You can show data on map widgets within dashboards, or as full-page maps which you can share separately or include as part of Consoles.
The key to being able to visualize data on maps is to have a GPS georeference in your data. This means either having a location question in your survey, or using a site's GPS data. It is not possible to map data just by the name of a district, for example.
Maps in mWater can contain many layers and there is a number of advanced features available. In this guide we will only look at the basics of creating a map which visualizes point data.
To create a map widget in a dashboard:
1) Drag the Map widget from the palette to the dashboard canvas while in Edit mode
2) Click the cogwheel on the top right of the widget and click Edit
3) Select the site type or survey data you want to map.
This typically means you should either have a site question in your survey, or you have a location question. If you want to use a survey directly as a data source, it's a good idea to choose the Markers and Shapefiles layer option
4) Make sure the Location field is pointing to the location data you intend. You need to select a data field which contains GPS information
This will create a map of points all coloured the same. You can then start customizing it by changing the look and feel of the layer, creating a custom popup, and colouring the data by a data field. Colouring a layer by data means that the points on the map get assigned a different colour depending on the data field, for example School Type or Water Point type, or any other data field.
You can create full page maps from the
Maps tab in the navbar. The basic functionality is the same: You create layers and select which data and location data you want to map. However one key difference is that viewers can select which layers to hide and to show when they are viewing the map. They can do so from the layer pane on the right side of the map.
Map pages can be shared independently, or they can be imported into or created in Consoles as individual tabs.
