Last Updated: May 16, 2025
Maptitude can link your point, area, and territory layers with your data, and you can update your 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 point data, you MUST choose a column that contains unique IDs for each record in your database or spreadsheet.
Table of Contents
Creating a Linked Point File
Creating a Linked Area File
Creating a Linked Territory File
Creating a Linked Point File
The following steps describe how to create and update a linked point file:
- From the Home Window, choose New map of my data/table/spreadsheet and click OK. Follow the steps in the Create-a-Map Wizard to create a point layer from your data.
- 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.
- Continue through Create-a-Map Wizard, choosing any theme or analysis options along the way.
- 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.
- Choose File>Save Workspace As and save your workspace to a location on your computer.
- 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.
Creating a Linked Area File
The following steps describe how to create and update a linked area file:
- From the Home Window, choose New map of my data/table/spreadsheet and click OK. Follow the steps in the Create-a-Map Wizard to show boundaries with your data attached.
- When Create-a-Map Wizard prompts you to import or link data, choose Link data to map it. In this case, an ID column is not required.
- Continue through Create-a-Map Wizard, choosing any theme or analysis options along the way.
- Maptitude creates an area layer from your data and displays a report with the results. Click OK to close the report and see the area layer on a map.
- Choose File>Save Workspace As and save your workspace to a location on your computer.
- 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.
Creating a Linked Territory File
The following steps describe how to create and update a linked territory file:
- From the Home Window, choose New map of my territory data/table and click OK.
- Choose From my territory table, select your territory table, and then follow the steps in the Territory Wizard to create a territory layer from your data.
- When Territory Wizard prompts you to import or link data, choose Link data to territories and click Next.
- Continue through Territory Wizard, adding any hierarchies or tracking fields along the way.
- Maptitude creates a territory layer from your data and provides a territory manager for you to manage your layer.
- Choose File>Save Workspace As and save your workspace to a location on your computer.
- 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 the Live Link functionality does not seem to be working, please see the following article.