Category: GIS Analysis

Mapping Healthcare Efficiency: GIS Buffer Analysis of Hospital Locations


In this article, my primary goal is to show you, from my perspective as a healthcare official, how I effectively use buffer analysis techniques with hospital point data specific to California. Throughout this article, I’ll walk you through the steps within MAPOG‘s GIS Buffer Analysis of hospital locations, a resource I personally consider indispensable in my role.

The core of this spatial analysis is about uncovering crucial insights into the geographic relationships and proximity of hospital locations within the state. By following the instructions provided here, you’ll gain a clear understanding of how I create buffers around these hospital points. These buffers, which are part of my responsibilities, reveal important spatial patterns and distribution insights regarding healthcare facilities in California. It’s a powerful tool that assists me in making informed decisions to enhance healthcare access and quality in our state.

Buffer Analysis

Buffer analysis is a spatial analysis technique used in geographic information systems (GIS) to create a zone or area of influence around a particular geographic feature, such as a point, line, or polygon. This zone, known as a buffer, is typically defined by a specified distance or radius and is used to analyze spatial relationships, proximity, and accessibility between features. Buffer analysis is valuable for various applications, including urban planning, environmental impact assessment, and determining service areas around facilities like hospitals, schools, or stores.

Below are the steps for Buffer Analysis of hospital locations

Step 1 – Select Buffer Tool

To initiate a buffer analysis using MAPOG, I begin by opening the application. Subsequently, I proceed to select the Buffer Tool, which is my preferred choice for adding data for in-depth spatial analysis.

Buffer Analysis Tool
Buffer Analysis Tool

Step 2 – Select Country

Once the Buffer Tool is selected, my next step involves choosing the specific geographical region for analysis. In this particular case, I opt to analyze the state of California, a region of paramount importance for healthcare planning and resource allocation.

Select Country
Select Country

Step 3 – Select the Data Set


After choosing California for analysis, the next vital step is to smoothly add the hospital points dataset to the project. This dataset is fundamental to our thorough buffer analysis, enabling us to understand how healthcare facilities are distributed and accessible throughout the state.

GIS Buffer Analysis of hospital locations
Hospital Points

Step 4 – Create the Buffer Zone

With the hospital points dataset in hand, my next task is to define the buffer zone around these critical locations. To create a buffer with a radius of 5000 meters, I simply input “5000m” into the designated box, precisely specifying the desired buffer distance for the analysis. This step is pivotal in examining the spatial relationships and accessibility of healthcare facilities within the state of California.

Buffer Zone 5000m
Buffer Zone 5000m

After the initial buffer creation, I proceed to provide a more comprehensive illustration of hospital accessibility. This involves adding a second buffer with a radius of 10,000 meters, showcasing the typical range within which hospitals should ideally be accessible, typically ranging from 5 to 10 kilometers. This step is instrumental in highlighting the areas where healthcare services should be readily available to ensure optimal coverage and accessibility for the residents of California.

Buffer Zone 10000m
Buffer Zone 10000m

Step 5 – Add Other Feature Layers

To achieve a more thorough analysis and better grasp hospital distribution in California, I strategically choose to include county and city/town data in the project. This additional dataset significantly improves our comprehension by offering valuable context and insights into how healthcare facilities are spread across various administrative regions in the state. By examining the spatial connection between hospitals and these administrative boundaries, I can develop a more nuanced understanding of healthcare accessibility and resource allocation.


To easily enhance my project with county and city/town data, I use the “Add/Upload” option found in the upper-left corner of MAPOG’s interface. This valuable feature allows me to smoothly integrate extra geographic datasets, adding depth and context to my spatial analysis. This helps me conduct a comprehensive and insightful examination of hospital distribution in California.

Add Data
Add Data

Result And Analysis

As I combine county borders, city/town data, and hospital buffer zones (5000m in blue and 10000m in red), my aim is to decipher the intricate patterns and factors affecting hospital distribution in California.

The different buffer colors, blue and red, act as important visual aids. They assist me in assessing how easily healthcare facilities can be reached within different administrative areas of the state.

GIS Buffer Analysis of hospital locations
Buffer Zones and Cities

As I analyze the image, a distinct pattern becomes evident: hospitals are notably concentrated within city regions, highlighted in green. This pattern resonates with my understanding of higher healthcare service demand in urban areas, owing to their greater population density and improved transportation access.

This observation underscores the critical importance of strategic healthcare planning and resource allocation. It highlights the imperative to address healthcare disparities, ensuring equitable access to medical services not only in thriving urban centers but also in the more remote or underserved regions across California.

