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Maptitude Mapping Software

Learning Maptitude

Useful Tips and Tricks for Maptitude Users

How do I create summary fields from the free USA Country demographic projections?

Formula Field dialog box with statistics

The new U.S. county level projection data contains numerous fields of population data by year, age, gender, and race. You can combine multiple fields (such as all the fields containing "2050" in their name) to create a total field (e.g., total 2050 population).

The following steps outline how to create a formula field that summarizes many fields:

  1. Add the county projections layer to a map and make it the working layer.
  2. Right-click on County Pop Proj in the Display Manager and choose New Dataview.
  3. Click Formula Button on the Standard toolbar.
  4. Click Statistics.
  5. Make sure that Sum is chosen in the Statistics drop-down list and click Choose Fields.
  6. On the left side, highlight the fields you want included in the sum and click Add>>. You can use the filter to naroow down the left side.  
  7. Click OK.
  8. Click OK.
  9. In the Formula Fields editable drop-down list, type a name for the summary field.
  10. Click OK. Maptitude adds a field to the dataview that contains the sum of all of the fields you chose.

How do I update my territory layer to use the latest Maptitude ZIP Code boundaries?

Realign Territories

If you have created a territory layer using the Territory Manager and a previous vintage of the ZIP Code layer you may want to update your territories using the new postal geography. Maptitude makes it easy to move your territory layer over to the new and updated ZIP Code boundary layer.

This Tech Tip shows how to work with the Territory Manager in Maptitude to either change your territory boundaries to match the new ZIP Codes or to keep your territory boundaries as they are and assign the ZIP Codes to the territories they are in.

The following steps outline how to update a territory to new ZIP Code geography:

  1. Open a map that contains your territory layer and the new ZIP Code layer.
  2. Click Actions Button in the Territory Manager and choose Check for Errors.
  3. Click Yes in the Confirm dialog box. If the ZIP Codes cause the territory boundaries to change, Maptitude displays the Rebuild Territories dialog box.
  4. If you want to adjust your territory boundaries to match the new ZIP Codes, choose the first option in the radio list (Update the territory boundaries based on the current assignments) and click OK.
  5. If you want to keep your territory boundaries and update the list of ZIP Codes in each territory, choose the second option in the radio list (Keep the territory boundaries and update assignments to match) and click OK.
  6. Choose whether or not to create an archive of your territory layer in the Confirm dialog box. Maptitude updates the territories based on the latest ZIP Codes.

How do I open maps of the new U.S. demographics in Maptitude 2020?

Maptitude demographic librarian

Maptitude 2020 contains new and updated demographic maps accessible from the Demographic Map Librarian.

The following steps outline how to access demographic maps:

  1. From the Maptitude 2020 Home Window, choose New demographic map to display the Map Librarian, or if you already have a map open, choose Map>Demographic Map Librarian.
  2. Choose a category, such as Income Maps or Housing Maps.
  3. Choose one or more maps to open.
  4. Choose a bookmark location, an open map location, or other location and click OK.
  5. If you chose Other Location, specify the location that you would like to see in the map and click OK.

How do I find the average household expenditure in a radius?

Maptitude demographic composition map

A common use for the Consumer Expenditure Data involves finding the amount spent on a product for a given area. This tech tip explains how to create a temporary radius buffer and get household expenditure data for the encircled area.

The following steps outline how to get household expenditure data in a radius:

  1. Open a map that contains the Consumer Expenditure layer and zoom or pan to the area of interest.
  2. Choose Tools>Analysis>Buffers Toolbar.
  3. Click Add Point, then click on the map at the center of the location that you want to study.
  4. Click Buffer, then click No when prompted to save the point to a layer.
  5. Enter one or more radii in the Sizes box (For example, enter 3, 5, 7 to create buffers of 3, 5, and 7 miles), check the Calculate Demographics and Cumulative Buffers boxes, and click Settings button.
  6. Choose Consumer Expenditure from the With Layer drop-down and click OK.
  7. Click OK to create the buffers. Maptitude creates buffers around the location of choice and calculates the annual average household expenditure for a variety of items. A Dataview containing purchasing data for the area will be displayed. This Dataview can be searched for a specific expense using the following steps.
  8. With the Dataview as the active window, click Find button.
  9. Click on the Field drop-down and type a portion of the name of the field that you would like to examine (for example, type Property to filter the fields and find the [Avg Property Taxes] field), and click OK.

How do I find the demographic composition around a bank using the Geodemographic Segmentation data?

Maptitude demographic composition map

Using a combination of the Banking and Geodemographic Segmentation layers, you can easily examine the demographics that surround one or more banks. (You could substitute any point layer for the bank layer in this tip if you want to find the demographic composition around a store, hospital, waste site, or any other feature.)

The following steps outline how to find the demographic composition around a bank:

  1. Create or open a workspace that contains a map with both the Bank (or other point layer) and Segmentation layers.
  2. Use the zoom and pan tools or the Map>Find command to display the bank you want to examine.
  3. In the Display Manager, right-click on the bank layer and choose Make Working Layer.
  4. Choose the Select by Pointing Select by Pointing button tool from the Selection toolbar and click on the bank to select it.
  5. Choose Tools>Analysis>Buffers to display the Buffers dialog box.
  6. Choose Fixed Sizes as the method and enter a buffer size (e.g., 3 miles).
  7. Check the Calculate Demographics and Create Report boxes.
  8. Click Demographic Settings button to display the Demographic Settings dialog box and choose Segmentation from the With Layer drop-down list. If you also want to count the number of banks within the buffer, choose US Bank from the Layer drop-down list and None from the Subtotal By drop-down list.
  9. Click OK to close the Demographic Settings dialog box and click OK again to create the buffers and the report.

The resulting report shows a breakdown of the communities surrounding your selected bank. You can use the Demographic Handbook included with the Geodemographic Segmentation data package for an in-depth description of each segment and subsegment. If you chose to count the number of banks within the buffer, it will also include that total.

How do I create a county glow map?

Maptitude glow map

You can create a glow map using any point layer. You can also create a point layer from any area layer that can subsequently be used in a glow map.

The following steps outline how to create a point layer from the county area layer and add a glow map to it:

  1. Make the County layer the working layer in your map.
  2. Choose File>Export>Geography to display the Export Geography dialog box.
  3. Type a name in the Layer name edit box (e.g., County Centroids), check the Include Built-in Data, Add layer to map, and Export as Centorid Points boxes, and click OK.
  4. Enter a name for the new layer and click Save.
  5. Make the new county centroid layer the working layer.
  6. Choose Map>Thematic Mapping>Color to display the Color Theme dialog box.
  7. Choose a field, such as Change in GDP, and the number of classes, then click the Styles tab.
  8. For each class, click Style to display the Style dialog box, choose the Color Image option from the radio list, click Three dot button and choose one of the glow icons (glow*.ico), and click Open and OK.
  9. Click OK when you are done choosing glow icons for all of the classes.
  10. You can optionally scale the size of the icons by choosing Map>Thematic Mapping>Size, choosing a field, and clicking OK.

How do I customize the Export to Excel report demographics in Maptitude 2019?

Custom report demographics

Maptitude 2019 allows you to choose the demographics shown in your reports. You can specify any of the hundreds of included variables that range from race by income to employment and housing characteristics.

The following steps outline how to customize the demographics in your reports:

  1. Choose Tools>Reports>Settings.
  2. Click Overlay. The dialog box shows all of the demographic fields that will be included in any Excel reports.
  3. Click Filter to add or remove demographic fields. All of the available fields are listed in the scroll list on the left and the fields that will be included in your reports are listed in the scroll list on the right.
  4. Highlight one or more fields in either list and click Add>> or <<Drop to move them to the other list. You can filter the list of available fields by typing in the Filter edit box. (For example, type "degree" to find the fields for the male, female, and total populations with associates, college, and graduate degrees.)
  5. Once you have chosen all of your default fields, click OK.
  6. For each field that you added, choose an aggregation method. (For example, if you added the [25+_Bachelor's degree] and [25+_Grad or prof degree] fields, you would check Add to find the total population with Bachelor's and advanced degrees in your reports. If you added the [25+% bachelor's degree or higher] field, you would check Average and weight the average by the [Population 25+] field to find the percent of the population with Bachelor's and advanced degrees in your reports.)
  7. Click OK to close the dialog box and click OK again to close the User Preferences dialog box.

Any reports that you create (e.g., by right-clicking on a shape and choosing Export to Excel, by checking the Create Report box in the Buffers or Overlays dialog box, or by clicking Drive-time demographics button in the Drive-Time Rings toolbox) will now include the fields that you chose.

How do I contact the Maptitude team to request or purchase GIS consulting services?

Caliper GIS Consulting

While we continue to make Maptitude the easiest and most capable business mapping application, we also provide custom consulting, training, and data production services. Let us know your requirements and we'll evaluate your project and provide competitive pricing.

Alternatively, you can purchase consulting services or training at fixed hourly rates.

How do I download the free ZIP Code business count data for Maptitude 2018?

Business Data Download

The ZIP Code business count data for Maptitude 2018 are accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layer and add it to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and install the free ZIP Code business count for Maptitude:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 in order to download the layer.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layer.
  3. To add the ZIP Code Business layer to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\), choose ccZIP5BusinessPatterns.CDF, and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the layer to the map. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map. Note, you may want to move the ZIP Code Business layer up in the list so that it does not obscure other layers.

How do I search a dataview for a particular field?

Find a field in a dataview

Within a dataview, you can use the Find button to search for a specific field. This is particularly useful for the ZIP Code Business Count layer because it contains far more fields than most layers. (NOTE: Step 3 of this tip explains how to find a particular field in a long drop-down list.)

The following steps outline how to find a field in a dataview:

  1. In the Display Manager, right-click on a layer (e.g., 5-Digit ZIP Business) and choose New Dataview.
  2. Click Find button on the Standard toolbar.
  3. To search for a field, open the Field drop-down list and type some letters from the field you are looking for (e.g., typing "Oil and Gas" would filter the list to show the "Drilling Oil and Gas Wells" fields, typing "Cater" would filter the list to show the "Caterers" fields).
  4. Choose the field you want to find from the filtered drop-down list and click OK. Maptitude displays the field highlighted in the dataview

How do I aggregate the ZIP Code business count data to other area layers?

Aggregate ZIP Code Data to States

The Business Count Data can be summed to other layers so that you can create thematic maps at the county or state level.

The following steps outline how aggregate the free ZIP Code business count data to the state layer:

  1. Open or create a map that contains the ZIP Cose Business Count layer and an additional layer to which you want to aggregate the business data.
  2. Open a dataview of the layer to which you want to aggregate the data (e.g., State).
  3. Choose Dataview>Table>Modify to open the Modify Table dialog box.
  4. Click Add Field, type a name for the field in the Field Name column (e.g., Software Publishers, Logging Businesses), choose Interger (4 bytes) in the Type column, and click OK. Maptitude adds an empty field at the far right of the dataview.
  5. Right-click on the new field heading and choose Fill.
  6. Click the Aggregate radio button to display the Aggregate Data dialog box.
  7. Choose 5-Digit ZIP Business from the Layer drop-down list, choose Total from the Fill with drop-down list, and choose the field you want to total (e.g., Software Publishers Total, Wineries Total) from the other drop-down list.
  8. Click OK to close the Aggregate Data dialog box and click OK again. Maptitude calculates the total number of the type of establishment you chose for each area and fills the column with the results.
  9. From the Window menu choose your map to make it the active window and make the layer to which you aggregated the data the working layer. Use the color, size, chart, or 3D theme tools to map the aggregate data in the field you created.

How do I create territories using the Select by Condition tool?

Create territories with the Select by Condition Tool

In addition to creating territories by manually selecting the areas to add in the map, you can use the Select by Condition tool in the Territory Manager to add areas that satisfy a certain condition. This can be very useful when selecting areas that are grouped together in ranges. In this tech tip we describe how to create a territory from a range of ZIP Codes.

The following steps outline how to create territories with the Select by Condition tool:

If you already have a territory map that you wish to add to, skip to Step 5.

  1. Choose File>New Map, choose Territories from the radio list, and click Next>.
  2. Choose Interactively from areas in a map and click Next>.
  3. For Geography layer, choose 5-Digit ZIP Code and for Geography Field choose ZIP.
  4. Add any tracking fields you wish and click Finish. Save the Territory Layer in a suitable location.
  5. In the Territory Manager, click Select by Condition button.
  6. In the Enter a Condition box, type: “ZIP between 02100 and 02210” and click OK.
  7. The ZIP Codes in the given range will be highlighted. If you are happy with the selection click Save changes button to add them to a territory. If you would like to try a different range, click Cancel changes button and repeat steps 5-6 with a different range.

How do I download and customize the free AADT traffic volume layer for Maptitude 2018?

AADT data import for Maptitude

The AADT traffic volume layer for Maptitude 2018 is accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layer and add it to a map.

