Useful tip to make GeoMap object pre-zoomed to an area upon report opening in SAS Visual Analytics
In SAS Visual Analytics, the GeoMap object visualizes geographic data on an interactive map, helping users analyze spatial relationships. By default, GeoMaps open in a global view, requiring users to manually zoom into their region—an extra step that can be time-consuming. For instance, if a report displays data for Japan, users must locate and zoom in on the country each time they open it. To improve usability, we’ll explore how to make the GeoMap object automatically open pre-zoomed to a specific area or country, enhancing efficiency and user experience.
Add a Filter to Geography Data Item:
In order to make GeoMap object automatically pre-zoomed to a specific country in a report. You can try add a filter to your Geography Data Item used in your GeoMap object, so your GeoMap object will be pre-zoomed to your country.
Let me first show you what the result would look like before and after the configuration using my sample data to add a filter for the country Japan.
Before I add a filter for country Japan to my Geography Data Item:
After I add a filter for an area in country Japan to my Geography Data Item:
Here are the steps on how you can configure the filter:
- Click on the GeoMap object and select the Filters pane in the right side.
- Add a new filter to your Geography Data Item used in your GeoMap object. (In my case, it is Geographic Item.)
- Select the country or area values you want for pre-zoomed, after configuration make sure to save the report, and the next time you open the report, it will work as expected.
Conclusion:
By pre-setting the GeoMap object to open at the desired zoom level, users can instantly access relevant geographic data without extra navigation. This simple adjustment enhances efficiency, improves user experience, and makes reports more intuitive.