GIS Buffer Analysis of hospital locations
Result and Analysis

When I examine the image, I clearly observe that hospitals do not have an even distribution across California’s counties. The reason for this uneven distribution is the varying population densities in different regions. It’s a reminder that when it comes to placing healthcare facilities, we must consider population and urbanization factors carefully. This understanding guides our healthcare planning and resource allocation efforts to ensure everyone in California gets the care they need, regardless of where they live.

As a healthcare officer, I find the results of this buffer analysis to be incredibly valuable for our strategic healthcare planning and resource allocation efforts. Here’s how we can put this information to good use:

Findings and Factors to Consider

  1. Identify High-Traffic Hospitals: The buffer analysis helps us pinpoint hospitals within the 5000m (blue) and 10000m (red) zones, revealing those with higher patient visitation rates. This insight helps us understand where healthcare services are in high demand.
  2. Capacity Assessment: We can assess the capacity and readiness of these hospitals to meet patient demand. This assessment may prompt decisions about expansions or improvements to ensure these high-traffic facilities can provide quality care efficiently.
  3. Identify Underserved Areas: The analysis highlights regions with limited hospital access, particularly outside the buffer zones. These areas represent potential locations for establishing new healthcare facilities, addressing gaps in service coverage.
  4. Emergency Response Planning: We can strategically position hospitals based on geographical distribution insights, ensuring efficient emergency response capabilities across the region.
  5. Resource Allocation: The data helps us allocate resources effectively, whether it involves redistributing medical personnel, investing in new infrastructure, or deploying mobile healthcare units to reach underserved regions and improve healthcare access.
  6. Community Health Promotion: We use insights from the analysis to inform our community health promotion and awareness programs, especially benefiting underserved communities with limited healthcare access.
  7. Transparency and Public Engagement: Sharing analysis results with the public and local stakeholders fosters transparency and encourages valuable input into healthcare planning decisions.

I’ve found that utilizing MAPOG’s buffer analysis tool has been pivotal in uncovering these spatial patterns and revealing essential insights for our research.

In this case, we’ve harnessed its capabilities to gain a deeper understanding of healthcare accessibility and distribution, emphasizing the role of urban areas in healthcare infrastructure. This article serves as a testament to the value of MAPOG’s GIS Buffer Analysis of hospital locations in spatial research and planning, offering a practical and clear path to unlocking geographic insights.

Add WMS- Two step online view of WMS layer on a map

Explore the world of WMS (Web Map Service) with IGISMAP! Easily view WMS layers on a map.

A Web Map Service (WMS) is an interface that lets a user access geospatial data, maps, and comprehensive information about certain features that are displayed on the map. Rather than the actual geospatial data, a “map” is described here as a visual depiction of such data. A web map service can create maps as images, collections of graphics, or packaged sets of geographic feature data. It can respond to simple questions about a map’s detail, and it allows us to know what maps it is capable of producing and which ones can be queried more deeply. Here in article you can Add View WMS Layer Online on your Map.

Exploring WMS Layers with Visual Guidance: Video Tutorial Roundup

Checkout video below for step by step process.

To open and view the WMS layer the user has to use any GIS software, which will require prior knowledge of GIS. However, the Add WMS tool on the MapOG Tool website allows the user to open and view different layers and helps the data to interpret and analyze according to their own requirement. You can also download GIS data from MAPOG Tool and analyze in the same tool. From IGISMap Tool you can add data and share your map with others.

  • Get directed to Add WMS tool using the following –link 
  • Let’s look into the application of Add WMS tool in MapOG Tool.

Adding WMS file

Firstly, open the Add WMS tool, and select the WMS URL layer file from your system.

Add WMS Tool
Add WMS Tool

After selecting the WMS URL, click on the Submit option.

Add WMS URL
Add WMS URL

A WMS layer file can encompass either single or multiple layers, all accessible and visible on the IGISMap website. To initiate, choose the initial layer within the file and click on the “Publish” button.

Adding WMS Layer
Adding WMS Layer

The chosen WMS layer can be published and displayed on the base map. Users have the option to add additional layers from the same WMS file by clicking the “Add another layer” button. Additionally, users can incorporate another WMS file by selecting the “Add another WMS” button. These straightforward steps allow users to effortlessly view and analyze both single and multiple-layered WMS files on the IGISMap website.

