Ravindra BagaleCourses & study guides

8. Charts

8.10 Map Chart

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Excel 2019 / Microsoft 365, needs an internet connection (uses Bing). Insert › Charts › Maps › Filled Map colours regions such as countries, states, counties or postal codes.

Steps in Excel

  1. Make a two-column table with a geography column and a value: e.g. District (Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar) and Sales. Add a State column (Maharashtra) and Country (India) to help Bing recognise names.
  2. Select it › Insert › Charts › Maps › Filled Map.
  3. Ctrl + 1 › Series Options › Map area: Only regions with data; Map labels: Show all; set the colour scale.
  4. If a name isn't recognised, Excel shows a message – try the official name or add the state/country column.

Filled maps colour areas, not points; they cannot place dots for individual dark stores (use Power BI's map visuals for that). Which Indian district names are recognised can vary – check the result.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

In a map chart, if a city/district name is wrong (for example "Aurangabad" vs "Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar"), that region doesn't get coloured – many students think the chart is broken. Add State and Country columns and use the official names. Use a map only when "geography matters"; otherwise a sorted bar chart is clearer.

Practice task

Create a filled map of sales for our six districts. If any district is not recognised, try alternative official names and note which worked.