The Master Toolbar in MapBusinessOnline provides access to most of the basic map functions required to create compelling and useful business maps. If you are new to MapBusinessOnline, perhaps an overview of the Master Toolbar buttons would be helpful. Or maybe you’ve been away from your maps for a while and could use a refresher. It happens.
The Address or Location Search Bar
First, just above the left section of the Master Toolbar is the Address Search Bar and four smaller buttons to its right. The Address Bar allows user input to search for a ZIP code, an address, or a place. The formatting must be Address, City, State. You must include commas. You are allowed to input just a ZIP-code if you prefer.
The Master Toolbar in MapBusinessOnline
The blue arrow buttons to the right of the Address Search are Undo and Redo buttons for some of the major processes in MapBusinessOnline, such as territory creation. Hover over them to get a message stating what will be undone when you click the arrow.
You’ll also find a new Edit Gear here. It’s a short cut to Map and Data options. Click to adjust some of the basic map options around ZIP code type, territory options, and other map functions. This pathway is a quick way to get your Map Legend back when you accidentally turn it off.
That tiny little black dropdown arrow lets the user make the Master Toolbar disappear and reappear. This dropdown button is helpful when seeking a clean map image capture.
The Master Toolbar
Create a New Map
On to the Master Toolbar now. Note that the tool bar is divided into sections:
- Map
- Adding to map
- Color-coding
- Search tools
- Draw tools
- Window
First Section: Map
Starting with the leftmost button – New. Click this button to start a new map. Pay attention to the templates offered. While the USA or the USA and Canada are the most popular options, you may find other templates useful. When you click this button, you will be asked to save your current map, if you haven’t saved it yet. Hint: Saving your map is a good idea.
Open
The green file folder button is where your saved maps and templates are stored. There’s a new folder option – Recent Maps. When you save a MapBusinessOnline map it is stored here for as long as you are a subscriber and for about a year after you accidently let your subscription lapse. You must save your map for it to be stored. A Web Map or web browser access will cache a view of your last map. Do not confuse that cached map view in a browser window with a saved map. It’s not saved until you click the Save button.
For Team Sharing and collaborative map editing, this is where you access shared maps between Team Subscription members. Drop down to Maps Shared with Me.
Save
You guessed it. The save map button. Save your map work either as a Saved Map Template or as a Saved Map. You’ve invested a lot of time building your map and you may plan to create other maps from the work you’ve completed; make sure to save it as a Saved Map Template.
Share
Map sharing is wicked easy in MapBusinessOnline. This Share button lets you share maps publicly – for view-only maps – and privately for team collaborative map editing.
To share publicly with nonsubscribers, make sure they download the Map App first. Then generate the web link, checking the Enable MapShare buttons, and paste it into an email. When your non-subscribing map viewer clicks the link, MapBusinessOnline starts up.
Second Section: Adding to Map
Dataset – Plot Data
Use this button to import user address datasets. There is a step-by-step dialogue process outlined in the plot data process. Importing location data is critical to your business map process. Here are some important blogs that can help with data import:
Territories
There are multiple ways to create territories using MapBusinessOnline Standard and Pro. Including lassoing map layer objects (ZIP codes) with a polygon tool (see Search Tools), using a drive time polygon, and using MapBusinessOnline Pro to create more than one easy territory at once.
Use the Territories button to import a spreadsheet of territory names and the designated map layer column(s).
- Prepare a Map for Sales Territory Mapping
- How to Adjust Your Sales Territories
- A Video Showing How to Import Territories from an Excel sheet
Map Layers
There are some supplemental map layers you can select. This button lists them and lets you add them to the map. Here is where you will find ZIP 3 Codes, a Highway Layer, and City Limits, and more.
City Limits Layer Against State Layer Background
Analysis or Market Analysis
Both Standard and Pro versions include Analysis buttons. Pro has more advanced features including the ability to conduct multiple driving time or driving distance queries at once. Standard does include the ability to create one drive time search at a time and multiple radius search capabilities.
Many MapBusinessOnline users subscribe to conduct market map business or market analysis.
Section: Coloring Coding
The next five buttons are all about symbolizing and color-coding your imported data. Circles lets you turn your points on the map into circles of variable size and color based on the numeric values in a column of your imported data. You can even display numeric values as part of the symbol.
