Business mapping software usually enables spatial searches and filtering searches of your business data.
Filtering data in Map Business Online is a little different from conducting a spatial search of your business data. Once you’ve imported data into Map Business Online to create business maps or just plain business data visualization you can create subset lists of your data based on geographic queries and data filtering.
A geographic query or spatial search is a search conducted within an area that the user designates using search tools in the product. It might be a radius search or a search based on a polygon or drive time area. It could be the search of a specific map sales territory or market area of interest.
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Examples of Spatial Searches
A filtered search takes place in the Map Business Online Data Window. Open the Data Window. In the middle of the Data Window tool bar you will notice two search operations along the Data Window tool bar:
- A quick search – A blank white space with a binocular icon and a delete button. Cursor-hover over this and it will say: Enter text to search data rows by name
- A filter icon button – Cursor-hover over the filter icon and it will say: Filter data rows
Use the Quick Search function to search data by the Left most column of your imported data. Enter a keyword, a few letters, unique numbers to get a set of results which will display in the data window.
A Filtered Search
Use the Filter button to open the filter dialogue box which will, allow you to search any column of your data. Within the Filter dialog you may choose the column or columns you wish to search and then use the drop down in the middle to apply a modifier to your search. A modifier might include symbols like > (greater than), = (equal too), or contains, among a few other modifiers. Once applied these modifiers generate a result that is displayed in the data window – a subset of the originally imported data layer. You will notice in the lower right of the results a tally of the number of returned results and the original file’s total number of records.
Whether you are working with the Quick Search or the Filter button your data can be filtered on the actual map view too. You’ll notice a Check-box labeled Filter Data on the Map just below the Data drop down in the upper left hand corner of the data window. Check that box and your data results will be the only data showing on the map.
Also, you will now be able to export your filtered data result to a CSV file and use the data outside of Map Business Online. To export simply click the right most button on the Data Window tool bar. An alternative export method is the old school cut and paste.
Cut and Paste functions in Map Business Online occur when you click the Copy Data & paste button in the lower right corner of the Data Window. You’ll see the double page icon and when you hover over it, the button says: Copy data to clipboard. Pay attention to the Copy Data button dialogue. You will note you can resize the Data Window view to change the number of records visible in the window and copy and paste just those visible records. This comes in handy at times.
To the right of the filter button are two additional tools you can use to create marketing lists out of multiple filtering actions. You could, for instance, create a new marketing list and populate it with data results from multiple filtering operations.
Map Business Online users use data filtering operations in the Data Window to support a variety of business activities:
- To generate routing stop lists for traveling sales routing for sales people, service technicians, and clinicians
- To create marketing campaign target lists
- To export campaign lists back to Act! or Salesforce.com
- To generate a list of relatives you don’t want to invite to your second wedding
- For sales territory mapping
- For customer mapping for business or prospect visualization
I’m sure there are many applications for data filtering that your business can dream up. Geographic and spatial searches are core features for business mapping and GIS applications.
Find out why over 25,000 business users log into www.MapBusinessOnline.com
Contact: Geoffrey Ives geoffives@spatialteq.com (800) 425-9035, (207) 939-6866
MapPoint users – please consider www.MapBusinessOnline.com as your MapPoint Replacement.
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