WMS Layer uploaded
WMS Layer uploaded

Here are the other tools you can leverage within IGISMAP

  1. Upload Vector Files
  2. Upload Raster
  3. Add WMS (Web Map Service)
  4. Upload Excel/CSV Files
  5. Add Existing File
  6. Split Polygon
  7. Merge Polygon
  8. Create Polygon Data
  9. Create Polyline Data
  10. Converter
  11. Buffer Analysis
  12. Create Grid
  13. Point to Polygon
  14. Isochrones
  15. Geocoder

if you are looking for any specific data please write us on support@igismap.com

Upload your shapefile and create a buffer layer

Consider that you are working in the urban planning sector. Higher authorities in the sector have decided to develop the surroundings of the bank area. Your senior has assigned you a project to create a buffer so that later the architect can design the area separately.

When you are working with spatial operations and analysis, GIS is the best method to find a solution to any task. A geographic information system (GIS) is a system that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data.

IGISMap provides you with all the facilities for spatial operations and analysis without any difficulty. It is easy to use, and it saves your time.

How to upload file in IGISMap

An upload vector file is a GIS tool in IGISMap. This tool helps you to upload a file of your requirement.

Click on https://map.igismap.com/upload-vector-files and open the Upload Vector file tool

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Upload Vector File Tool

Browse Data

In the select layer click on Browse to find the relevant data from the device.

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Browse Data

Select File

Now select the appropriate file, then click on open.

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Select file

Upload File

Since we have selected the file, now click on upload to add data in IGISMap.

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Upload File

Map Tools

After uploading the shapefile click on Tools, to access other GIS tools. Here you can do bubble style, icon style, category style or label feature, etc. shown in image below.

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Map Tools

In Map Tools, Open Buffer analysis tool. You can also try other tools like converter, split polygon, merge polygon, point to polygon, etc

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Open Buffer Analysis tool

Buffer Analysis Tool

The buffer Analysis tool of IGISMap is a powerful GIS tool. This tool helps you to create a zone of your requirement which is also called Buffer.

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer

Select Layer

In the select layer click on the Select option, then from the drop-down Manu select the GIS Data, after that click on Next

Upload shapefile and create a buffer layer
Select Data

Create Buffer

In create buffer, Select draw a polygon option. Draw a polygon that covers the input shapefile.

create buffer
Draw a Polygon

Enter the value in meters for buffer map, then click on submit.

buffer map
Draw a polygon

Share Your Map

You can directly share the map by clicking on Share Map.

share your map
Share Map

After filing up Map Operation, Click on the next button.

Map Operation

You can share your map as per your requirement.

Share Map

You can also use the link to share the relevant data.

Use the link to share the data

In the above steps, you have learned about sharing a map. If you want to embed the map on your website then that is also possible with this tool.

Add / Upload polygon GIS data and merge required polygon features

For a GIS project, accessing the required data is the first step that determines the further workflow of the project. Online sources either provides the data or provide tools to work with data. There are very few web tools that provides important data and services to work with the data in a single platform. Yes, that is right – IGISMap is one of that kind, where you can find most demanding GIS data in vector formats with a number of tools to carry out analysis and other operations over the GIS data. In the article below we will how to add/upload data and merge polygons. In addition, to merge the feature you can add GIS Data i.e shapefile, kml, kmz, geojson etc.

GIS Data in IGISMap contains administrative boundaries such as country, states, districts, roads, railway lines, and other geographical features such as roads, farmlands, waterbody, etc. IGISMap gis data tool provides you data for 30+ countries, and 51 US states. Also, a few spatial data on a global level are also provided. These data can be directly accessed using Add GIS Data tool from the dashboard or from the map tools. Add GIS Data is also made available in certain IGISMap tools to help users access GIS data directly within the tool itself.

In Merge Polygons tool, Add GIS Data option is provided to access polygon GIS data of various administrative level boundaries of each country. Users can add any polygon data from IGISMap collection and merge the required polygon features. In this article we are going to see how this is done.

Click https://map.igismap.com/merge-polygon to open the Merge Polygons tool or click Merge Polygons tab from the dashboard.

Add/Upload GIS Data

There are multiple options in Merge Polygons tool to add the input data. In this article, we will select Add GIS Data option to add the required data from IGISMap data collection. For demonstration, we will use the GIS data of local government area boundaries of South Australia. Thus we will select Australia from the Select Country list.

Add/Upload data and merge polygons
Add GIS Data – Select Country

After selecting the country, list of GIS data associated with Australia will open.

Add/Upload data and merge polygons
Add GIS Data – Select Layer

Scroll down or search for local government area in the search bar to filter the list to the required data. Select administrative local government area boundaries data from the list and click Add Layer icon.

Local Government Area Boundaries of Australia
Local Government Area Boundaries of Australia

Add Layer will preview the selected layer in the map and the options to crop the layer will be available in the tool. Since we only want the LGA boundaries of South Australia. Thus click the Crop Layer button and start drawing a polygon completely enclosing the LGA polygon features of South Australia and click Add Layer button.