Please note: The AADT data is for the visualization of traffic counts, and is not used with the routing tools. The routing tools in Maptitude 2018 already use historical traffic conditions (calculated using billions of anonymous measurements from cell phones and vehicle sensors) to determine the speeds used when creating directions, travel times, and travel distances.

The following steps outline how to download and install the free AADT layer for Maptitude:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layer.
  3. To add the AADT layer to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\USA 2018 Traffic Count Layer\). Choose the data layer and click Open in the File Open dialog box. Maptitude adds the Average Daily Traffic layer to the map.
  5. Optionally, you may want to hide the streets and/or highway layers. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map.

The AADT layer comes with a default size theme suitable for nationwide mapping. However, you can create a new size theme that better displays traffic counts for a zoomed in area.

  1. Use the Find Find Button or Zoom Zoom Button tools to display your area of interest on the map.
  2. Click Check Button next to the Highway/Freeway and/or Street layer to hide them on the map.
  3. Make Average Daily Traffic the working layer
  4. Choose Map-Thematic Mapping-Size or click Size Theme Button on the Standard Toolbar to open the Size Theme dialog box and click Remove.
  5. Choose Map-Thematic Mapping-Size or click Size Theme Button on the Standard Toolbar to open the Size Theme dialog box again.
  6. Choose AADT from the scroll list and click Apply. This will reapply the size theme, but it will be calibrated to the data range of the current visible window.
  7. If you would like to make the maximum width larger, change the value in the High Value Size edit box and click Apply again. (e.g., Change it from 8 to 16 to make the lines twice as wide.)
  8. Click OK when you are done adjusting the sizes.
  9. If the labels are not visible, right-click on the Average Daily Traffic layer in the Display Manager and choose Show Labels.
  10. If you would like to modify the labels, click Label Button next to the Average Daily Traffic layer to open the Labels dialog box.
  11. You can change the position, font, size, and style of the traffic count labels on the Labels tab. You can change the background to a frame, shadow, or different halo on the Background tab. Click OK when you are done.

How do I download the Highway Exit and Interchange Locations layer?

Highway Exit and Interchange data import for Maptitude

The Highway Exit and Interchange Locations layer for Maptitude 2018 is accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layer and add it to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and install the free Highway Exit and Interchange layer for Maptitude:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 and a US or Canada Country Package in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layer. The default save location is c:\ccdata. We recommend saving to this location
  3. To add the layer to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\) and find "ntHighwayExit.cdf" (ntCanadaHighwayExit.cdf for users with the Canada country Package) from this folder and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the "Highway Exit" layer to the map. Close the Layers dialog box to see the layer on the map.

How do I download the free healthcare map layers for Maptitude 2018?

Health Data Import for Maptitude

The healthcare map layers for Maptitude 2018 are accessible as a free download. There are four layers as part of this download: Healthcare Organizations, Healthcare Providers, Hospitals, and Primary Care Service Areas. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layers and add them to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and install the free health data layers for Maptitude:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layers.
  3. To add one or more of the layers to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\Healthcare 2018\). Choose one or more of the healthcare data layers and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the layer(s) to the map. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map. Note, you may have to zoom in or turn off autoscaling if your map scale is outside of the autoscale settings for the layer(s) you chose. You can turn off autoscaling in the Display Manager by right-clicking on a layer and choosing Show Layer or by clicking the red magnifying glass icon next to the layer.

How do I download the free point of interest layers for Maptitude 2018?

Download POI Layers

Australia, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom point of interest map layers for Maptitude 2018 are accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layers and add them to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and use the free point of interest layers:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 and a 2018 US, Australia, Canada, or UK Country Package in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layers.
  3. To add one or more of the layers to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\). Choose one or more of the POI data layers and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the layer(s) to the map. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map. Note, you may have to zoom in or turn off autoscaling if your map scale is outside of the autoscale settings for the layer(s) you chose. You can turn off autoscaling in the Display Manager by right-clicking on a layer and choosing Show Layer or by clicking the red magnifying glass icon next to the layer.

How do I download the free business layers for Maptitude 2018?

Download business layers

The business map layers for Maptitude 2018 are accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layers and add them to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and use the free business layers:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2018 and a 2018 US, Australia, Canada, or UK Country Package in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layers.
  3. To add one or more of the layers to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\USA 2018 Business Location Layers\). Within this folder will be several subfolders by category (e.g., Automotive, Grocery, Restaurant). Choose one or more of the POI data layers from these folders, and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the layer(s) to the map. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map. Note, you may have to zoom in or turn off autoscaling if your map scale is outside of the autoscale settings for the layer(s) you chose. You can turn off autoscaling in the Display Manager by right-clicking on a layer and choosing Show Layer or by clicking the red magnifying glass icon next to the layer.

For additional help with the Business Layers please see: https://www.caliper.com/pdfs/caliper-business-data-2018.pdf

How do I use AADT traffic count data with my locations?

Realign Territories

Users who want to know how traffic can impact their locations can use the tools in Maptitude for this type of analysis. One tool that works well for this is the "tagging" tool. With the tagging functionality, a user can get the value of the nearest traffic count, the highest traffic count within a defined radius, a total traffic count within a defined radius, and the distance to the nearest traffic count.

The following steps outline how to tag your locations with AADT data:

The first step to tagging is to create columns to populate. These can be added as blank columns in your spreadsheet before you import or added to the data in the map. Below are the steps to add the columns in Maptitude:

  1. Right click on the layer name that represents your locations and choose New Dataview.
  2. Choose Dataview>Table>Modify.
  3. Click Add Field four times to add 4 new fields/columns to your data.
  4. Click "Field_1" that you added in the Field Name column and rename the field "Near AADT". Rename the other three fields that you created "High AADT", "Total AADT" and "Dist to N AADT" (this will be the distance to the nearest AADT). Your field names can be different if you like, but these will be used for describing the steps in this exercise.
  5. Choose Integer (4 bytes) from the drop-down list in the Type column for the first three fields, and choose Real (8 bytes) for the "Dist to N AADT" field.
  6. Click OK and Yes to confirm. The fields have now been added to your Dataview. Scroll the Dataview to the far right so that you can see the headings for the new fields.

Tagging with the nearest traffic count:

  1. Right-click on the "Near AADT" field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
  2. Choose the Tag option from the radio list.
  3. Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Using Layer drop-down list, All Features from the Selection Set drop-down list, and AADT from the Tag With drop-down list.
  4. Click OK. Maptitude fills the field with the traffic count for the nearest link.

Tagging with the highest traffic count within a radius:

  1. Right-click on the "High AADT" field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
  2. Choose the Aggregate option from the radio list to display the Aggregate Data dialog box.
  3. Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Layer drop-down list and All Features from the Include drop-down list.
  4. Enter a buffer size (this can be any distance and units you want).
  5. Choose High Value of from the Fill With drop-down list and choose AADT from the second drop-down list.
  6. Click OK and click OK again. Maptitude fills the field with the highest traffic count within the buffer radius that you chose.

Tagging with the Total AADT within a radius:

  1. Right-click on the "Total AADT" field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
  2. Choose the Aggregate option from the radio list to display the Aggregate Data dialog box.
  3. Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Layer drop-down list and All Features from the Include drop-down list.
  4. Enter a buffer size (this can be any distance and units you want).
  5. Choose Total from the Fill With drop-down list and choose AADT from the second drop-down list.
  6. Click OK and click OK again. Maptitude fills the field with the total traffic count within the buffer radius that you chose.

Tagging with the distance to the nearest traffic count:

  1. Right-click on the "Dist to N AADT" field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
  2. Choose the Tag option from the radio list.
  3. Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Using Layer drop-down list, All Features from the Selection Set drop-down list, and Distance to Feature from the Tag With drop-down list.
  4. Click OK. Maptitude fills the field with the distance to the nearest link. This value will be reported in the default units for Maptitude (found on the System tab when you choose Edit>Preferences).

How do I update my territory layer to use the latest Maptitude 2018 ZIP Code boundaries?

Realign Territories

If you have created a territory layer using the Territory Manager and a previous vintage of the ZIP Code layer you may want to update your territories using the new postal geography. Maptitude 2018 makes it easy to move your territory layer over to the new and updated ZIP Code boundary layer.

This Tech Tip shows how to work with the Territory Manager in Maptitude 2018 to either change your territory boundaries to match the new ZIP Codes or to keep your territory boundaries as they are and assign the ZIP Codes to the territories they are in.

The following steps outline how to update a territory to new ZIP Code geography:

  1. Open a map that contains your territory layer and the new ZIP Code layer.
  2. Click Actions Button in the Territory Manager and choose Check for Errors.
  3. Click Yes in the Confirm dialog box. If the ZIP Codes cause the territory boundaries to change, Maptitude displays the Rebuild Territories dialog box.
  4. If you want to adjust your territory boundaries to match the new ZIP Codes, choose the first option in the radio list (Update the territory boundaries based on the current assignments) and click OK.
  5. If you want to keep your territory boundaries and update the list of ZIP Codes in each territory, choose the second option in the radio list (Keep the territory boundaries and update assignments to match) and click OK.
  6. Choose whether or not to create an archive of your territory layer in the Confirm dialog box. Maptitude updates the territories based on the latest ZIP Codes.

How do I import MapPoint waypoints and use them with the Routing Manager?

Waypoint routes

Maptitude 2018 can import waypoints from MapPoint and Streets & Trips. A point layer is created that can be used with the Routing Manager to create directions.

Maptitude keeps all of the MapPoint stop attributes such as name, stop number/sequence, overnights, whether the stop is a start/intermediate/end type stop, stop times, whether a quickest or shortest route, and preferred arrival and departure times. The Maptitude Routing Manager can use all of these attributes to recreate your route.

The following steps outline how to import your MapPoint Waypoints and create a route with them:

  1. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general- purpose map of your area of interest.
  2. Choose File > Open and change the type of file to Microsoft Streets & Trips/ AutoRoute File (*.est,*.axe).
  3. Browse for the file that contains your waypoints and click Open.
  4. Make sure the box for Route Waypoints, along with any other features you would like to open, is checked.
  5. Click OK and choose a folder. The waypoints will be added to the map as a new layer
  6. Choose Tools > Routing & Directions > Routing Manager.
  7. Click Add Set Button in the Routing Manager, choose Route Waypoints from the Layer drop-down list, All Features from the Features drop-down list, and ListPosition from the Order by drop-down list. Click OK when you are done. This will add your waypoint locations to the Routing Manager.
  8. The tools in the Routing Manager allow you to choose your start and stop locations, set the itinerary, and adjust your route preferences. For more details on using the Routing Manager please see this video on our website. Once the settings are complete, click Get Directions to create route that visits the stops in your selected order. To visit the stops using the shortest or fastest route choose Optimize.

How do I name my drive-time rings and export the results to Excel?

Named drive-time rings

Maptitude 2018 makes it easy to name and identify your drive-time rings, and to quickly export a demographic report for those rings.

The following steps describe how to to create named drive-time rings and export the result:

  1. Open or create a map that contains a point layer of the features with which you want to create the drive-time rings. (You can use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a point layer from your own data or use the selection tools to choose features in any point layer.)
  2. Choose Tools>Routing & Directions>Drive-Time Rings to display the Drive-Time Rings toolbox.
  3. Click Select Locations button in the Drive-Time Rings toolbox.
  4. Choose the point layer to use from the Layer drop-down list.
  5. Choose whether to use all features or a selection set from the Using drop-down list.
  6. Specify the number and size of the rings to create.
  7. Check the Separate Rings box and choose the field in the point layer to use to name the rings from the Ring Names from drop-down list.
  8. Click Create Rings button in the Drive-Time Rings toolbox. Maptitude generates the rings, makes the rings the working layer, and displays them with a color theme using the name field you chose in the previous step.
  9. Click Export to Excel button on the Standard toolbar. Maptitude generates a demographic report and opens it in Excel. Click the Overlay tab to see the worksheet with income, population, household, and other demographics.

How do I update linked data in Maptitude 2018?

Create and update a linked point file

Maptitude can link your point layers with your data, and you can update your point layers with changes to your source data. You could choose this option if your data change frequently and you want a map that reflects the latest information. (e.g., You have an Excel file that contains addresses and weekly sales information on your stores. You may want to link the data if you open and close stores frequently or if you want to keep the map updated with the latest weekly sales information.) When you link your data, you MUST choose a column that contains unique IDs for each record in your database or spreadsheet.