Symbols assign icons or images to your data points and then let you color-code those symbols based on one thematic theme. Charts allows the map-maker to match fields of data to Charts or Bar graphs. Great for showing variations in data from day-to-day. Heat Map lets the user assign levels of intensity to locations on the map. Sales activity can be displayed as brighter and more dense shades of color. Boundaries allows the user to color code map layers, like ZIP codes, based on imported data. Color-code ZIP codes, counties, and more based on the numeric values of your data. Some people refer to shaded ZIP Codes as a heat map.
Finally, there is a Clear button to the right of this section of the Master Toolbar that deletes any color-coding or symbolization processed. Undo it!
Section: Search Tools
Business Listings
The Yellow Pages Book icon is for finding, purchasing, and plotting business listings and placing their location points on the map. MapBusinessOnline lets you search business listings by ZIP code, City, State, polygon, radius search, or by industry and business name. The listings include basic business infographics and contact data. All listings data are exportable. This is a paid service that starts at $0.15 per listing. All subscriptions provide free Business Listings Credits to test.
Search Tools – Map Object
MapBusinessOnline search tools in addition to Business Listings include a search by map objects or shapes on the map. You can search by radius/circle, polygon, drive time polygon, or by a free form drawn object. Create your object and then use the associated mini-toolbar to affect your search.
Section: Drawing Tools
Text (More drawing tools drop down)
The drawing tools are similar to Search Tools by map objects. The difference is, that the drawing tools are primarily used to place an object on the map for visual reference. Searching is still possible, but it requires another click. Drawing tools also include a few more options including a text box, a point placement options, straight and curved line drawing tools.
Drawing tools let the user highlight an area of the map for viewer edification. Concentric circle maps use drawing tools.
Distance
This button is a digital measuring line used to quickly display a line on the map with distance measurements, as the crow flies. Select the tool, start drawing. Click your cursor once to change direction and continue drawing. You can always delete and start again.
Print Map
Printing a map to an attached printer for fast 8 x 11-page printouts is achieved through the top option. To save maps as a PDF file for larger print jobs, such as a wall map, use the lower options in the button.
Export Image
Save a map view as a Jpeg or a PNG file. PNG files are good for PowerPoint slides. I use Jpegs and smaller files for emailing. I also use the Microsoft Snippet tool to capture images that include the Data Window, to wit.
Window
The Data Window – Tabular Data Views
This button has a lot of powerful applications. It provides analysis of your imported data and allows filtering and database management of your various map layers including sales territories and imported datasets.
The Data Window enables data editing for both location properties and data record adjustments. Use the Data Window to balance sales territories, view demographic data analysis, view business listings, extract ZIP code data, or to filter and isolate territory views. The Data Window also includes a button for exporting data like business listings, demographic data, or filtered imported data – the far-right button on the Data Window toolbar.
- An Overview of the Data Window
- The Powerful Choose Columns button
- Extracting Data from MapBusinessOnline
Route
MapBusinessOnline included the ability to create vehicle routes of up to 150 stops per route. These optimized routes include support for time windows and are exportable in a variety of formats. Users can create one route at a time per map. Routing in MapBusinessOnline is a popular tool for sales planning.
Help
Help is a link to our application help documentation. Support is always available through Chat, Email (Contact button), or by calling (800) 425-9035. Here’s a link to MapPoint related help docs. Check out our YouTube video library and weekly application blog. Don’t hesitate to request a web demo.
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Find out why over 25,000 business users log into www.MapBusinessOnline.com for their business mapping software and advanced sales territory mapping solution. The best replacement for Microsoft MapPoint happens to be the most affordable.
To access MapBusinessOnline, please register and then download the Map App from the website – https://www.mapbusinessonline.com/App-Download.aspx.
After installing the Map App, the MapBusinessOnline launch button will be in the Windows’ Start Menu or Mac Application folder. Find the MapBusinessOnline folder in the Start Menu scrollbar. Click the folder’s dropdown arrow and choose the MapBusinessOnline option.
The Map App includes the Map Viewer app for free non-subscriber map sharing.
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Contact: Geoffrey Ives geoffives@spatialteq.com or Jason Henderson jhenderson@spatialteq.com
