Adding Location Capabilities to a Map Visualization
If your data has latitude and longitude columns, you can
create a visualization that a mobile device user can access to determine
the distance from a location. Just add reserved document properties and
a calculated column for distance calculation, and then share your visualization
with mobile users. The document properties activate the location icon
in the mobile device. The following example demonstrates how to create
such a visualization and test it.
To add location capabilities for your mobile users:
Open a file containing the
data with latitude and longitude columns.
Comment: Check the Import
Settings to make sure the column names and data types are correct.
In the Data in analysis flyout,
select the latitude and longitude columns.
Add the map chart that is
recommended.
Comment: You can apply any Color by settings, map
layers, or filters at any time.
On the menu bar, select File > Document properties, and in the Document Properties dialog, click the Properties tab.
Click New,
and in the resulting dialog, provide the reserved name AppGeoLatitude.
Set the Data
Type to Real, and the Default
Value to 0.0 (the equator).
Comment: For testing purposes, you can set AppGeoLatitude to your latitude, but
before saving the final version, set it to 0.0.
Add another document property,
providing the reserved name AppGeoLongitude,
setting the Data Type to Real
and setting the Default Value to 0.0 (the
prime meridian).
Comment: For testing purposes, you can set AppGeoLongitude to your longitude, but before
saving the final version, set it to 0.0.
Your visualization now has the document properties required
to activate the location icon on a mobile device that can open it (available
for a consumer user, either on TIBCO Cloud Spotfire or on premises).
To add distance calculation capabilities for your
mobile users:
On the menu bar, select Data > Add calculated column.
In the Expression
field, build the following expression:
6371000 * GreatCircleDistance(${AppGeoLatitude}, ${AppGeoLongitude},
[latitude], [longitude])
Comment: This calculation specifies meters. To
specify miles, use 3959. To specify kilometers, use 6371.
Comment: latitude
and longitude in this example
reflect column names. If yours differ, modify the example.
Give the column a name, such
as distance, and click OK to save and
close the dialog.
Response: The calculated column is shown in the
Data in analysis flyout.
Your visualization now has a column that you can use to
measure distances between the iOS device and any data point in the data
table by using its geo-positioning properties.
To add visualizations for app users to see location
and distances:
On the authoring bar, click
to open the
Visualization types flyout.
Drag the Text
area to the wanted position on the analysis page.
Response: A blank text area is created.
Right-click the new text area,
and then click Properties.
In the dialog, provide a title,
such as 'Your Location'. Close the dialog to save the change.
Click the Edit
icon to edit the text area, and insert two property controls, one
for the document property AppGeoLatitude
and one for AppGeoLongitude, and provide
text labels. Save the changes.
Resize the text area to contain
just these two controls and the title.
Right-click the map visualization,
and from the menu, select Create Details Visualization
> Table.
Right-click the table visualization,
and then click Properties.
Provide a name for the visualization,
such as 'Distance from Your Location'. Close the dialog to save the
change.
Test the visualization by
selecting a data point or a range of data points on the map.
Response: The Details Visualization shows the selected
data rows, with the calculated column reflecting the distance from
the latitude and longitude shown in 'Your Location'.
Save the analysis and share
with your mobile users.
This example shows bike rental stations in a Swedish city.
Each rental station has a location specified by latitude and longitude.
You can see the distance (measured in metres) from your current location
to the three rental stations that are marked in the map chart.