The following steps describe how to to create and update a linked point file:

  1. Choose File>New Map and use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a point layer from your data.
  2. When Create-a-Map Wizard prompts you to import or link data, choose Link data to map it and choose a field that contains unique IDs for each record from the ID Field drop-down list.
  3. Continue through Create-a-Map Wizard, choosing any theme or analysis options along the way.
  4. Maptitude creates a point layer from your data and displays a report with the results. Click OK to close the report and see the point layer on a map.
  5. Choose File>Save Workspace As and save your map and any other open windows to a folder on your computer.
  6. When you next update your data file (e.g., update sales information, add or remove customers), open your saved workspace in Maptitude and choose Map>Update Linked Records. Maptitude updates the map with the new data. If your map contains any themes, the themes will now be based on the new data. Any records that were added will be added as new points on the map. Any records that were deleted will no longer appear as points on the map.

How do I create a demographic map?

Demographic Map Librarian for Maptitude

To quickly create a demographic map you can use the Demographic Map Librarian. Maptitude ships with a library of economic, social, housing, and demographic maps that you can choose from.

The following steps describe how to to open and synchronize two county demographic maps:

  1. Choose Map-Demographic Map Librarian.
  2. Choose a map category from the first scroll list. For example, choose County Demographic & Social Profile. The second scroll list updates to show the available maps for the category you chose.
  3. Choose one or more of the maps. For example, click on Population and Ctrl-click on Population - Per Square Mile to open those two demographic maps.
  4. Finally, choose the location you want to see. Choose Other Location... from the third scroll list and click OK.
  5. Choose U.S. State from the scroll list, enter the two letter abbreviation for your home state in the edit box, and click OK.
  6. Choose Window-Tile Vertically or Window-Tile Horizontally to see the two maps side by side.
  7. Choose Map-Synchronize and click OK to synchronize the two maps.
  8. Click Pan button on the Tools toolbar and click and drag on one of the maps to recenter it. Both maps update to the new location.
  9. Choose File-Close All to close the maps.

How do I map the age of householder by household Income data Included with Maptitude 2017?

AADT data import for Maptitude

Maptitude 2017 includes 68 fields of data on age of householder by household income. The householder income data is accessible on most of the boundary layers included with Maptitude 2017.

The following steps describe how to create thematic maps using this data:

  1. Choose File-New Map and create a new General Purpose map of your area of interest.
  2. Make the layer on which you want to create the thematic map the working layer. You can do this by right-clicking on the layer in the Display Manager and choosing Make Working Layer.
  3. Choose Map-Thematic Mapping-Color or click Color Theme button on the Standard toolbar to display the Color Theme dialog box.
  4. Click on the Field drop-down list and type hher. This filters the list of fields by householder fields.
  5. Choose one of the Income fields. MapWizard fills in all of the other settings in the dialog box.
  6. Click OK.

How do I download the free U.S. PLSS & TXSS layers for Maptitude 2017?

PLSS data import for Maptitude

The PLSS and TXSS map layers for Maptitude 2017 are accessible as a free download. In this tech tip we describe how to install the layers and add them to a map.

The following steps outline how to download and install the free PLSS and TXSS layers for Maptitude:

  1. Download the data from the Caliper Store. NOTE, you must have Maptitude 2017 in order to download the layers.
  2. Once the files are downloaded, click OK, and then click the Install button. Follow the prompts to install the layers.
  3. To add one or more of the layers to a Maptitude map, open the map, click Layers button on the Standard toolbar, and click Add Layer in the Layers dialog box.
  4. Browse for the folder where the downloaded data are located (e.g., c:\ccdata\plss\). Choose one or more of the data layers and click Open in the File Open dialog box.
  5. Maptitude adds the layer(s) to the map. Close the layers dialog box to see the layers on the map. Note, you may have to zoom in or turn off autoscaling if your map scale is outside of the autoscale settings for the layer(s) you chose. You can turn off autoscaling in the Display Manager by right-clicking on a layer and choosing Show Layer or by clicking the red magnifying glass icon next to the layer.

How do I use the new & improved global geocoding tools in Maptitude 2017?

Locate features by world city

The June release of Maptitude includes new and improved global geocoding tools. Please contact us if you require this functionality and are not seeing it in your version of Maptitude 2017.

This Tech Tip shows how to locate by world city and how to zoom to global locations using Maptitude 2017:

  1. Choose File > Open and open the table or spreadsheet that contains the data you want to locate. At a minimum, your table should contain fields with the city and country that each record is in. Optionally, your table should have a field with the province/state so that, for example, Maptitude can differentiate between Portland, Maine, USA and Portland, Oregon, USA.
  2. Choose Tools > Locate > Locate by World City.
  3. Choose the field in your table that contains the city name from the City Field drop-down list.
  4. Choose the field in your table that contains the country name or abbreviation (e.g., Denmark, DK, or DNK) from the Country Field drop-down list.
  5. Optionally, choose the field in your table that contains the province/state from the Province/State Field drop-down list.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Enter a name for the new layer and click Save. Maptitude locates the records in your table and displays a report with the location results.
  8. Click OK.

To zoom the map to a country or city:

  1. If you are mapping a location for which you do not have a Maptitude Country Package, choose Map > Imagery and choose one of the image layers available (not the US specific USGS ones).
  2. Choose Edit-Find to display the Find tool.
  3. Choose to find a World City or World Country on the left of the window and enter text as prompted.
  4. Click OK. The map is zoomed to your area of interest.

How do I create a density or heat map of my locations?

Density Heat Map

A density grid is a way to visualize and analyze point data by transforming the points into a regular grid. Each resulting grid cell is assigned a value that is determined by the density of nearby points, optionally weighting each point using a weighting value.

Density grids are useful for showing hot spots of crime, mapping the concentration of healthcare providers, and analyzing the pattern of clients around a store weighted by the cost of their purchases.

This Tech Tip shows how to work with the Density/Heat Layer tool in Maptitude 2017:

The steps below show how to create a density map of the concentration of physicians, but you can use any point layer (such as customers or crime locations) as the basis for your map in step 5.

  1. Download the free healthcare data layers.
  2. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map any U.S. county (e.g., Los Angeles CA, Cook IL, Harris TX).
  3. Click Layers Button on the Standard toolbar and add the Physician layer (ccPhysician.cdf) that you downloaded in step 1 to your map.
  4. Choose Tools-Analysis-Density/Heat Layer or click Density Map Button on the Standard toolbar.
  5. Choose Physician from the Layer drop-down list and choose Visible Features from the Set drop-down list. (Note: You are going to create a heat map showing the density of all physicians in the county. If you wanted, you could focus on a subset of the physicians by using a selection set such as just the physicians whose primary field is geriatrics or orthopedics.)
  6. Enter 2 in the Radius edit box (to assess the density of physicians within 2 miles of all locations in the grid) and make sure the Theme box is checked.
  7. Enter a name for the density grid layer, such as "Physician Density," in the Layer Name edit box.
  8. Click OK, enter a name for the file, and click Save.
  9. Maptitude computes the density grid and adds it to the map. Areas with high concentrations of doctors are shown in darker green. You may want to hide the Physician layer to better see the density grid.

How do I use the Export to Excel tools with the free healthcare layers?

Export data to Excel

Maptitude 2017 makes it easy to create Excel reports. You can create a radius and quickly see information on all the locations within the circle. This includes locations in all layers apart from those in restricted HERE layers.

Once you have downloaded the free health data here, you can analyze healthcare locations using the export to Excel tools.

This Tech Tip shows how to work with the Radius and Export to Excel tools in Maptitude 2017 to find all of the healthcare providers, clinics, physicians, and/or hospitals within any radius of any location in the United States.

The following steps outline how to export data to Excel:

  1. Download the free healthcare data layers.
  2. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map of the area you wish to study.
  3. Click Layers Button on the Standard toolbar and add one or more of the healthcare layers you downloaded in step 1 to your map.
  4. Click Radius Button on the Drawing toolbar and click on the map at the location you want to study.
  5. Enter a radius and click OK. Maptitude draws a circle of the specified radius on the map centered at the point where you clicked.
  6. Right-click on the circle you created and choose Export to Excel.
  7. Enter a name for the file and click Save. Maptitude creates an Excel workbook file with one sheet for each of the layers you added to the map. For example, there may be a Hospital sheet that lists all of the hospitals within the radius you specified, a Physician sheet that lists all of the physicians within the radius you specified, etc. There will also be a sheet of Census overlay information that includes the population, income, and other demographics for the population within the radius you drew.

How do I import my MapPoint territory layer?

Import MapPoint Territories

Maptitude 2017 makes it even easier to create territories from your MapPoint files.

Territory creation was one of the best features of Microsoft MapPoint and has been improved in Maptitude 2017! Not only can you import territories that have no data fields, but you can also create territories with State and County information in separate fields, which was the MapPoint default.

Once you have chosen to open a MapPoint PTM file, Maptitude automatically walks you through the simple steps to create your territories. A territory layer is created that can immediately be used to create Excel reports with a demographic breakdown sheet, plus sheets for any other data that you have mapped and that fall within your territories.

The following steps outline how to import a PTM territory layer:

  1. Choose File-Open and choose MapPoint Map File (*.ptm) as the file type.
  2. Open a MapPoint file with territories such as the sample that shipped with MapPoint (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft MapPoint 2013\Samples\Typical US Marketing Areas by County.ptm)
  3. Follow the import prompts. When you reach the Territory Wizard step, click Next. If you have territories based on counties, you will be able to choose both the county field and the state field.
  4. Follow the prompts and Maptitude creates your county-based territory layer.
  5. In the Territory Manager you can highlight one or more territories and right-click on them to choose Export Territories to Excel. Maptitude creates Excel sheets that list the base geography for each territory as well as the demographics for each territory

How do I identify multiple nearby locations for multiple origins?

Distance and travel time tables

Maptitude 2017 makes it easy to identify alternative service suppliers, backup field representatives, and the closest locations.

The new Distance and Travel Times Tables tool allows you to choose a layer of origins and destinations and calculates the distance or time taken to travel between them. For example, you could work with a point layer of stores and a separate point layer of customers and create a table of the drive times to the various stores for each customer. Alternatively, you can use selection sets of origins and destinations from a single point layer.

The results can be viewed in Excel or Maptitude, allowing you to easily sort to identify the closest locations.

The following steps outline how to work with the Distance and Travel Times Tables tool in Maptitude 2017:

  1. Open a map that contains either a point layer with origin and destination selection sets or two point layers, such as a customer layer and a store layer. 
  2. In Maptitude choose Tools-Routing & Directions-Distance and Travel Time Tables.
  3. In the Origin frame, choose the layer that contains the origins, whether to use all features or a selection set, and the field that contains the names of the origins.
  4. In the Destination frame, choose the layer that contains the destinations, whether to use all features or a selection set, and the field that contains the names of the destinations.
  5. Choose whether to base your tables on the drive-time or distance from the Using drop-down list.
  6. Choose whether to output the results as a matrix or a table from the Output radio list and check the box if you want to see the results in Excel.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Enter a name for the table that you are creating and click Save. Maptitude calculates the time/distance between the origins and destinations and displays the results.

How do I locate data by coordinate using table formats such as comma separated?

Creating straight-line catchment areas

To create the December 2016 snow fall featured map, we accessed data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. The data included longitude and latitude fields and we used these columns to locate a point for every county. This Tech Tip shows how to map CSV coordinate data with Maptitude 2016.

The following steps outline how to map CSV coordinate data:

  1. Your CSV file needs to have column headings. If these are missing you can add the first row of column names in an application such as Excel. Alternatively, you can open the CSV file in Maptitude and use the Dataview-Modify Table command.
  2. In Maptitude choose File-New, choose Map, and click OK.
  3. Choose Map of My Own Data
  4. Click Next and browse to your CSV file, making sure to specify CSV (Comma- or Tab-delimited Text) as the file type.
  5. Choose your Longitude and Latitude fields when prompted.
  6. Choose to Locate the records in your file by coordinates.
  7. Follow the remaining prompts until you are finished. Maptitude geocodes your points based on the coordinate data and displays a map of the locations.

How do I create drive-time catchment/market areas?

Creating straight-line catchment areas

With Maptitude you can create drive-time or straight-line catchment/market areas using Network Partitioning or Areas of Influence, respectively. This Tech Tip shows how to create drive-time based areas of influence with Maptitude 2016.

The following steps outline how create drive-time catchment areas:

  1. Open a map that contains a point layer from which you want to build the catchment areas.
  2. Make the Street layer the working layer.
  3. Choose Tools-Routing-Network Partitioning.
  4. Choose the point layer to use from the Layer drop-down list and choose whether to use all features or a selection set from the Using drop-down list.
  5. Choose Travel Time from the Minimizing drop-down list and enter a maximum time to consider in the Maximum Time edit box.
  6. Click the Options tab and check only the Create Zone Layer box.
  7. Click OK. Maptitude displays the Output File Settings dialog box.
  8. Enter a name for the new catchment area layer in the Short File Name column of the grid view.
  9. Click OK. Maptitude uses drive-time information on the street layer to build catchment areas around the point features.

How do I create straight-line catchment/market areas?