Crop Layer
Crop Layer

Add Layer button will publish the cropped LGA boundaries of South Australia on the map and the Select Polygon section of the Merge Polygons tool will open.

Data Published From Add GIS Data
Data Published From Add GIS Data

Check this article Merge polygons features online using IGISMap to understand how to upload data and merge polygons in Merge Polygons tool.

If you have Point data then use our feature points to polygon converter. You can directly upload the point GIS data or convert addresses from spreadsheets to points.

Merging Polygons

There are two options to select the required polygon features – Lasso Tool and Select Manually. We will use Select Manually option. After selecting Select Manually, click Select Multiple Polygon button. Now select the polygon features of Roxby Downs, Coober Pady, and Unincorporated SA boundaries, which we want to merge the polygons together. After selecting the polygons, click on the Submit button to start the process of merging the selected polygon features.

Select Polygon - Select Manually
Select Polygon – Select Manually

In a few seconds, a new layer of the input GIS data of LGA boundaries gets published. In this layer, the selected polygon features are merged into a single polygon as shown below.

Add/Upload data and merge polygons
Polygons Merged and Published

Check the article Share your Map to know how to share your map with others using Share Map feature.

Check other articles:
Check the following IGISMap tools:

Upload and view rendered raster images in IGISMap

Raster data in GIS are pixelated data format or images that are georeferenced. Here each pixel represent a geographic area storing the values of any parameter associated with that area. Parameters represented by raster images are mostly continuous in geography such as precipitation, elevation, temperature, vegetation indices etc. Raster images also represents categorical features such as land use land cover.

The conversion of an object’s geometry, color, texture, lighting, and other attributes into a display image is called the rendering of an image. It is the technique of creating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model using a computer program. A geospatial raster is only different from a digital photo in that it is accompanied by spatial information that connects the data to a particular location. A raster image can be visualized in different styles such as categorical, quantitative, paletted, multiband etc. These visualization can be stored and saved, so that to be used in other platforms for image interpretations for remote sensing analysis.

IGISMap Upload Raster File tool can add the rendered raster image in GeoTIFF format. IGISMap is a GIS-based web platform, that provides multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. The peculiarity of IGISMap in the GIS Industry is its UI/UX, which helps the user to perform effortless geospatial operations.

Click https://map.igismap.com/upload-raster to open Upload Raster File tool

Let’s see how this can be done.

Uploading the Rendered Raster Image

After opening Upload Raster File tool, Browse your system folder and select the rendered raster file. Then click on the Upload option.

Uploading the Rendered Raster image
Uploading the Rendered Raster image

About the rendered raster data

As we said in the introduction, the conversion of an image’s geometry, color, texture, lighting, and other attributes into a display image is called the rendering of an image. When it comes to GIS raster images, the alteration in geometry and style of visualization depends on pixel values.

The image that we have uploaded here is a stacked image of Landsat bands – Green, Red, and Near Infrared. And this stacked image is rendered into the style of False Color Composite, which we have uploaded here.

Raster image visualized

After successfully uploading, the rendered raster image is published on the map, which can be further analyzed through image interpretations.

Viewing of Rendered Raster image
Viewing of the Rendered Raster image

Sharing Map

Share Map will also work with map conatining raster image uploaded. For this, first click Share Map button at the map.

Share Map
Share Map

The Map Operation menu will open up to enter and enable the details for the shared map. Click Next button after completing the settings.

Map Operation
Map Operation

Now two options will appear – Share Map and Embed Map. Here we will simply share the map without any security. So click Share Map and click Public.

Share map Publicly
Share map Publicly

Then select Share Map button to open the popup containing a link. Copy this link and share with anyone whom you want to share your map with raster data.

Share Map Link
Share Map Link

Convert addresses from spreadsheet to points on Map in two steps

Consider a customer service manager working for a supermarket company wants to connect with some of their best customers for giving winning prizes and to promote their business. The manager has a list of contacts along with their address which is located all over America. In order to deliver the winning prizes to their doorstep, he has to find the best route which takes a minimum number of days to receive it. Hence he has to give the delivery partner the best route which is easier and less time-consuming.

In such cases, Geocoding helps to make the process easier. Geocoding is the process of converting one or more valid address with location details into GIS points.Geocoder tool of IGISMap can be used for converting address details to point GIS data in a few steps. You only need to upload the spreadsheet file with address columns and assign the address columns to start plotting. Option to review the plotting and edit the points are also available in this tool.

