Tuesday's Tip #33: Get their Attention with 3D Maps in Excel
Why Use 3D Maps?
It takes more and more to get and keep people's attention. We are all constantly inundated with data, graphics, videos all constantly competing for our attention. It's always been true that people can better remember data that is presented in graphs, charts, maps or other visual pictures but I think it's more important now than ever. 3D Maps are a great way to present your data for users and allow them to visually process the data. The 3D element also allows users to see things they might otherwise miss in a traditional 2D format.
What's a 3D Map?
If you've ever needed to integrate data with a map, you know it's not always the easiest thing to do. Excel's new 3D Map feature does a really good job of taking meaningful map related data and allowing you to see it in a 3D map. This makes it so much more meaningful and when presenting or sharing the data, can give a lot more depth of understanding to the user. Excel 2013 used to have a feature called Power Maps, this is a more robust version that is now integrated directly into O365.
How to Create a 3D Map
- Setup your data with X/Y coordinates. If you need more information on how the data should be setup to use maps or if you want to get a feel, you can get sample data here.
- Click on any cell in your table.
- On the Insert tab on the ribbon, select 3D Maps.
- Choose New Tour from the dialog box.
- Utilize the 3D Maps window to customize your map. Watch the video above for a mini-training.