Creating straight-line catchment areas

With Maptitude you can create straight-line or drive-time catchment/market areas using Areas of Influence or Network Partitioning, respectively. This Tech Tip shows how to create straight-line based areas of influence with Maptitude 2016.

The following steps outline how create straight-line catchment areas:

  1. Open a map and make the point layer from which you want to build the catchment areas the working layer.
  2. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Areas of Influence.
  3. Choose whether to build the areas around all features or a selection set from the Around drop-down list.
  4. Enter a name for the new catchment area layer in the Layer Name edit box.
  5. If you want, you can associate the name of the point features with the areas by choosing a field that contains the names from the drop-down list.
  6. If you want to calculate demographics for the catchment areas check the Calculate Demographics box.
  7. Click OK, enter a name for the new geographic file, and click Save. Maptitude creates a circular area layer encompassing the points and divided into straight-line catchment areas.

How do I create drive-time rings under 5 minutes?

Creating drive-time rings under 5 minutes

Maptitude allows you to create drive-time rings/zones for intervals smaller than 5 minutes. This Tech Tip shows how you can do this with Maptitude 2016.

The following steps outline how to build drive-time rings of under five minutes:

  1. Start Maptitude and choose Edit- Preferences.
  2. Click the Routing tab.
  3. Change the value in the Minimum Band Time box to a value less than five.
  4. Click OK when you are done. Now when you use the Drive-Time Rings toolbox you can enter values less than 5 minutes.

How do I create nationwide rings that contain 80% of my target value?

Importing GTFS in Maptitude

If you would like to see the geographic area that services 80% of your target demographic then you can visualize this information in Maptitude. By building rings to your target value, you can see if your competitors serve the same population with a smaller geographic footprint, and you can explore those locations without coverage.

The following steps outline how to build nationwide buffers to a particular value:

  1. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a map that contains a point layer of the features you want to analyze.
  2. Right-click on the Census Tract layer in the Display Manager and choose New Dataview.
  3. Choose Dataview-Summary Statistics. You can then copy the Sum value for your chosen variable (e.g., Population, Households, etc.).
  4. Use Excel or the Windows Calculator and multiply the value you copied by 0.80. Copy this value.
  5. In Maptitude, close the statistics Dataview. Make your point layer of locations the working layer by choosing it in the in the drop-down in the Standard toolbar. You may need to first make the layer visible depending on the map scale.
  6. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Buffers.
  7. If you are examining a filtered set of features from your point layer (e.g., a store brand from the point landmark layer), choose the set to use from the Buffers Around drop-down list, otherwise choose All Features from the drop-down list.
  8. Choose Build to Value from the Method radio list.
  9. Paste the value you calculated in step 4 into the Values edit box.
  10. Choose Census Tract from the Layer drop-down list.
  11. Choose the field you used in step 3 from the Field field drop-down list.
  12. Make sure the Separate Buffers box is NOT checked.
  13. Click OK. Maptitude creates a buffer around your locations that contains the target value that you chose.

How do I import opensource public transport/transit data?

Importing GTFS in Maptitude

Maptitude can work with data from a variety of other sources including the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). Using GTFS data, you can map public transportation/transit routes and locations from agencies all over the world.

The following steps outline how to create import GTFS data with Maptitude 2016:

Maptitude doesn't have a specific Import tool for GTFS data, but you can use a download of a GTFS archive to construct a map layer of the route.

1: Download the GTFS archive and extract its contents to any suitable folder.

2: Map all of the point locations in the file shapes.txt file you extracted:

  • Start with any map of the general area.
  • Choose File-Open and browse for and open the shapes.txt file in a new dataview.
  • Choose Tools-Locate-Locate by Coordinate to plot the route points on the map using the longitude and latitude fields in the text file for the X and Y fields.

3: Connect the points into their respective routes by doing the following:

  • Choose Tools-Geographic Utilities-Connect Points.
  • Choose the To New Layer option.
  • In the "First group points having the same value as" section, choose shape id from the Field drop-down list.
  • In the "Then connect based on the order of" section, choose shape_pt_sequence from the Field drop-down list.
  • Click OK. Maptitude connects all the various points into their respective routes.

4: Color-code the routes

  • Hide the point layer of shape points you created in step 2 and make the new Lines layer you created in step 3 the working layer.
  • Choose Map-Color Theme.
  • Choose ID from the Field drop-down list.
  • Choose List of Values from the Method drop-down list.
  • Click OK.

How do I create an animated GIF of my time series data?

Maptitude animated GIF

If you have time series data you can visualize this information in Maptitude. By creating a thematic map for each field of data in your time series you can then add an image for each map to an animated GIF that you can share with others or embed on a website .

The following steps outline how to create an animated GIF with Maptitude 2016:

The best animated GIF will be comprised of maps that are all the same size, so when possible work from just one map to create your animated GIF file.

  1. Create a thematic map that illustrates the first period in your time series.
  2. To properly compare data from different time periods, you will want to use the same theme settings for each map in the series. In the respective theme dialog boxes, click the Save button, enter a name for a Settings file, and click Save. Enter a name for the theme and click OK.
  3. Choose Tools>Create Animated GIF to display the Animated GIF toolbox.
  4. Enter a frame rate, in hundredths of a second, in the Delay box (e.g., Enter 200 to have the first frame in your GIF play for 2 seconds).
  5. Click Add Frame to GIF Button in the Animated GIF toolbox to add the first frame to the GIF.
  6. Change your map to show a theme of the next time period. You can click the Load button in the theme dialog box and apply the saved theme settings from the setting file that you saved in step 2 (this will ensure that your color theme uses the same colors and breaks or your scaled-symbol theme uses the same sizes to represent equal values), then repeat steps 4 and 5.
  7. Continue adding frames for the remaining time periods.
  8. Click Save Animated GIF Button in the Animated GIF toolbox, enter a file name, and click Save.

How do I change the maximum number of waypoints or drive-time ring settings?

Drive-time ring settings

The new Routing Manager and Drive Time Rings Toolbox have maximum values for the number of stops/waypoints and for the maximum number of rings, travel time, and travel distance. However, if you have a PC with 64-bit Windows and over 8gb of RAM then you will likely be able to increase these limits.

The following steps outline how to change the routing and drive-time ring settings:

  1. Start Maptitude and choose Edit-Preferences.
  2. Click the Routing tab.
  3. For drive-time rings you can change the minimum and maximum distance and time thresholds and the maximum number of bands. For routing, you can change the maximum number of stops/waypoints.
  4. Click OK when you are done.

How do I add all the ZIP Codes in a state or county to a territory?

Adding groups of smaller features to a territory

The new Territory Manager make it easy to add all the ZIP Codes in a State or County to the territory with which you are working. You can also remove all the ZIP Codes from a territory using one or more Counties or States. This functionality saves time, and allows you to easily manage territories, whether they encompass entire states or only a few ZIP Codes.

The following steps outline how to add a group of features to a territory:

  1. Create a Territory Layer that is based on ZIP Codes and launch the Territory Manager.
  2. Choose to create a new territory or modify an existing territory with the Territory drop-down list in the Territory Manager.
  3. Choose County from the Geogpraphy drop-down list if you want to choose all of the ZIP Codes in a county, or choose State from the Geography drop-down list to choose all of the ZIP Codes in a state.
  4. Use the Select by Pointing Select by Pointing Button tool in the Territory Manager and click on a county/state that you want to include in a territory. Maptitude finds all of the ZIP Codes in the feature you chose and highlights them.
  5. Click on more counties/states to add them to the territory. You can also choose ZIP Code again from the Geography drop-down list to revert to modifying the individual ZIP Codes in the territory.
  6. Click Select by Pointing Button to save the changes to the territory.

How do I schedule my waypoint arrival, duration, and departure time?

Exporting territories from Maptitude to Excel

The new Routing Manager make it easy to create and manage your routes. Being able to control the characteristics of the route and each waypoint, such as itinerary and driving speeds, is a critical step in the planning of your routes. This was one of the best features of Microsoft MapPoint and is new in Maptitude 2016!

The following steps outline how to set schedule options when routing with Maptitude:

  1. Open a map and click Routing Manager button to open the Routing Manager.
  2. Click Routing Options button to display the Route Options dialog box.
  3. Click the Driving Speeds tab and use the sliders to adjust the speeds for different classes of roads.
  4. Click the Itinerary tab and set the time to start and end driving. You can also choose to allow the end time to have some flexibility.
  5. Click OK to close the Route Options dialog box.
  6. Enter addresses for the stops, click Add Stop button and click on stops on the map, or click Add Stops from Set button and choose features in a point layer as the stops.
  7. Right-click on one of the stops in the Routing Manager and choose Schedule Stop to display the Stop Schedule dialog box where you can enter a duration time for the stop, a time by which to arrive, or a time to depart. Click OK when you are done.
  8. Now that you have set your routing and scheduling options, click Get Directions or Optimize to generate a route using your options.

How do I export my list of territories?

Maptitude map showing buffers that encompass 50 anesthesiologists

The new territory tools make it easy to create and manage your territories. Being able to access and share your territory definitions, such as postal/ZIP Codes by territory, is a critical step in the definition of your boundaries. This was one of the best features of Microsoft MapPoint and is new in Maptitude 2016! 

The following steps outline how to export your territory definition list:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map and click OK to launch Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose Territories and click Next to launch the Territory Wizard.
  3. Choose From my territory table and follow the prompts. When you are finished, Maptitude creates a map that shows your territory layer.
  4. Highlight one or more of your territories in the Territory Manager.
  5. Right-click and choose Export Territories List to Excel. Maptitude creates an Excel worksheet with your territory definitions.
    Note: There is also an Export Territories to Excel command that will export the definitions as well as geographic and demographic reports, each as a separate sheet in the Excel workbook.

How do I filter medicare payments by physician?

Maptitude map showing top and bottom medicare payments physicians

Maptitude allows you to filter data based on dollar amounts. Maptitude even has tools that automatically group your data into naturally occurring clusters that can then be filtered. We will show how to do this by filtering physicians by Medicare payments.

The following steps outline how to filter data by using a theme:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK to start Create-a-Map Wizard and create a General Purpose map of your area of interest.
  2. ChooseMap-Layers and click Add Layer to add the Physician layer (ccPhysician.cdf) to the map.
  3. Make the Physician layer the working layer by choosing it from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar.
  4. Choose Map-Color Theme to display the Color Theme dialog box.
  5. Choose [Medicare Payments] from the Field drop-down list, choose Equal Number of Features from the Method drop-down list, choose 10 from the # Classes drop-down list, and click OK. Maptitude creates 10 equal size groups and displays them as a color theme on the map.
  6. Choose Selection-Select by Theme, then click OK and then Yes. Your thematic data classification has been converted to selection filters.
  7. You can now use the filters to analyze the data and you can, for example, hide and show physicians based on their Medicare payments using the Display Manager.

How do I create a ring that encompasses healthcare providers?

Maptitude map showing buffers that encompass 50 anesthesiologists

Maptitude allows you to see how big the area is that you will need to visit in relation to the number of healthcare providers that you want to target. Maptitude can create rings so that they contain a particular value such as number of doctor offices. For a video tutorial see: Creating Overlays and Buffers.

The following steps outline how to build a buffer that encompasses a particular type of healthcare provider:

Each record in the healthcare layers has up to 15 taxonomy codes for services provided. Therefore, to filter the records, you will need to create a filter that checks each of the taxonomy fields for the value of interest to you.

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK to start Create-a-Map Wizard and create a General Purpose map of your area of interest.
  2. Choose Map-Layers and click Add Layer to add the healthcare layer you want to analyze.
  3. Make the healthcare layer the working layer by choosing it from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar.
  4. Choose Dataview-Formula Fields to display the Formula dialog box. Use the Formula Builder to create an expression for each of the taxonomy fields for the code that interests you. For example, to use anesthesiologists (207L00000X) from the physician layer, create the following formula:
    if ( [Taxonomy 1] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 2] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 3] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 4] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 5] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 6] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 7] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 8] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 9] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 10] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 11] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 12] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 13] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 14] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 15] = "207L00000X") then 1 else 0
  5. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Click Buffers Toolbox to display the Click Buffers toolbox.
  6. Use the Add Temporary Points tool to add one or more points about which you want to study and then click Create Buffers in the toolbox.
  7. Choose to create buffers around All Features from the Buffers Around drop-down list.
  8. Type a name for the new map layer in the Create Layer edit box.
  9. Check Build to Value, choose the source layer (e.g., Physicians) from the Layer drop-down list, and choose the formula field you created above from the Field drop-down list.
  10. Enter the target values you want, separated by spaces or commas (e.g., 10, 50), in the Values edit box.
  11. Check Separate Buffers to have each feature have its own separate buffers.
  12. Click OK. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box. Type a file name for the new geographic file, and click Save.
  13. Maptitude creates a new layer containing the buffers and adds the new layer to the map.