IGISMap is a GIS-based web platform, that provides multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. The peculiarity of IGISMap in the GIS Industry is its UI/UX, which helps the user to perform effortless geospatial operations. IGISMap allows users to edit the data table of vector data by editing the name of the columns, deleting the columns, and adding new columns. The Geocoder tool on the IGISMap increases efficiency by enabling different companies to better coordinate their sales in both domestic and foreign marketing activities.

Open Geocoder tool using the following link https://map.igismap.com/geocoder

Upload spreadsheet file

For uploading the input file, click on the Browse option, select the excel/CSV file from your system that you want to visualize on IGISMap, and click on the Upload option.

Geocoder - Upload Excel/CSV file
Upload Excel/CSV file

Match the Columns

After successfully uploading the file, the next step is to assign the address columns in your file to be used for geocoding. There are 2 options to match the columns – Full Address and Other. Full Address option is used for files with address information provided in a single column. In our case, we have address distributed in several columns, thus we will choose Other option. Click Other option and select the right address columns from you file at the right address types such as address, city, zip, state. Then select the country and click Submit button to geocode the address.

Geocoder - Match The Columns
Match The Columns

Review the geocoded locations

A GIS layer gets published after submitting, with point locations based on the address information from the input spreadsheet file. Result section also opens with datatable and Relevance_score column.

Geocoder Result
Geocoder Result

Relevance_score is a value ranging between 0 to 10 provided for every row depicting the accuracy of the plotted locations after the geocoding each address, where 10 being the highest accuracy. User can check the relevance score for each row and edit the point location if needed. Rows of the point features will be highlighted in red color if the relevance score is below 8. This is to notify the user to confirm the location plotted.

Result - Relevance Score
Relevance Score

How to edit location by checking relevance score

The user can delete any feature by using the Delete Feature button present on the Relevance_score table. Click Edit Attribute button of any required feature to start editing the attribute values of that feature and then click Save icon.

The user can edit the location of any point feature by using the Edit Location button. After clicking the Edit Location button in the row of any point feature, a pop-up menu with the options to edit the location.

Edit Location
Edit Location
  1. Search Address – Enter an appropriate address to replace the pin to that location
  2. lat-lng – Enter latitude/longitude values to replace the pin to that coordinate
  3. Current Location – To replace the pin to your current location
  4. Add Point – Manually plot a point on the base map

Now click Submit button to save the changes in the point GIS data

User can further edit the style of the points or share the map publicly or privately

How to style your polygon GIS data categorically

GIS helps users to understand patterns, relationships and geographic context. It benefit includes improved communication and efficiency, as well as improved management and decision-making. GIS combines datasets with maps, integrated regional datasets with any type of descriptive information or data. It provides mapping and assessment prerequisites for technology and almost every industry.

Visualization and intepretaion of data is what makes GIS a beautiful and interesting fields in data analytics. Science of visualization is the core essence in the art of cartography and mapping. Any type of geospatial features presented in the map with proper color combination, accurate size and location helps in better image interpretation. Quantity and category based representation of spatial features are the common visualization styles used in GIS.

IGISMap Styling Tools

IGISMap is a web platform providing multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. The peculiarity of IGISMap in the GIS Industry is its UI/UX that helps the user to perform effortless geospatial operations. IGISMap provides the following styling tools:

Among the styling options listed above – Basic, Category and Quantity styling options are used to style polygon and points, whereas Bubble Style and Icon Style are used to symboloze point GIS data. Basic Style will give any single color for the while GIS layer. Quantity Style is used to visualize the GIS data quantitatively. And Category Style will style your GIS map with separate colors assigned to each category of features

In this article we will talk about Category Style tool of IGISMap and how it can be used to categorically visualize your polygon GIS data like the following.

USA County Boundaries Data Categorized Based On States
USA County Boundaries Data Categorized Based On States

Add your GIS data

For the demonstration, let’s add county boundary polygon data of USA from IGISMap GIS data collection. For this let’s use Add GIS Data tool of IGISMap.

Click https://map.igismap.com/add-gis to open Upload Vector File tool.

After opening the Add GIS Data tool, in the Select Country section we will select United States of America. Then Search Layer section opens with the list of GIS data of USA, where we need to select ‘administrative county boundaries‘.

Add GIS Data
Add GIS Data

Before adding this data, lets check the data table of this data and verify the attribute field which we need to categorize this data. Switch the view from Map to Datatable and review the attribute fields. Here we are going to categorize the polygon features of county boundaries based on the state which it belongs to.

As you can see below, we have the attribute field for counties and the attribute field with states it belongs to.

Add GIS Data - Datatable
Datatable in Add GIS Data

Since we have confirmed the data, lets continue downloading. First click the download icon beside the data name and then click the Add Layer button in the next section that opens.

