US Region Maps

US region maps are based on up to three attributes (state name, county, and zip code) and one metric. They are supported by all Composer data connectors, however the data must include state names to see results.

• The state name must be spelled out with the first letter capitalized. For example, California is an accepted format, not CA. For a list of valid state names, see State Name Reference.
• County names and zip codes can also be used to display results at the county and zip code level.

Composer supports a variety of tile providers which offer an overlay design for the map visual styles available in the program. These include: OpenStreetMap, OpenMapSurfer, MapQuest, CloudMade, and MapBox. MapQuest, CloudMade and MapBox require an API key.

This topic describes:

• Configure Default US Region Map Settings for a Data Source
• Configure Colors for a Specific US Region Map
• Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds
• Use the Zoom Function

Configure Default US Region Map Settings for a Data Source

To configure default US region map settings for a data source configuration:

1. Edit the appropriate data source configuration. See Edit a Data Source Configuration.

2. Select the Visuals tab in the data source configuration wizard.

3. On the Standard subtab of the Visuals tab, select Map: US Regions.

   If you want to be able to display the data collected by this data source configuration as a US region map, make sure the Map: US Regions checkbox is selected.

   Default US region map settings appear on the right side of the page.

4. Configure the default settings as follows:

   Setting	Description
   State	Select the attribute that should be shown on the US region maps for this data source.
   State Limit	Specify the maximum number of states for which results are shown. Set this limit to greater than 50 to see data from all US states and territories.
   State Sort	Select a metric or attribute by which the State attribute should be sorted. You can also select the sorting order (Ascending or Descending). For metrics, you can define the default aggregation function: SUM, AVG, MAX, or MIN. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Color	Specify the metric that should be used to determine map colors. You can also define the default aggregation function used for the metric values: SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, or (for some data sources) LAST VALUE. See Metric Aggregation Functions.
   Zip Code	Select the zip code attribute that should be used for US region maps for this data source.
   County	Select the county attribute that should be used for US region maps for this data source.
   Limit	Specify the maximum number of counties or zip codes for which results are shown when you zoom in on the map.
   Tile Provider	Select a tile provider. By default, OpenStreetMap is selected.
   Tile Provider API Key	For MapQuest, MapBox, and CloudMade tile providers, specify the Tile Provider API Key

5. Select .

Configure Colors for a Specific US Region Map

To specify the color settings for a specific US region map using the Color sidebar:

1. Edit the visual you want to modify. See Edit Visuals.

2. If you are editing the visual in a dashboard, select Edit Visual from the visual drop-down menu. The sidebar menu for the visual appears. If you are editing the visual from the Visual Gallery, the sidebar appears to the right of the visual.

   Select on the sidebar menu. The Color sidebar for the visual appears.

3. Configure the color settings as described below. As you change the color settings, the legend at the top of the Color sidebar shows how the legend will appear on the visual. Supported color specifications are described in Specify Colors.

   Setting	Description
   Legend	Slide the bar to the right if you want the legend to be displayed on the visual or to the left to hide the legend.
   Color Metric	Select the metric that affects the segment color in the visual.
   <type> Color Palette	If a color palette is specified for this visual type in the data source defaults, select the color palette for this specific visual. If a color range is selected for visuals in the data source defaults, this setting is not available. (The actual title of this setting varies by the visual type you have selected.) Select the Inherit from theme checkbox to use the color palette specified by the theme.
   Color Mode	Select Distinct Colors or Gradient to identify the way colors are used on the screen. Either specific distinct colors will be used or a gradient of colors will be used. (This is equivalent to the Legend Type default settings on the Visuals tab of the data source configuration.)
   Threshold Mode	If you selected the Gradient color mode, this setting cannot be changed. If you selected the Distinct Colors color mode, select either Auto or Manual from the drop-down list. Auto will automatically assign thresholds and colors for the visual. Manual allows you to change the thresholds and colors used on the visual.
   Number of colors	Specify the number of colors to use for the visual.
   Color Rules	Color rules allow you to change the colors for each color used for the visual. In addition, if you specified a Manual threshold mode, you can select the thresholds used for color settings in the visual. See Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds.

4. Close the Color sidebar and the color settings are dynamically applied to the visual.

5. Select to save the dashboard and the visual with its updated settings.

Understand Visual Color Condition Thresholds

You can set threshold color conditions for metric-based visuals. At least two color settings are required. In addition, thresholds are specified between each color setting. (So three color settings require two threshold settings; four color settings require three threshold settings, etc.)

• The color for Color 1 is used when the value of the color metric is less than the first threshold value.

• The color for Color 2 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the first and second threshold values.

• If only three colors are used for the visual, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

  If more than three colors are used, the color for Color 3 is used when the value of the color metric falls between the second and third threshold values.

  When more than three colors are used, the colors continue to be applied in this pattern for all threshold settings; any color metric values greater than the last threshold setting have the final color applied.

You can have Composer automatically set the thresholds or you can manually set them.

For information about the color encoding supported by Composer, see Specify Colors.

Use the Zoom Function

If you have configured your US region map to include county and zip codes in your data, you can use the zoom function to display county and zip code-level results within a state.

To zoom in to a county or zip code:

1. On your US region map, select a state. From the radial menu, select Zoom. The map zooms in to the level of state counties.
2. On the state, select a county within the state. From the radial menu, select Zoom. The map zooms in to the level of zip codes within that county.