How do I filter healthcare locations by taxonomy

Variable Size Ring Map

Maptitude allows you to filter healthcare locations by taxonomy code. You will first need to download the five free healthcare layers here. These map layers include the taxonomy codes and descriptions for each location, e.g., Psychiatric Hospital (283Q00000X), Military Hospital (286500000X), General Acute Care Hospital Children (282NC2000X), Physical Therapy (261QP2000X). You can also filter using Medicare charges and payments.

The following steps outline how to filter the healthcare data:

Each record in the healthcare layers has up to 15 taxonomy codes for services provided. Therefore, to filter the records, you will need to create a filter that checks each of the taxonomy fields for the value of interest to you.

  1. Open a map that contains the healthcare layer (hospitals, clinics, physicians) whose features you want to filter and make the layer the working layer in the map.
  2. Choose Selection>Select by Condition to display the Select by Condition dialog box.
  3. Use the Condition Builder to create a filter that checks each of the taxonomy fields for the code that interests you. For example, to filter anesthesiologists (207L00000X) from the physician layer, create the following formula:
    [Taxonomy 1] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 2] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 3] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 4] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 5] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 6] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 7] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 8] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 9] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 10] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 11] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 12] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 13] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 14] = "207L00000X" or [Taxonomy 15] = "207L00000X"
    You can also copy this formula, paste it into the Select by Condition dialog box and edit the code values.
  4. Type a name for the set in the Set Name box and click OK.
  5. Maptitude highlights the selected features on the map. To hide the features that are not part of the filtered set, choose Selection>Settings, highlight the layer at the top of the scroll list, click Status to change its status to "invisible," and click Close. Only the filtered features will be displayed on the map.

How do I create rings/radii from my Excel data

Variable Size Ring Map

Maptitude allows you to create "variable size" rings/radii that are created automatically at a size specified for each location. For example, you can build buffers based on transmitter range for telecommunication towers, the free delivery areas for different restaurants, or the predefined service areas for a list of stores.

The following steps outline how to create variable rings using data stored in your spreadsheet:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Your spreadsheet must contain a field with the radius to use for each record. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has address fields. Click OK.
  4. Click Next when Create-a-Map Wizard shows the fields to be used to map your data.
  5. In the "Type of Map" scroll list, choose the first option to Locate records in your data by Address, ZIP Code or City and click Finish.
  6. Enter a name for the new layer that contains your data and click Save. Maptitude locates your data on a map.
  7. Make sure that the layer you just located is the working layer and choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Buffers or click Scaled-Symbol theme button on the Standard toolbar.
  8. Choose the Variable Size method, choose the field containing the radius to use from the Sizes drop-down list, and click OK.
    Buffers dialog box
  9. Enter a name for the new layer that will contain the variable size rings and click Save. Maptitude creates the rings and displays them on the map.

How do I use a USB GPS device connected to a Surface tablet with Maptitude 2015

Health Data Import for Maptitude

This Tech Tip was written using a Microsoft USB GPS device connected to a Microsoft Surface Tablet running Windows 8.1 Pro, using Maptitude 2015 64 BIT Version with the 2015 USA Country Package.

The following steps outline how to use a USB GPS device with Maptitude:

  1. Connect the GPS to the computer.
  2. Verify the GPS device connection port using Windows Device Manager.
  3. Verify the GPS device output port using an application such as Franson GPS Gate (unaffiliated with Caliper Corporation).
  4. Open Maptitude and open or create a map.
  5. Choose Tools>Geographic Utilities>GPS>Read GPS Data.
  6. Choose GPS Device on the Settings tab of the GPS Setup dialog box.
  7. Click the Options tab and choose the port and other settings.
  8. Click OK. The GPS toolbox should open on your screen and begin to show information from your GPS device. This may take several minutes to get a proper signal.

The GPS information can be shown directly on the screen for immediate reference or saved to a file for future use. It can also be used to collect positions for a geographic file.

How do I use layouts to create a wall-sized map

Creating large format prints

Whether you need a wall-sized map, city-wide street level detail, or large area coverage, Maptitude has the tools to get the job done. In this tech tip we describe how to use Layouts to create the custom output you require

The following steps outline how to create large prints from a Maptitude layout:

  1. Create one or more maps to use on your large size map layout. Here are some tips to consider for maps that you plan to print at large sizes:
    • When printing a large map in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), labels, line widths, and point symbols will be enlarge proportionately. For example a 10pt label may 40pt or more and a 3pt wide line may be 12pt or more on your printed map. You may want to reduce the sizes of these items so they will not appear too large on the printed layout.
    • When printing a large map using the 'Use actual point sizes' option, a 10pt label will still be 10pt and a 3pt wide line will still be 3pt in the printed map, regardless of what size the map is. If you are enlarging the map, however, there will be room for more labels to display than in the original map window. You should right-click on any map that uses this option, choose Properties, check the Always redraw map box, and click OK. This will let you see on the layout exactly how the map will print, including which features will be labeled.
    • If you will be placing several maps in WYSIWYG mode, you may want to make the window sizes proportional to how they will appear in the layout so that labels, line widths, and point symbols will be similar in the maps. This is not necessary if you will be 'Use actual point sizes' option.
    • If you intend to print a map at a fixed scale (e.g., 1 inch = 500 miles), make all the changes to your map, then zoom out to show the entire region you want to display, then set the scale to the fixed scale you want. This will ensure that your map is centered correctly on the printed page.
  2. Click New file button, choose Layout from the list, and click OK.
  3. Click Properties button and choose a large-format printer and large page size (e.g., ARCH E, C0, A1). Alternatively, you can choose any page size and enter multiple page dimensions in the Pages Across and/or Pages Down spinners.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Place in layout button and drag a rectangle on the layout where you want a map to be located.
  6. Choose the map you want to place.
  7. Make choices as follows.
    To do this... Do this... What will happen:
    Place the map in WYSIWYG mode Uncheck the Use actual point sizes and Print at fixed scale boxes The printed map will be an exact match of the one in the original map window. The scale of the map will change and the size of labels, line widths, and point symbols change depending on whether the map is larger or smaller than the original map window.
    Show the same geographic region in the printed map but preserve the size of labels, line widths, and point symbols Check the Use actual point sizes box and uncheck the Print at Fixed Scale box. The printed map will show the same region and the scale will be larger or smaller depending on whether the map is larger or smaller than the original map window. The point size of labels, line widths, and point features, however, will remain the point size specified in the map window regardless of the size on the page. More or fewer labels may be visible on the printed page than in your original map window depending on whether the map is placed larger or smaller.
    Print the map at the same scale as the map window Check the Print at fixed scale box The map will be placed in the layout at the same scale specified in the map. If the printed map is smaller than the original map window, less area will be visible. If the map is larger, then more area will be visible.
    Have the map fill the area you dragged on the layout Uncheck the Keep map’s aspect ratio box. The printed map will fill the rectangle you dragged and display more than the region shown in the original map window.
    Keep the aspect ratio of the layout map the same as in the map window Check the Keep map’s aspect ratio box. The map will be displayed as large as it can to fit in the rectangle you dragged while showing just the geographic area visible in the original map window.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Right-click on the map and choose Properties. You can change the style of the map border or add a shadow (the default is a ¼ point black border). You can also choose to have the map always redraw (this takes more time to display but is preferable when you are using the 'Use actual point sizes' option). Click OK when you are done.
  10. Add any additional maps to the layout, use the Text Text tool tool to add a title or other text, and use the Image Image tool button tool to add a logo or other image.
  11. Use the Pointer Pointer tool button tool to move or resize items. Shift-click on several items with the Pointer tool and use the alignment buttons to arrange the items on the layout page.
  12. Click Print button when you are done.

How do I use the Nearby Features Tool add-in for Maptitude 2015

Nearby Features Addin

Identifying franchise locations is critical to understanding the competitive landscape. In this tech tip we describe how to find competitor locations that are within 2 miles of existing or proposed retail sites.

The following steps outline how to use the Nearby Features Tool add-in:

  1. Install the Nearby Features Tool Add-In
  2. Create a map that contains the the point layers you want to study, such as your stores and your competitors. For example, you could use the Jack-in-the-Box and Subway locations in Las Vegas, which can be downloaded separately from unaffiliated 3rd party sites such as here. Use the Selection Toolbox tools if necessary to select several locations.
  3. Choose Tools-Add Ins-Nearby Features.
  4. Choose the Origin and the Nearby Features layers. For example, you could choose the Jack-in-the-Box locations as the "Origin" layer and Subway locations as the "Nearby Features" layer to identify the Subway restaurants near each Jack-in-the-Box.
  5. Choose a field (such as ID, name, address, etc.) to identify each of the origins and nearby features from the respective Name drop-down lists.
    Nearby Features Dialog Box
  6. Check the Calculate Distance checkbox, and enter a value (e.g., 2 miles) for the "that are within" option.
  7. Click OK. Maptitude creates a table showing, for each of your origins, each nearby feature withing the distance you specified and its distance away. 

How do I open MapPoint map files in Maptitude 2015

Maptitude Locate Wizard Results

MapPoint users can migrate their data to Maptitude 2015 via a simple File-Open. The ability to easily access MapPoint pushpins and territories will be valuable to users that have invested in MapPoint, but who now need to move to Maptitude following the discontinuation of the Microsoft product. The steps below will show you how to open the popular POI MegaFile for Microsoft Streets and Trips (USA) and AutoRoute (Europe).

Note: Requires Maptitude 2015 and Microsoft MapPoint North America or MapPoint Europe, respectively.

The following steps outline how to download and open the MapPoint POI MegaFile:

  1. Go to the "Map Data Downloads" section of the Caliper Free Utilities and Data page.
  2. If you have MapPoint Europe then choose to download the Europe MegaFile. If you have MapPoint North America then choose the North America MegaFile. Unzip the PTM file and save it to a folder on your computer.
  3. In Maptitude 2015, choose File-Open, choose MapPoint Map File as the file type, and browse to the MegaFile PTM you unzipped.
  4. Choose one or more layers to import in the Import MapPoint Data window.
  5. Click OK and follow the prompts.

How do I automatically map my data using the locate tools in Maptitude 2015

Maptitude Locate Wizard Results

New in Maptitude 2015 is a Locate Wizard that will automatically map your locations and apply the next best level of accuracy for unfound locations. In previous versions of Maptitude, when you located records by address, you then had to run locate by address again to try nearby postal codes, then run locate by postal code and/or city with remaining unfound records. The Locate Wizard allows you to spend more time analyzing your data and less time figuring out how to get your information into a map. You can control exactly which locate methods you want to apply and once your records are located, Maptitude reports the method used to place each pushpin.

The following steps outline how to locate your records with the Locate Wizard:

  1. Open a table or spreadsheet containing the data you want to locate on a map.
  2. Choose Tools-Locate-Locate Wizard to open the Locate Wizard dialog box.
  3. Enter a name for the new point layer you will create in the Name edit box.
  4. Choose whether to locate all records or a selection set from the Records drop-down list.
  5. Verify that Maptitude has correctly chosen the ID and address fields in the other drop-down lists.
  6. Check the boxes next to the methods you want to use. Maptitude will attempt to locate the records with the first checked method and then attempt to locate records it could not find with each successive chosen method. For example, in the United States country package you can choose as follows (in decreasing order of accuracy):
    By Address and ZIP Code Locates records where the number, street, and ZIP Code in your data exactly match those in the Maptitude street file
    By Address and Nearby ZIP Code Locates records looking for a number and street match in a nearby ZIP Code to the one specified in your data
    By Address and City/State Locates records looking for a number and street match anywhere in the city specified in your data
    Scattered within the ZIP Code Locates the records centered or scattered within the ZIP Code specified in your data
    Scattered within the City Locates the records centered or scattered near the city center specified in your data
  7. Click OK. Maptitude will attempt to locate each record using the most precise method possible from the ones you chose.
  8. Maptitude reports the number of records located using each method. Click OK to close the report.

How do I create a bubble map

Maptitude map of business locations

Proportional symbol maps scale the size of simple symbols (usually a circle or square) proportionally to the data value found at that location. They are a simple concept to grasp: the larger the symbol, the "more" of something exists at a location. The default setting in Maptitude is to scale the circles directly proportionate to the data.

The following steps outline how to make a bubble map using Maptitude:

  1. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map of whatever country package you have installed.
  2. Make the state/province/region or similar layer the working layer by choosing it from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar or by right-clicking on the layer in the Display Manager and choosing Make Working Layer.
  3. Choose Map-Scaled Symbol Theme or click Scaled-Symbol theme button on the Selection Toolbar to open the Select by Condition dialog box.
  4. Choose a population field from the Choose a Field scroll list. If no population field is present, choose the AREA field.
  5. Click OK. Maptitude adds a bubble theme to the map.
  6. Choose Map-Scaled Symbol Theme or click Scaled-Symbol theme button on the Selection Toolbar to again open the Select by Condition dialog box.
  7. Type 50 in the High Value Size edit box to make the bubbles larger.
  8. Click the Style tab and choose a different color for the bubble.
  9. Click OK. Maptitude updates the bubble theme with your changes.