Add GIS Data - Add Layer
Add Layer

Now the layer is published in the map with the name ‘united_states_administrative_county_boundaries‘

Data published
Data published from Add GIS Data

Click here – Download USA County Boundaries GIS Data

Open IGISMap Category Style tool

After adding the input GIS data from Add GIS Data, we can style the counties categorically using Category Style tool. For accessing the tool, click Tools button at the upper left side of screen to open the map tools popup. Then select Category Style tool listed under Style Your Data section.

Map Tools
Map Tools

We can also open the Category Style tool by going to the More option of input point data and choose the Category Style from the Edit Style option.

More options - Category Style
More options -Edit Style – Category Style

Styling GIS data categorically

Then the tool is appeared on the screen of IGISMap.

Category Style
Category Style

Then the tool appears and we have to select the layer from Select Layer section which is the ‘united_states_administrative_county_boundaries‘ data that is published in this map and then we have to click Next option.

Category Style - Select Layer
Select Layer

After clicking Next, in the Edit Layer section, we can change the style as we want. In this section we can can change Opacity and change the Border Width as required. Now in the Attribute field, select state field to categorize the counties based on its individual attributes values.

Category Style - Edit Layer
Edit Layer

After selecting the required attribute field, all individual values will be listed with different colors assigned for each category.

Select Attribute Field
Select Attribute Field

We can change the color for each category by the color and choosing the right color. Then we have to click OK.

Category Style - Assign Color
Assign color to each category

After changing all color of the attributes we have to click on Save Style for styling the map categorically.

Save style
Save the Style

Now as you can see the map is converted into categorical style and the output map is shown.

Polygon GIS data categorized
Polygon GIS data categorized

For better view and make your data more interactive in the map, go to More and enable Make Interactive option.

Make Interactable
Make Interactable

Now as you see below, the USA county level boundaries GIS data is better visualized in state based categories and the map got more interactive.

Interactable Map
Interactable Map

You can share your map with others in public or private mode. Article Share your Map will help you understand more about Share Map feature of IGISMap.

Other articles:
Check the following IGISMap tools:

How to style point GIS data categorically

GIS helps users to understand patterns, relationships and geographic context. It benefit includes improved communication and efficiency, as well as improved management and decision-making. GIS combines datasets with maps, integrated regional datasets with any type of descriptive information or data. It provides mapping and assessment prerequisites for technology and almost every industry.

Visualization and intepretaion of data is what makes GIS a beautiful and interesting fields in data analytics. Science of visualization is the core essence in the art of cartography and mapping. Any type of geospatial features presented in the map with proper color combination, accurate size and location helps in better image interpretation. Quantity and category based representation of spatial features are the common visualization styles used in GIS.

IGISMap Styling Tools

IGISMap is a web platform providing multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. The peculiarity of IGISMap in the GIS Industry is its UI/UX that helps the user to perform effortless geospatial operations. IGISMap provides the following styling tools:

  • Basic Style
  • Category Style
  • Quantity Style
  • Bubble Style
  • Icon Style

Among the styling options listed above, Bubble Style and Icon Style are used to symboloze point GIS data, whereas Basic, Category and Quantity styling options are used to style polygon and polyline GIS data. Bubble Style is used to style the point GIS data quantitatively and Icon Style is used to style point GIS data with the icon or categorically by assigning separate icon for each categories.

In this article, we will talk about how to categorically represent point GIS data using Icon Style tool of IGISMap and will walk through the steps to style your data categorically like the following

Administrative Locations in London
Administrative Locations in London

Uploading the data

For the demonstration, we will upload the point GIS data of administrative buildings locations in London city and categorize it based on types. First lets upload this data using Upload Vector File tool of IGISMap.

Click https://map.igismap.com/upload-vector-files to open Upload Vector File tool.

After opening the Upload Vector File tool, here we can upload required the vector data in any of the following vector formats.

GML, KML, KMZ, GeoJSON, TopoJSON, GPX, GPS, GPKG, ODS, MAPINFO, SOLITE, ESRI SHAPEFILE DXF MID. MIF, PDF

Upload Vector File tool
Upload Vector File

In the Select Layer section we have to click on Browse and select the input file from the system, which is the GIS data of administrative building locations in Lonndon named as London_admins. After opening the file, click Upload.

Upload Vector File - Select Layer
Uploading the file

After uploading, input GIS data will be visible on the IGISMap screen, represented by default icon style as shown below.

Upload Vector File - Point GIS Data
Point GIS Data plotted on map

Open IGISMap Icon Style tool

After adding the input GIS data, we can style the points categorically using Icon Style tool. For accessing the tool, click Tools button at the upper left side of screen to open the map tools popup. Then select Icon Style tool listed under Style Your Data section.

