Sample CSV
| Reporter | Commodity | Trade Value | Lat | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Diamond | 1247851120 | 59 | -110 |
| India | Precious stones | 422597543 | 22.5 | 80 |
| South Africa | Diamond | 331675424 | -29 | 22 |
| Brazil | Precious stones | 98250000 | -10 | -55 |
How to Create a Marker Map
A step by step walkthrough for plotting places with emoji or image icons, labels, a legend and custom popups in PlotSet.
About 7 minutesYou will end up with a map where each row of your data is a marker, with an icon for its category, a name beside it and a popup.
Expect about seven minutes. Most of it goes on choosing the icons and writing the popup.
The data you need
One row per place, with a latitude and a longitude and, if you want them, a name, a category and a number.
Latitude runs from -90 to 90 and longitude from -180 to 180, as plain numbers.
A category column gives each group its own icon and a legend.
A number column scales the markers so their area follows the value.
A row without usable coordinates is skipped and counted under the map.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Open the Marker Map template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose Marker Map from the Maps category. It loads with fifty gem exports by country.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 02
Add your places
Import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet. Each row becomes one marker.
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 choose a label, a category and, if you want sized markers, a number column.
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
Pick an icon for each category
In the Markers tab, give each category an emoji or an image link, one per line, in the form name: icon.
The Preview tab for a Marker Map. 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
Write the popup
In the Tooltip tab, write a header and body, and put column names in double braces to fill in each place's values.
- 06
Tune the labels and legend
The Labels tab sets the font and halo, and the Legend tab shows icons or colour swatches with your own title.
- 07
Set the view
The Basemap tab sets tilt, rotation and the projection. The Inset tab adds a small globe that shows where the view sits.
- 08
Publish and embed
Publish for a live chart and copy the embed code from the Share dialog. Check the map 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 Marker Map 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 Marker Map
Use emoji for quick icons
An emoji looks the same on every device and needs no image hosting.
Keep categories few
Five or six icons stay easy to tell apart in the legend.
Link your source
A source line under the map tells readers where the figures came from.
Size by area
A size column scales the area of each marker, so twice the value looks twice as big.
Common mistakes when making a Marker Map
Markers are in the wrong place
Latitude and longitude are probably swapped. Check that latitude is the first number.
Some names are missing
Labels that overlap are hidden. Zoom in or hover over a marker to see its name.
A popup shows the plain list
A name in double braces did not match a column. Check the spelling against your headers.
A warning appears under the map
Some rows had no usable coordinates. Fill them in or remove them.
Learn more about the Marker Map
Not sure the Marker Map is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Marker Map: common questions
Yes. Paste an image link as the icon for a category or in the marker column.
Make your Marker Map now
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