How do I map businesses by name

Maptitude map of business locations

When conducting market research, competitor analysis, and territory/franchise alignments, it is critical to understand the geographic context of your service area. Maptitude makes it easy to evaluate any of the thousands of business locations provided with the software.

For example, you may want to visualize the locations of competitors near to your existing or proposed sites. You can do this by using the Selection tool and the store Name field included in the Landmark layer.

The following steps outline how to map businesses by name using the Maptitude Landmark layer:

  1. Use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map of your area of interest.
  2. If the landmark layer is not visible, use the Display Manager to make it visible.
  3. Make the Landmark layer the working layer by choosing it from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar or by right-clicking on the Landmark layer in the Display Manager and choosing Make Working Layer.
  4. Choose Selection-Select by Condition to open the Select by Condition dialog box.
  5. Type Lower(Name) contains "abc" where "abc" is the lower case name of the business you want to map. (e.g., Lower(Name) contains "home depot" or Lower(Name) contains "lowe's".)
  6. Check the Select from visible features only box if you want to limit the selection to your area of interest or leave it unchecked to select every business in the country.
  7. Click OK. Maptitude filters the landmark layer and creates a selection set of the businesses you chose. If you chose to select from the visible features only, you may need to refresh the map.
  8. Open a dataview of the landmark layer and choose the selection set that you created from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar to see the filtered results. If necessary, you may need to remove some filtered results from the selection set by clicking on the symbol in the left column. Alternatively, you can filter the results some more using the Name or Type field. (For example, you could remove Lowe's Supermarkets from your results by again selecting by condition and using the formula Type <> "Grocery Store" and choosing the Subset method or by using the formula Name contains "Supermarket" and choosing the Remove from set method.
  9. Close the dataview when you are done.
  10. Click Show one set/All features button on the Selection toolbar to hide features that are not part of the selection set.

How do I add layers to a map from energy market websites

Sample wind power classification maptitude map

When conducting an analysis such as energy market research or when siting new power plants or industrial facilities, it is critical to understand the geographic context of your assets. Maptitude makes it easy to geographically evaluate the risks and opportunities in today's energy markets. For example, you may want to explore wind potential when choosing sites for wind turbines.

There are many sources of data for energy markets including the  U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This exercise will walk you through downloading and mapping the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) map layer for onshore 50 meter tower wind potential.

The following steps outline how to add layers downloaded from other websites:

  1. Go to http://www.nrel.gov/gis/data_wind.html and click one of the ZIP file links for a state-level 50m resolution shapefile.
  2. Once the file is downloaded, open the ZIP file and extract its contents to a folder on your computer.
  3. In Maptitude, use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map of the state you chose in step 2.
  4. Choose Map-Layers, click Add Layer, and change the file type from  Geographic File (*.cdf;*.dbd) to Esri Shapefile (*.shp).
  5. Browse for the folder where you extracted the Shapefile, choose the Shapefile, and click Open.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Choose Map-Color Theme or click Color Theme MapWizard Button.
  8. Choose WPC from the Field drop-down list and click OK. Maptitude creates a color theme displaying the Wind Power Classification where 0 is poor and 7 is superb. You may want to change the style for the layer to have no border to better see the theme. You may also want to move the layer up in the drawing order so that it does not obscure other map layers.

How to count and map the number of nearby businesses

Nearby business map

When conducting market research, competitor analysis, and territory/franchise alignments, it is critical to understand the geographic context of your service area. Maptitude makes it easy to evaluate any of the hundreds of business locations provided with the software.

For example, you may want to count the number of nearby competitors to your existing or proposed sites. You can do this by using the Overlay tool and the industry type field included in the Landmark layer. Once counted, you can visualize the results with a map that helps tell the story necessary to make your business case.

The following steps outline how to count nearby businesses:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has address fields. Click OK.
  4. Follow the prompts for locating your data by address. Maptitude creates a map of your data.
  5. If the point Landmark layer is not visible, click the symbol next to the Landmark layer in the Display Manager until it is visible (Visible icon) and make the Landmark layer the working layer.
  6. Choose Selection-Select by Condition. Use the Condition Builder to select the type of businesses that you want to count. (e.g., To count the number of banks near your located addresses, choose "Type" from the Field List drop-down list, "=" from the Operator drop-down list, and "Bank" from the Values of Type drop-down list.)
  7. Make the layer that contains your data points the working layer and choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Overlay or click Overlay button on the Standard toolbar.
  8. Enter a distance in the Buffer Size box, choose the Landmark layer from the Layer drop-down list, choose the selection set that contains the records you chose in step 6 from the Include drop-down list, check the Count the Number of Features box and click OK.
    Overlay dialog box
  9. Enter a name for the table to store the overlay results and click Save. For each record in your layer, Maptitude counts the number of landmarks in the selection set that are within the buffer distance and displays a dataview with the results. The [n Landmark] field contains the count of features.
  10. Make the map the active window and make your layer the working layer.
  11. Choose Map-Scaled-Symbol Theme to display the Scaled-Symbol Theme dialog box. Choose the [n Landmark] field to map and click OK. Maptitude adds the theme to the map so you can see which of your facilities have many nearby competitors and which have very few.

How to create a custom cropped map

Maptitude map with mask

Masking is a technique that makes the area you want to highlight on your map stand out. This helps your map readers focus on the area that's important on the map. With masking, you can partially or completely hide the surrounding background.

While the Mask tool allows you to see one or more states, counties, ZIP Codes, or any other region, you may want to create a custom area of interest. By using the Click Buffer tool with the Mask tool you can create a map that shows only the information that is important to your message.

The following steps outline how to create a custom cropped map:

  1. Choose File-New and use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a new General Purpose Map of your area of interest.
  2. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Click Buffers Toolbox to display the Click Buffers toolbox.
  3. Click Temporary Area Button to activate the Add Temporary Areas tool, and add areas to the map by clicking at each corner of an area, and double-clicking to close it. The first and last points of an area will connect automatically.
  4. Click Save temporary file to display the Save As dialog box, choose a folder, type a file name, and click Save. The temporary features are saved with their current style, and Maptitude adds the geographic file as a map layer.
  5. Choose Tools-Geographic Utilities-Mask to display the Create a Mask dialog box.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Maptitude adds the mask to the map. To partially display the masked portions, click Pointer Tool to activate the Pointer tool, double-click the mask, change the fill opacity to a value less than 100, and click OK. Ctrl-click on the mask to remove the highlight from the mask.

Identifying high growth areas

High growth area map

Maptitude includes a wealth of data that can be recombined to create new variables using the flexible formula building tools included with the software. For example, the Maptitude United States Country Package provides data on age, race, gender and ethnicity for 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2020. By exploring the differences in these values it is easy to visualize those areas that have grown or that are likely to grow.

The following steps outline how to create a map that compares 2020 population to 2010 population to identify areas with high population growth potential:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the General Purpose Map option.
  3. Choose United States from the scroll list and click Finish.
  4. If the County layer is not visible, use the Display Manager to make it visible and make the County layer the working layer.
  5. Choose Map-Color Theme or click Color Theme MapWizard Button.
  6. Choose Formula from the bottom of the Field drop-down list.
  7. Create the following formula with the Formula Builder or by typing in the formula box:
    ( [20 Population] - Population ) / Population * 100
  8. Type "% Change in Population" for the field name and click OK to return to the Color Theme dialog box.
  9. Choose Equal Number of Features from the Method drop-down list, check the Break at box and click OK. Maptitude creates a color theme on the County layer. Counties with negative population growth are shown with varying intensities of one color and counties with positive population growth are shown with varying intensities of another color. Darker colors indicate counties with the greatest increases or decreases in population.

Use company logos for point icons

Maptitude map with Point icons

Maptitude includes a wealth of data that can be recombined to create new variables using the flexible formula building tools included with the software. For example, the Maptitude United States Country Package provides data on age, race, gender and ethnicity for 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2020. By exploring the differences in these values it is easy to visualize those areas that have grown or that are likely to grow.

The following steps illustrate how to map business locations using corporate logos:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has fields such as address and postal code. Click OK.
  4. Follow the prompts for locating your data by address. Maptitude creates a map of your data.
  5. In the Display Manager click on the point layer style icon for your new layer.
  6. Choose Color Image from the Type radio button.
  7. Choose the image file by either typing the full path of the file in the File edit box or clicking Three dot button and browsing for the image file.
  8. Change the symbol size using the Size drop-down list.
  9. If you want to prevent labels from overlapping any point features, check the Prevent overlapping labels box.
  10. Click OK. Maptitude draws the point layer with the new style settings.

Create custom fields such as "Millennials" using Sum Fields

Maptitude Formula Field with Sum Fields formula

Maptitude provides many age-based demographics including total population, current and future age group numbers, and age brackets broken down by education, gender, birthrate, health insurance coverage, poverty status, and more. The age-based data provided with Maptitude are often segmented into ranges (e.g. under 18, or 35-39). Formula fields allow you to combine these populations into the target groups that you need to reach.

The following steps outline how to identify and map Millennials, defined here as those born between 1980 and 2004:

  1. Choose File-New and use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map for your area of interest.
  2. If the ZIP Code layer is not visible, use the Display Manager to make it visible and make it the working layer.
  3. Choose Map-Color Theme or click Color Theme MapWizard Button.
  4. Choose Formula from the bottom of the Field drop-down list.
  5. Click Sum Fields. In the Filter box type age. Highlight the four fields covering the ages from 10 to 34 years old, and click Add>>.
  6. Click OK to close the Choose Formula Fields dialog box and click OK again in the Sum Fields dialog box.
  7. In the Formula Fields drop-down, type Millennials.
  8. Click OK to close the Formula dialog box and click OK again in the Color Theme dialog box. Maptitude creates a theme of the Millennial population by ZIP Code.

Choosing demographics when performing ring analysis

Drive-time map with demographics report

Caliper Corporation leads the industry in the processing and release of Census data. Since 1995 Maptitude mapping software has made it easy to access a wealth of Census data for entire countries. Unlike many other mapping and GIS software packages that require users to purchase data separately, Maptitude includes demographics so you can start mapping straight away. In addition to Census sources, Maptitude includes extensive non-Census information. These data, such as Caliper's proprietary purchasing power estimates, are among the most accurate available from any source and significantly more reliable than U.S. Census data. The included data alone are worth many multiples of the software's purchase price. Maptitude allows you to visualize and present this information in ways useful to your organization.

The following steps illustrate how to choose the fields shown in a demographic report for time and distance rings:

  1. Choose File-New and use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map for your area of interest.
  2. Choose Tools-Routing-Network Bands or click Network Bands Button to display the Network Bands toolbox.
  3. Click Click Origin Points Button in the Network Bands toolbox to activate the Click Origin Points tool.
  4. Click on on the map. Maptitude places symbols at each of the clicked points.
  5. In the Network Bands toolbox choose to create, for example, 3 bands of 5 minutes.
  6. Click Settings Button in the Network Bands Toolbox to display the Network Bands Configuration dialog box and click Aggregation.
  7. Change the aggregation methods for those fields you want to be shown in the report as follows:
    Click on the field in the Fields list; check one or more desired aggregation options; and type a name for each field in the Field Name box. (TIP: You can highlight more than one field at a time and then check a box to apply the aggregation method to all of the fields at once.)
  8. When you are finished making changes in the Overlay Attributes dialog box, click OK to close the Overlay Attributes dialog box, and click OK again to close the Network Bands Configuration dialog box.
  9. Click Create Network Bands Button in the Network Bands toolbox. Maptitude creates the bands and adds them to the map along with a color theme to illustrate the driving distances. Any portion of the map that is not covered by a band is greater than the travel-time you chose from the clicked locations.
  10. To create a report with the map and demographics, click Network Bands Report Button in the Network Bands Toolbox. Maptitude generates the report and displays it in a new window. The report includes the demographic fields you specified for aggregating.

Creating drive-time rings

Drive Time Rings Map

Travel time is the most realistic way of describing market areas and access to services. A franchise may want to define their territories based on the time required to reach their customers. Emergency services may want to map their response time coverage for an area. The drive-time tool ("Network Bands") in Maptitude 2014 supports these types of analysis based on the creation of realistic catchment areas, and with a single click can create a professional demographic report (see video here).

The creation of drive-time rings allows you to determine which areas can be accessed within a particular drive-time or drive-distance. Using this tool you can calculate the market characteristics and demographics around your locations, and estimate the duration of services such as repair or delivery calls. You will also be able to better describe the convenience of your locations in terms of time rather than as a crude straight line measurement. The output of drive-time rings differs significantly from the more simplistic rings ("Buffers") that define areas based on straight-line ("as the crow flies") distances.