Map Tools popup
Map Tools

We can also open the Icon Style tool by going to the More option of input point data and choose the Icon Style from the Edit Style option.

IGISMap More options
More options

Styling point GIS data categorically

After the tool appears, we have to select the layer from Select Layer section which is the London_admins data that is published in this map and then we have to click Next option.

Icon Style - Select Layer
Select Layer

Then the Edit Layer section is appeared. Here we have to choose Category Icon. Now in the Attribute field, select admin field to categorize the point data based on its individual attributes values. You can also assign a default icons size to applied for every icon style in the Set Market Size box.

Select the Attribute in Category Icon
Icon Style – Category Icon

In the Icon Overlap, you can change the option between True or False. Choose True if you want the icons to be overlapping when the map is zoomed out. Select False if you want to see every point icons any zoom extend of the map.

After selecting the required attribute field, all individual values will be listed with different icons assigned for each category, with default marker size. We can change the icons for each category by selecting the edit option and choosing the right icon from the list provided. We can also assign appropriate marker size for each category at Set Marker Size section.

Setting Icon and Marker Size
Setting Icon and Marker Size

After editing we have to click on Save Style for styling the point data.

Save the Style after Edit Layer
Save the Style after Edit Layer

Following all the process we get the desired output on the screen of IGISMap.

Point Map by Icon Style
Point Map by Icon Style

Create point data and convert it into polygons

Voronoi polygon is an area representing the influence from a particular point location. A Voronoi polygon is actually a systematic way to divide spaces into a number of regions using a set of input points. For each point there will be a corresponding area that consists of the locations closer to that point than any other. These areas are called Voronoi cells.

IGISMap provides a Point to Polygon tool to create Voronoi polygons out of point from input point data. IGISMap is a web platform providing multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. In IGISMap, you can upload your GIS data and perform geospatial analysis.

In IGISMap, Point To Polygon tool will convert input point data into polygon data by creating a polygon shape for each point in the input point data, like the following.

Voronoi Polygon
Voronoi Polygon

Let’s look into the steps to use Point to Polygon tool of IGISMap.

Click https://map.igismap.com/point-to-polygon to open Point to Polygon tool directly

Point to polygon

After opening Point to Polygon tool, first step is to add the data using any of the following options:

  • Select
  • Create Points
  • Upload Vector
  • Upload CSV/Excel
  • Add GIS Data
IGISMap Point To Polygon tool
Point to Polygon

Here we are going to choose the option to Create Points and then convert the point to polygons through voronoi conversion. Thus lets first create and publish point GIS data.

Creating point data

Select Create Points tab which open Add Points section to plot points on the map at the desired locations.

Create Points
Create Points

Points can be plotted through any of the following options that can be used anytime in this section. They are:

  • Add Points
  • Search Address
  • Lat Lon Values

After finish the plotting, click Save and Publish button to publish the point GIS data.

Add Points
Add Points

Check the article Plot ATM locations on a map and embed in your website to know how to create point GIS data using Create Point Data tool.

Converting the Point data to Polygon data

After saving the point data, Convert Layer section is appears to carry out the point to polygon process.

Now click Convert button to run the point to polygon process.

Convert the Point Layer
Convert the Point Layer

As you can see, voronoi polygon layer is created and published in the map.

Voronoi Polygon
Voronoi Polygon

Sharing the voronoi polygon map

For sharing this map we have to click on Share Map button from the map. In the Share Map window, you can give the map name at the map title and  click on Next. Then a share map section appears.

Share Map
Share Map

Choose the option between Share Map as a link or Embed Map to get the html iframe to attach in the webpage. Here you can also two security of the map by selecting Public or Private.

Embed Map
Embed Map

Check the article Share your Map to understand the Share Map feature of IGISMap.

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Perform Proximity Analysis over data from Add GIS Data

Nowadays people are switching towards buying electric vehicles, suppose you are a person who wants to set up charging points in each area. The person has some questions like how many charging points are present in that area. Which area has least charging points in that area? What is the distance between two charging points? GIS technology can easily answer your questions by performing Proximity analysis.

The use of GIS technology is advancing in the field of information and computer science as demand for maps and geospatial analysis has become important in both the public and private sectors. Limited GIS software and online tools are available where you can do this job. IGISMap is a GIS-based web platform providing multiple GIS applications that are most important in the field of geospatial analytics. The peculiarity of IGISMAP in the GIS Industry is its UI/UX which helps the user to perform effortless geospatial operations. GIS tools of IGISMap allow you to Add Your Data, Create Your Data, Map Your Data, Style Your Data, Process Your Data, Analyze Your Data and also help you to Share Your Data privately or publicly. 

