Arc map — an overview

What is it for?

Arc maps allow you to connect two points in a map with an arc to establish a relationship between them. You can color the arcs based on categorical values and you can make them thicker or thinner based on numeric values.

How to get started

1

Arc maps need two datasets. One contains the relationships between the different points ( origin and target values), any relevant categories and one column with the values to set the thickness of the arcs. 

The second dataset should contain the names of all the points on the map (regardless of whether they are the point of origin or destination), their unique ID and their geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude).

Here's what the main dataset with the relationship between the points should look like:

And this is the basic structure of the locations dataset:

See how the values under id_reporter and id_partner match the values under location_id in the second dataset.




2

In the Data tab, upload the two datasets separately. Inside the Data tab, import the information about the relationship between the points. In the Locations tab, import the location of all the points.

In the Data tab, use the columns containing the ID of your points instead of the names of the areas for the Source location and Destination location bindings. These IDs should then match the ones on the Locations tab.

NOTE: The names of the locations rendered on the popups will be pulled from the data inside the Locations tab.

3

After biding the data, move to the Preview tab to customize and edit your map. Under the Arcs settings you can set the maximum width of the arcs.



4

Also under the Arcs settings you can customize the color of the arcs. Choose the Basic color type to change the color of the source and destination areas of the arc creating a gradient, or select the Categorical mode to color them based on the categories in your data. Learn how to add custom colors to your categories here. You can also change the opacity of the arc independently for both of its extremes.




5

Further customizations might include editing the inset map or setting custom styles for the popups.