Excel Power Map (Create, Customize & Share)

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Using Power Map in Excel.xlsx

How to Enable the Power Map Add-in in Excel

Go to File and select Options.
An Excel Options window appears. Go to Add-ins and for Manage, choose COM Add-ins.
Select Microsoft Power Map for Excel and click OK.

How to Create a Power Map

Go to the Insert tab and choose 3D Map.
Click Open 3D Maps.

Expand Data.

Go to Add Field.
Choose the Location column by clicking on the plus symbol in the Location box.

In the Height box, click the plus sign(+).
Choose the Living Cost ($).
Under Category, select your category column.

Modify the Height, Thickness, Opacity, and Color in the Layer Options. In the drop-down menu for Color, select different Category Options from the column and assign a color to each of the Category Options.

How to Add a New Custom Power Map

Go to the Insert tab, choose 3D Map, and click Open 3D Maps.

The Launch 3D Maps window appears. Select New Tour.

The 3D Maps window appears. Select New Scene and choose New Custom Map.

A Custom Map Options window appears. Select your preferred map.

Add the preferred fields under the Data menu. Under the Location option, select Add Field. Excel will automatically show your available data range from your Excel file. We have selected X Coordinate from Range 1.

Select the data type you have just entered as a field for your custom map. Click on the drop-down menu beside Select One and choose X Coordinate as the data type.

Add the rest of the fields for your custom map. Here we have selected the Y Coordinate from Range 1 and chose the Y Coordinate as the data type. We have also selected Population from Range 1.
Select the Min and Max of X Coordinate and Y Coordinate in the Custom Map Options window. If you don’t want to set Min and Max, you can select the AutoFit option. Remember to select this stage carefully to fit your data into your custom map. You can also drag the coordinates to fit data into your map.
To secure your data fitted in the map, you can mark the box for Lock current coordinate values.
Click on Apply.

Here’s the final output of the Population distribution in the custom map.

How to Change Data Sources for 3D Maps

Here is the data for the Living Cost ($) distribution and its Power Map side by side.

Click Refresh Data in the 3D Maps after updating your data in Excel.

You can alter the appearance of your map by clicking on the Map Labels and Flat Map.

How to Share 3D Power Maps

Method 1 – Using the Capture Screen Command

In the 3D Maps window, choose “Capture Screen” from the ribbon.

The 3D Maps image will be saved to your clipboard. Press Ctrl + V in the destination location such as a Google Doc.

Method 2 – Create a Sharable Video File Using the Create Video Options

Turn on the Tour Editor from the View options.

The gear icon named “Change scene options” is selected in Scene 1.
The Scene Options dialog box appears.
For Scene duration(sec), put – 3.00.
For Transition duration(sec), put – 1.00.
For Effect, put Rotate Globe.

Choose Create Video. The Create Video dialog box will now appear.
Choose Quick Export & Mobile.
Select Create.

The Save dialog box will appear.
Select your directory. Type a file name or use the default.
Press Save.

When you get the Completed status on the progress bar, click Close.

The result of our video file is shown here. You can share this video file in your document.

Things to Remember

Power Map Introduction: You can plot geographic and temporal data on a globe or custom map using Excel’s 3D data visualization tool, Power Map. You can use it to make interactive, beautiful maps to analyze and present your data.
Data Requirements: For a Power Map to function properly, certain data structures are necessary. Make sure your data contains geographic details like a nation, a city, a region, or latitude and longitude coordinates. Animated visualizations require time-based data, such as dates or time periods, to be created.
Customizing the Map: Power Map offers several options for modifying the look and behavior of your map. You can change the map view, select a different map theme, apply filters to concentrate on data, alter the settings for data visualization, and alter the animation time settings.
Interacting with the Map: Power Map makes your map visualization interactive. Zooming in and out, rotating the map, selecting specific map components to view a larger version, and pausing and pausing the animation are all possible.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Power Map available in all Excel versions?

Power Map is only available in Excel 2016 and later versions, as well as Excel 2013 Professional Plus. Check to see if Power Map is supported in your version of Excel. We have used Microsoft Excel with a Microsoft 365 subscription which is the latest version of Excel.

Can Power Maps be exported to other formats?

Yes, you can share Power Maps across platforms and embed them in other programs by exporting them as videos or images.

How can Power Map help with my data analysis?

By presenting your data in an interesting and simple map format, Power Map makes it possible to spot patterns and trends in it, especially in location-based data. It allows you to gather important insights and effectively convey them.

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