Proximity Analysis on added GIS data
Proximity Analysis on added GIS data

How can we perform Proximity Analysis over Data by adding GIS data from the IGISMap?

IGISMap application provides GIS data based on countries, US states, and Global levels. IGISMap provides you with the Add GIS Data tool that provides GIS vector layers of administrative boundaries such as country, states, districts, provinces, postcode boundaries, and other geographical features such as roads, farmlands, waterbody, etc. These data present in the IGISMap application is available for more than 30 countries, 51 US states and few spatial data of globally distributed features.

The data present in IGISMap are mostly from Open Street Maps. Administrative level data are collected from various government websites and other authentic online sources such as US Census Bureau, Humanitarian Data Exchange, Census India, etc.

Proximity Analysis is a tool that helps us to measure, understand and relate geographic(location) information with real world objects. Proximity analysis is one way of analyzing locations of features by measuring the distance between them and other features in that area. IGISMap application has the Proximity Analysis tool which helps you to filter the data using the attribute filter and/or custom filter. After adding GIS data to the base map, we can perform Proximity Analysis to filter the feature according to our requirement.

To navigate directly to the Add GIS Data tool, use below link to refer.

https://map.igismap.com/add-gis

Add GIS data
Add GIS data

Select Country to Add your Data

In this section, select the Country Name from the list below provided or you can search the name in the search box. Here we will select the United States of America- Massachusetts, from the list as we want to add data based on Massachusetts state of USA.

Select country-USA Massachusetts
Select country-USA Massachusetts

Select data

In this article, we will use the GIS data of chargin stations for demonstration. Thus select charging station point from the list of data. 

Add GIS data-Select Layer
Add GIS data-Select Layer
Select layer-Charging station point
Select layer-Charging station point

The button to view the datatable or map can be used to switch the view from Map to Datatable. If the information about the datatable present in the add layer can be viewed by the user by switching the mode towards the datatable option. 

Datatable-charging_station_point_USA_Massachusetts
Datatable-charging_station_point_USA_Massachusetts

Adding data in the map

In the above section, we added the charging point station of USA-Massachusetts to the base map. If we need the desired portion of the added GIS data, you can make use of the crop layer tool in GIS Data to extract the features. 

Add GIS Data
Add GIS Data

Users can notice that the selected country and selected layer data name in this step to verify the details. Now click on Add Layer, to add the charging station points of USA- Massachusetts to the base map. Click Add Layer.

Add GIS data-charging_station_point_USA_Massachusetts
Add GIS data-charging_station_point_USA_Massachusetts

You can observe that GIS data has been successfully added.

Download Shapefile of Massachusetts Charging Points

Proximity Analysis on Added GIS data

Click onfrom Map Tools, you can observe a lot of options to map, process, visualize and analyze your GIS data. Under Analyze Your Data title, select Proximity Analysis tool.

In the first step, the user needs to select layers for performing proximity analysis. Here we can select One Layer/Two Layer from the option. For example, select one layer as we want to perform proximity analysis on charging stations points in USA-Massachusetts.

Proximity Analysis-Select layer
Proximity Analysis-Select layer

Attribute and Custom filtering the added data

There are two ways to perform Proximity analysis in a IGISMap application:(1) Selection using layer Attributes and (2) Custom Filters. Select the data, united_states_massachusetts_charging_station_point to find features within the layer. Select the area using the drawing tools to find the features within/close/far/near/outside the selected layer. Click Next.

Select layer and filter by attribute data
Select layer and filter by attribute data

Suppose we only need the details regarding the charging station points in the regions of USA-Massachusetts. In the Datatable of united_states_massachusetts_charging_station_point, you can observe the attribute name as name which signifies the company name of charging station points.

Charging_station_point datatable
Charging_station_point datatable

If the user wants to filter the data using the field attributes, then custom filters can be used. For example, if the user wants to filter a specific company name, then one can select AND operator, field: name, Operator: =, Option: eVgo. Click on Get results.

Custom filtering the data
Custom filtering the data

Users can observe the red points, specifying the charging stations points in USA-Massachusetts with company name eVgo. 

Data added by Proximity analysis
Data added by Proximity analysis

You can also publish the result to the base map by clicking on . Charging stations points can be embedded on a website or can be shared privately or publicly.

Data added by Proximity analysis
Charging station points by Proximity analysis

Details of the filtered charging station points can be downloaded in form of excel sheet . Downloaded excel files consist of details about the layer like icon details, company name, brand name and much more.

Excel sheet-Filtered data by proximity analysis
Excel sheet-Filtered data by proximity analysis
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