Easily Sourcing Geographic Data Via Google Maps
INTRO One of the most recent trends within Tableau and the visualization world is the utilization of geographic data and heat maps. While entering ZIP codes and City names are useful, it would be significantly more interesting to see specific locations as individual pins within those areas. That's where using Google maps has its benefit. Using the below method, you can easily source geographic data using Latitudes and Longitudes and export the table into excel. There are really only two pieces of software that you need: Microsoft Excel (ON PC) A web browser capable of accessing Google Maps A google account **Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to recreate my success with this process on Mac. The XML conversion is a bit difficult to navigate there** STEP 1: Create a Custom Google Map with the Locations For the sake of this example, I will plot all of the Chik-Fil-A locations in the Philadelphia area. First, we must plot the area of the map. For this, navigate to...