The following steps outline how to count drive-time rings:

  1. Choose File-New and use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map for your area of interest.
  2. Choose Tools-Routing-Network Bands or click Network Bands Button to display the Network Bands toolbox.
  3. Click Click Origin Points Button in the Network Bands toolbox to activate the Click Origin Points tool.
  4. Click on on the map. Maptitude places symbols at each of the clicked points.
  5. In the Network Bands toolbox choose to create, for example, 3 bands of 5 minutes.
  6. Click Create Network Bands Button in the Network Bands toolbox. Maptitude creates the bands and adds them to the map along with a color theme to illustrate the driving distances. Any portion of the map that is not covered by a band is greater than the travel-time you chose from the clicked locations.
  7. If you want to compute the demographics for the network bands, click Overlay Network Bands Button in the Network Bands Toolbox. Maptitude calculates the overlay and displays the results in a dataview.
  8. If you want to create a report with the map and demographics, click Network Bands Report Button in the Network Bands Toolbox. Maptitude generates the report and displays it in a new window. You can customize a report with your company name by choosing Edit-Preferences and making changes on the Reporting tab.

Site location using the Weighted Center tool

Weighted Center Map

Corporate and government relocation is a growing segment of the real estate industry. Corporate mergers, reorganizations, and upsizing/downsizing often prompt a move to a new address. An office move is an event that typically takes place several times in the lifecycle of a company, on average once every 5 to 10 years. If you're planning on moving your business it is critical to find commercial real estate that meets the requirements and goals of your organization. Do you want to relocate near to the homes of upper management, or do you want a more central location to reduce average employee commute time?

The Weighted Center of gravity tool involves plotting all of your locations on a map and then finding a central location that is closest to those points with the highest weighted demand. For example, if you are considering relocating a store, Maptitude can create a trade area around your customers and weight the center by their sales volume to determine a new candidate location. Alternatively, you may have a database of client employees. You can use Maptitude to see the best central location based on the density and distribution of the addresses. These could be weighted by seniority, allowing you to better explore potential site locations by considering staff characteristics.

The following steps outline how to create a weighted center for your locations:

  1. Choose the point layer from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar.
  2. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Weighted Center to display the Weighted Center dialog box.
  3. Choose to use All Features or a selection set from the Selection Set drop-down list.
  4. From the Weighting Field drop-down list choose one of the point layer fields to place the facility at the weighted center of the locations of the set of points
  5. Choose how to save the results from the Save Results As drop-down list
  6. Click OK. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box. Type a file name for the new geographic file, and click Save.
  7. Maptitude creates new layers containing the weighted center and service area and adds the new layers to the map.

Analyze market area demographics

100,000 Population Rings

Because most retail outlets target particular socio-economic groups, it is useful to be able to visualize the reach of stores in relation to target demographics. Maptitude analysis tools can determine the area required to be able to service a target population such as people in a particular age and income group. By identifying these market areas, retailers can better asses their store placement and competition.

Maptitude can create rings so that they contain a particular value such as population, income, or area. The width of each ring is computed by Maptitude on the fly. For a video tutorial see: Creating Buffers with Maptitude.

The following steps outline how to create rings around locations and to identify those areas reaching a particular group:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has fields such as address and postal code. Click OK.
  4. Follow the prompts for locating your data by address. Maptitude creates a map of your data.
  5. Choose the layer to use in creating the bands from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar.
  6. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Bands or click on the Standard toolbar to display the Bands dialog box.
  7. Choose to create bands around All Features from the Bands Around drop-down list.
  8. Type a name for the new map layer in the Create Layer edit box.
  9. Check Build to Value, choose the source layer and field from the drop-down lists. This is usually the default overlay layer, and a field such as Population.
  10. Type in the target values you want, separated by spaces or commas (e.g. 1000, 2000 people). 
  11. Check Separate Bands to have each feature have its own separate bands. You can choose a field to name the bands from the Band Names From drop-down list. 
  12. Click OK. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box. Type a file name for the new geographic file, and click Save.
  13. Maptitude creates a new layer containing the bands and adds the new layer to the map.

Analyze crime hotspots

Weighted Center Map

Because most crime data have specific locations, it is easy to add the locations of accidents, citation issuances, arrests, registered sex offenders, suspects, and crime locations to a map. Maptitude analysis tools then let you determine spatial patterns and hotspots for various types of crimes.

The following steps illustrate how to create hot-spots around locations and to identify those peaks that require attention from law enforcement:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has fields such as address and postal code. Click OK.
  4. Follow the prompts for locating your data by address until you reach the Type of Analysis step in the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  5. Choose the Density option. Click Next and follow the prompts. Maptitude creates a map of your data.
  6. Choose the Density of Your Data layer from the drop-down list on the toolbar at the top of the Maptitude screen to specify the working layer.
  7. In the Display Manager turn off the layer Your Data by clicking on the green check.

Creating a heat/color map theme on areas

Color Theme Map

Thematic maps use distinctive colors, symbols, and styles to show information such as population, sales, or income. The different styles highlight the similarities and differences among locations. When data are portrayed in a thematic map, the information becomes easier to see, understand, and interpret.

The following steps outline how to create color themes that group locations in a map layer into ranges:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and create a General Purpose map of your study area.
  2. Choose a working map layer such as US Census Tracts.  You can do this by right-clicking on the layer in the Display Manager and selecting Make Working Layer. If this choice is disabled first choose Show Layer.
  3. Choose Map-Color Theme or click Maptitude Color Theme MapWizard Button on the Standard toolbar to display the Color Theme dialog box.
  4. Choose a field from the drop-down list, or choose Formula at the end of the list to create a formula field. MapWizard fills in all the other settings in the dialog box.
  5. Click OK.

Using the Locate by Postal/ZIP Code tool

Locate records by postal code with Maptitude mapping software

Often you may have customer data that contains ZIP/Postal codes without addresses. One way you can use your data with Maptitude is to locate your data on a map by creating a new layer that contains a point for every record in your table. In this case you could use the Locate by Postal/ZIP Code command to locate your data.

table with ZIP Codes table with ZIP Codes table with ZIP Codes table with ZIP Codes

If you locate by ZIP Code this table of customers, which includes P.O. boxes and missing addresses...

This is the result of scattering evenly within the ZIP Code area. ZIP Code 94199 has no area so records 7 & 8 are not located.

This is the result of centering the records. All records are located, but records in the same ZIP Code are on top of each other.

This is the result of scattering close to the point ZIP Code. All records are located and more individual features will be visible.

The following steps illustrate how to use the different settings available to locate your data by postal code:

  1. Open a table of the records that you want to locate, or choose a working map layer that has unfound records.
  2. Choose Tools-Locate-Locate by Postal/ZIP Code
  3. Choose whether to locate all records or a selection set filter (such as "Address Not Found").
  4. Choose a field that has unique IDs for each record.
  5. Choose the field that contains the ZIP/Postal Codes. If the ZIP/Postal Code field contains more than just the postal code (for example, street address and postal code, or city, state, and postal code), Maptitude will pick out the postal code automatically and ignore the rest of the information.
  6. Choose how to place the records. You can choose to place each record centered at or around the matching post office/point location, or to locate each record scattered within the corresponding postal area. Keep in mind the following:
    • If your database has records that share a common postal code, spreading them out lets you see each individual point on the map.
    • If your selection is a filter on P.O. Box locations, centering them will place your records at the corresponding postal point location
    • If you choose to locate records centered or scattered around the Postal/ZIP Code point, you will typically get a higher match rate because there are more points than areas due to PO Boxes and unique postal codes for certain businesses and other facilities such as colleges and military bases.
  7. Click OK. If Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box, type a file name for the layer to store the new points, and click Save.

Maptitude locates the records and displays a message summarizing the results. Maptitude also displays the locations in a point layer on a map, and creates a new selection set filter called "Postal/ZIP Codes Not Found" for any records that could not be located. If you used the Scattered Evenly inside the area option, you can repeat the above steps and choose one of the other methods to locate the additional Postal/ZIP Codes. 

Using the Locate by Address tool

Locate records by address with Maptitude mapping software

One way you can use your data with Maptitude is to locate your data on a map by creating a new layer that contains a point for every record in your table. If your data have address values, then you can use locate by address for the greatest accuracy. You should be able to locate most of your records using the normal settings. The Locate by Address command has other settings to help you deal with situations that you may encounter and to deal with records that could not be located with the normal settings.

Below are some situations and how to solve them using the other settings:

  1. Open a table of the records that you want to locate, or choose the working map layer that has unfound records.
  2. Choose Tools-Locate-Locate by Address.
  3. Choose whether to locate all records or a selection set filter (such as "Address Not Found") from the By Locating drop-down list.
  4. Choose from the various matching options below:
  • If you want to try different postal/ZIP Codes:
    Sometimes ZIP Codes have changed or there are mistakes in the data so you can click the Postal Codes tab and click the Use Postal Codes Near the One in the Postal Code Field radio button to try alternate postal codes.
  • If you want to ignore, or there are missing, postal codes:
    You can supply a list of postal codes to try, or indicate the city and state whose ZIP/Postal Codes are to be tried. Choose None from the Postal Code drop-down list, click the Postal Codes tab, click the Use Postal Codes in this List or Use Postal Codes For radio buttons, and fill in the necessary information.
  • If you want to change the rating for matching records:
    You can set the rating necessary to declare a match to be higher or lower than the normal setting. Click the Addresses tab and make a choice from the Matching Method drop-down list.
  • If you want to choose when the match is uncertain:
    If there are several possible places to locate a record, you can review the list and make a choice. Click the Ask If Uncertain radio button, and Maptitude will display the Choose a Matching Record dialog box when a choice is necessary.
  • If you want to report how each record was matched:
    Maptitude can save the standardized version of the addresses and the results of the match in a report file. Click the Addresses tab, check Save Standardization Output, and type a file name.
  1. Click OK. If Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box, type a file name for the layer to store the new points, and click Save.

Maptitude locates the records and displays a message summarizing the results. Maptitude also displays the locations in a point layer on a map, and creates a new selection set filter called "Address Not Found" for any records that could not be located. You can repeat the above steps by choosing a different method to locate additional addresses. 

If some addresses still were not found after trying all of the Locate by Address options, use one of the other Locate commands. You can locate your records manually By Pointing, By Postal Code, and By City.

Creating 3D themes of map data

Sample Maptitude prism map of restaurants by ZIP Code

A 3D heat/color theme (Prism Map) uses 3D and color to show the relative values of a single data field. Prism Maps can only be created on an area layer, such as counties, states, or sales territories.

The following steps illustrate how to show areas in 3D using the Prism Map tool in Maptitude 2013:

  1. Show your data attached/joined to boundaries (e.g. Postal/ZIP Codes) on a map. (You can also choose to make your prism map using any of the included data.)
  2. In the Display Manager (Map-Display Manager), right click on your area layer and choose Make Working Layer.
  3. Choose Map-Prism Map to display the Prism Map Properties dialog box.
  4. Choose a data field from the Field drop-down list.
  5. Chose whether to map All Features, only Visible Features, or a filtered set of areas from the Selection drop-down list.
  6. Click the Styles tab to display the Styles page.
  7. Choose Color Ramp, then choose a starting and ending color, or click <<Previous Set or Next Set>>  to browse through the available color ramps.
  8. Click OK.

Assigning postal/ZIP Codes to stores & sales representatives

Sample Maptitude prism map of restaurants by ZIP Code

Often there is a need to assign the areas that are closest to a location. For example, you may have a list of stores or sales representatives and would like to see all the postal areas color-coded based on which location they are closest to. Maptitude lets you fill a field in a map layer table with data from another layer by using the Edit-Fill-Tag tool. You can, for example, fill in one column in a table of customers with the distance to the nearest store and a second column with the name of the nearest store (Maptitude Video...). 

The following steps illustrate how to tag areas using points by walking you through using the tagging tool in Maptitude 2013:

  1. Locate your point locations (e.g. addresses) on a map as a new layer.
  2. In the Display Manager (Map-Display Manager), right-click on the area layer you want to tag. This is often a postal layer such as "5-Digit ZIP Code" in the USA. Choose New Dataview from the menu.
  3. Choose Dataview-Modify Table. (Your area layer will need to be in a writable location. You cannot modify a read-only layer.)
  4. Click Add Field in the Modify Table window. Type a name for the new field by replacing the default "Field_1" text; change the Type to be Character (if you will be tagging with text data such as a name). You may also want to change the width depending on the information you will be tagging. Click OK.
  5. Scroll to the right of the dataview and highlight your new field by clicking on the field name.
  6. Choose Edit-Fill from the menu to display the Fill dialog box and choose the Tag option.
  7. Choose your point layer (e.g., stores) from the Using layer drop-down list and choose whether to use All Features in your point layer or only a selection set from the Selection Set drop-down list.
  8. Choose the field from your point layer (e.g., store name) to use to tag each area from the Tag with drop-down list.
  9. Click OK. Maptitude fills the field you highlighted with data from the chosen field in the point layer. (e.g., each ZIP Code now has the name of the nearest store in this field.)
  10. Close the Dataview window.
  11. To display your area layer shaded with colors based upon the closest point location, choose Map-Color Theme; choose your tagged field for Field; and choose List of Values for the Method. Click OK.

