. Two columns are required: the origin and the destination. A value column sets arc thickness, a category column sets colour and a year or region column can drive a filter.
Country names, ISO codes such as US or USA, and common spellings are recognised, and different spellings of one country are merged.
Rows whose origin or destination cannot be matched are dropped, not shown as an error.
For cities or other places, add latitude and longitude columns for the origin and destination.
Without a value column every row counts as 1, so arcs are all the same thickness.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Open the Connections Globe template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose Connections Globe from the Graphs and flows category. It loads with sample migration data and a year slider.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 02
Add your connections
Import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet. Replace the sample rows with your own origin and destination pairs.
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
Confirm the source and target columns first. Then bind a value column for arc thickness and a category column for colour. Headers like Origin and Destination are usually detected automatically.
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
Add a filter for years or regions
Bind a filter column, then in the Filters tab choose a dropdown, buttons or a slider. A slider with autoplay steps through years on its own.
- 05
Style the globe
In the Globe tab choose a colour preset for the ocean and land, and toggle borders, the graticule and the atmosphere glow. Set the starting rotation and whether the globe turns by itself.
The Preview tab for a Connections 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. - 06
Tune the arcs
In the Connections tab set how values are combined, the colour mode, line width and curvature, arrowheads, animated flow dots and a minimum value to hide small flows.
- 07
Set up the leaderboard and legend
In the Leaderboard tab choose how many rows to show, the title and whether to display value bars. Turn on the legend if you coloured arcs by category.
- 08
Publish and embed
Publish for a live, interactive globe and copy the embed code from the Share dialog. Rotate and click a country in the published version to check it before you share it.
Share is how a finished chart becomes a public link and an embed code.
Start from the Connections 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 Connections Globe
Keep the arcs few
Use the minimum value setting to hide small flows so the large ones stand out.
Use a dark ocean
Bright arcs read best on a dark globe, and the glow adds depth without hiding data.
Colour by destination region
A category column turns the arcs into a quick read of where flows end up, with a legend to match.
Let it turn
Auto-rotate shows the whole globe without any interaction, which helps on pages where readers only scroll past.
Common mistakes when making a Connections Globe
Some rows are missing
A name was not recognised and the row was dropped. Check the spelling, use ISO codes or add latitude and longitude columns.
All the arcs are the same thickness
No value column is bound, so every row counts as 1. Bind the numeric column in the Data tab.
A city sits in the wrong place
Without coordinates the chart places a country at its centre. Add latitude and longitude for exact positions.
The leaderboard drops below the globe
On narrow screens the list stacks under the globe by default. Change the narrow-screen setting in the Leaderboard tab if you prefer a side panel.
Learn more about the Connections Globe
Not sure the Connections Globe is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Connections Globe: common questions
Not for countries. Names and ISO codes are looked up automatically. You only need latitude and longitude for cities or other places.
Make your Connections Globe now
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