Using the Shortest Path Toolbox to save routes as selection sets

Sample Maptitude prism map of restaurants by ZIP Code

You use the Shortest Path toolbox in Maptitude to find your best route. In Maptitude 2013 you can now view the resulting routes as a selection set to allow you to save them as part of your Workspace, and to better manage/modify the paths.

The following steps outline how to create routes with the selection option:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK to display the Maptitude Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the General Purpose Map option, choose Postal/ZIP Code from the scroll list, type a postal/ZIP Code in the Name box, and click Finish.
  3. Choose Street from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar to make Street the working layer.
  4. Choose Tools-Routing-Shortest Path or click Shortest Path Button on the Standard toolbar to display the Routing toolbox.
  5. Choose Length from the Minimize drop-down list.
  6. Click Options to display the Shortest Path Options dialog box, choose Selection from the Selection Set drop-down list, and click OK.
  7. Click Mark a Stop Button, then click on the map for your starting location and again for your final destination. Maptitude displays the shortest distance route between the two locations where you clicked.
  8. Click Clear Stops Button. Maptitude clears the route.

Using Create-a-Map Wizard™ to add coordinates to an existing map

Spreadsheet with Longitude and Latitude fields

The Map My Own Data tool in Create-a-Map Wizard now allows you to both locate a table of coordinates (including longitude/latitude) with auto-detection of the best fields to use, and add a new layer to an existing map. These new Maptitude 2013 features reduce the number of steps required to produce your maps.

The following steps illustrate these new features by locating coordinate data on an open map:

  1. Use the Map Librarian to open one or more maps. (Choose Tools-Map Librarian then choose a Map Category and the Map(s) you Want. Click OK. If prompted type a location to zoom to and click OK. Maptitude opens the chosen map.)
  2. Choose File-New, choose Map from the list of file types, and click OK. Maptitude displays the Create-a-Map Wizard dialog box.
  3. Choose Map of My Own Data from the radio list and click Next. Maptitude displays the Choose the File that Contains Your Data dialog box. 
  4. Make sure that Excel Worksheet is the file type, browse for an Excel file that has Longitude and Latitude fields with values, and click Open.
  5. When prompted, choose the Excel sheet that contains your data and click OK
  6. Maptitude finds the mappable fields in your data. Make sure the X Coordinate/Longitude and Y Coordinate/Latitude fields are correct. Click Next.
  7. Check the box to Add your data to existing map and choose your map.
  8. Choose the Locate records in your file by coordinates option. Click Finish.
  9. Type a name for the new layer file and click Save.
  10. Maptitude uses the coordinate data in your table to create a new point layer of your locations. A dialog box is displayed reporting how many records were located. Click OK.

Using the Selection Toolbox to manage territories

Territories from selection sets

When managing territories it is often useful to see demographic totals (e.g., population, school-age children) and a count of the number of combined zones (such as ZIP/Postal Codes). In addition, there is a need to control the toggling between territories of your zones, allowing you to manage territory overlap.

The following steps walk you through these tasks in Maptitude 2013:

  1. From the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar choose the area layer whose features you want to select to create territories.
  2. Choose the selection set to use from the drop-down list on the Selection toolbar.
  3. To set the behavior of the selection tools, click setup button to display the Selection Options dialog box and choose how to handle features that are already in other selection sets as follows:
    Choose this... To do this...
    Do not select features already included in other sets To prevent selected features from being selected
    Remove features from any other sets To add features already in other selection sets and remove them from any other selection sets
    Allow sets to overlap To add features to the selection set without regard to other selection sets
    Click OK to close the Selection Options dialog box.
  4. Choose the field to total from the Field drop-down list on the Selection toolbar.
  5. Click on one of the selection tools (pointing, rectangle, circle, or shape) to activate it.
  6. Click on feature(s) in the map to add features to your selection set. Maptitude selects the features, highlights the result on the map, and updates the Selection toolbar with the number of selected features and the total value of the selected features for the field you chose in step 4.
  7. If you are using Select by Pointing, you can click on a selected feature to remove it from the selection set.

You can rename selection sets and change styles as well as perform many other actions to customize your territories. You can also use the Create Districts command to create a new area layer based on the selection sets.

Counts of locations by regular grid cells

Map divided into a grid

It is often useful to see your data with a regular grid. For example you could count the number of your facilities per square mile or see how the average home value varies over a square kilometer grid.

The following steps outline how to create a grid and count features in each cell:

  1. Open or create a map with at least one point layer and, if necessary, create a selection set for the point layer you will use.
  2. Choose Tools-Geographic Utilities-Create Vector Grid.
  3. In the Create Vector Grid dialog box, choose the Area for the grid type, choose the Cover the map window with cells of fixed size method, and type 1 in both the X and Y Grid Spacing edit boxes.
  4. Click OK. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box. Choose a folder, type a file name for the new grid layer, and click Save.
    Maptitude creates an area grid using your map units (miles, kilometers, etc.) and adds it to the map.
  5. Choose the new grid layer from the drop-down list on the Standard toolbar.
  6. Choose Tools-Geographic Analysis-Overlay to display the Overlay dialog box.
  7. Choose the point layer from the Layer drop-down list and, if necessary, a selection set from the Include drop-down list.
  8. Check the Count the Number of Features box and click OK. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box. Choose a folder, type a file name for the overlay data table, and click Save.

Maptitude creates a table with the overlay data, joins it to the grid layer, and displays the joined view in a dataview. The [N layer_name] field contains the count of point features in each grid cell. You can add a color theme using the count field in the grid layer to see the overlay results on the map. You may need to change the drawing order or apply transparency to the theme styles ensure that no layers are obscured.

Changing the order of chart themes

Custom Chart Theme

In Maptitude, chart themes are drawn in the natural order of fields in a Dataview. Creating a chart theme from the map does not allow you to change this order. Creating a chart theme from a Dataview, however, does allow you to create chart themes with bars in any order.

The following steps walk you through this task:

  1. Open a Dataview of the layer for which you are working by right clicking on the layer in the Display Manager and choosing New Dataview.
  2. While holding down the shift- key, click on column headings in the order you want them displayed in the map. The columns will become highlighted as you click on them.
  3. Click on the Chart Theme button on the Standard Toolbar. Maptitude computes the theme for the chosen fields.  
  4. A new map window is displayed. You will see pie charts, which are the default chart theme type.
  5. To change to bar charts, click on the Chart Theme button on the Main Toolbar, and choose a type of bar chart. 
  6. Click OK, and the map will draw with bar charts, the bars being in your chosen order.  

To use the theme in another map, make the layer the working layer in the other map, click the Chart Theme button on the Standard Toolbar, and click Load. Maptitude displays the Load Area Chart Theme dialog box. Click the From Workspace radio button, choose the chart theme to copy, and click OK twice to close both dialog boxes.

Mapping MSAs, ZIP Code Points, & 3-Digit ZIP Codes (United States)

Map with added layers

Maps are composed of different types of information and Maptitude organizes all of these map features into layers. There are layers that are not used in the default maps such as U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 5-digit ZIP Code points, and 3-Digit ZIP Codes. These layers are included with Maptitude and can be added to any map.

The following steps walk you through adding other layers to a map:

  1. Open a map to which you want to add layers.
  2. Choose Map-Layers from the menu, and then choose Add Layer.
  3. Browse to the c:\ccdata\ folder (the default location Maptitude uses to install layer files) and choose Geographic File as the file type.
  4. Choose one or more geographic files such as ccCBSA.Cdf which contains US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs); or ccZIP5Pt.Cdf for ZIP Code points; or ccZIP3.Cdf for 3-Digit ZIP Code areas.
  5. Click Open. Map layers in the geographic files are added to the layers in the map.
  6. Click Close. Maptitude draws the map with the new layers. The layer list in the Display Manager is updated to include the added layers. If you save the workspace, the new layers will automatically be included in the map the next time you open the workspace.

Using image fill styles

Map with image styles

You can use any picture file, including those in formats such as GIF, ICO, TIF, BMP, JPG, PNG, and EMF, as the fill style for area features.

The following steps outline how to use an image fill style:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the General Purpose Map option. If you have the U.S. Country Package, choose U.S. County as the area to display, type "Monroe FL" in the Name box and click Finish.
  3. In the Display Manager, expand the Landmark Area item, and then expand the Feature Display item beneath it.
  4. Click on the National Park style sample.
  5. Choose the Image... from the bottom of the Fill Style drop-down list.
  6. Browse for the Wooded_Swamp.png file and click Open.
  7. In the Image Fill Style Settings dialog box change the size to be 25% and click OK to return to the Style dialog box.
  8. Click OK. Maptitude displays then Everglades National Park with the wooded swamp image.

Using chart themes to show positive and negative data for locations on a map

Chart theme with profit and loss by country

Maptitude provides many tools that allow you to thematically visualize and differentiate your data (see the training video). These include thematic maps and selection filters. The Map Theme tools support several types of theme on each map layer, allowing data to be categorized based on more than one field, such as quarterly revenue losses and gains.

The following steps walk you through this task:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  2. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  3. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has fields such as ZIP Code, State, or Country. Click OK.
  4. Click Next until you reach the Type of Map step in the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  5. Choose the Show ZIP Code (or State, Country, etc.) boundaries option and click Next.
  6. Choose Chart Theme for the theme type and choose one or more fields. Click Next and click Finish. Maptitude creates a map of your data.
  7. Double click the Theme branch for the working layer in the Display Manager.
  8. Change the Chart Type to a vertical or horizontal bar chart and click OK.

Inserting a vector graphic into PowerPoint and ungrouping shapes

Ungrouped Maptitude Map

Maptitude allows you to save a map as an Enhanced Metafile (*.EMF). An Enhanced Metafile is a graphics file format that contains vector graphics and prevents any image fuzziness. Another benefit of saving a map as an EMF is that the image can be ungrouped in applications such as Microsoft Office.

The following steps walk you through this task:

  1. Choose File-New, choose Map, then choose General Purpose Map and follow the prompts to map your area of interest.
  2. Choose File-Save As, or click the right mouse button on the map window and choose Save As. Maptitude displays the Save As dialog box.
  3. Choose Enhanced Metafile from the Files of Type drop-down list, type a new name for the file, and click Save.
  4. Once you have inserted your EMF into an Office Document such as a PowerPoint slide, you can follow the steps in the following link to ungroup your vector map features:
    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/group-or-ungroup-shapes-pictures-or-other-objects-in-powerpoint-2007-HA010201377.aspx

Clicking on locations to phone them with Skype

Dataview with Skype field

Maptitude lets you link all types of information to features on a map. You can link map features to documents, programs, or sites on the Internet. In this Tech Tip we will look at how to phone your customers using Skype by simply clicking on them in a map.

The following steps walk you through this task:

  1. Using Excel create a phone number field in the Excel file containing your data. The field name must contain the word "File" (for example, Skype File, Phone Numbers File, etc.). Each phone number in this field must be prefixed with "skype:+" (for example, skype:+16175274700).
  2. Choose File-New, choose Map from the New File dialog box, and click OK. This brings you to the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  3. Choose the Map of my own data option.
  4. Browse for the Excel file containing your data. Choose the sheet in the Excel workbook that contains your data and has fields such as Address and ZIP Code. Click OK.
  5. Click Next in the Create-a-Map Wizard.
  6. Choose the Locate records in your file by Address option and click Next.
  7. Choose the No - let Maptitude create one for me option and click Next. Type a file name for your new layer and click Save.
  8. Choose None for the theme type and click Next.
  9. Choose None for the analysis type and click Next.
  10. Click Finish and click OK when prompted. Maptitude creates a map of your data.

Once you have a point layer of your data on a map:

  1. In the Main Toolbox click Info Link Tool to activate the Info Link tool.
  2. Click on a customer in layer Your Data. If you have Skype installed, and the phone number is correctly formatted, Skype will launch and call the specified phone number.

Showing point locations using letter or number pattern themes

Dataview with Skype field

Pattern themes allow you to easily create a map showing locations using either an alphabetical letter or a number, with a legend that automatically categorizes such locations by name.

The following steps walk you through this task:

  1. Make the point layer that contains the data you want to map the working layer.
  2. Choose Map-Pattern Theme from the menu; choose the Field you want displayed in the legend; choose List of Values as the method, choose a number of classes, and click the Style tab. Click << Previous on the style tab to list the alphabetical class.
  3. Click OK. Each location is represented as a letter in the map, which is also  listed in the legend with the corresponding feature name/identifier.