Using the PolicyMap Point Data Loader
Subscribers can now create unique address level datasets to share with others or to overlay on top of PolicyMap’s thousands of data layers.
To get started, click onto the Data Loader button. This will begin your process for creating a dataset. There are three steps to initially setup a dataset.
1. First, select the method you will load data, for this tutorial, select Add Points Directly to Map. This function will give users the ability create a point dataset, one point at a time.
2. After selecting the method of loading data, you need to give your dataset a name.
3. Finally, decide how you want to share your dataset.
- You can create a dataset just for their own use, which will not be seen by others.
- You can make it available to the public, allowing anyone on PolicyMap to see the dataset in the Data Points column of the data menu. Please note: PolicyMap reserves the right to remove any data deemed inappropriate or contact the subscriber if a dataset name causes confusion among users.
- You can share it with individual users by adding their email addresses. Shared users will receive a link to view your dataset, and any individuals who are not currently a PolicyMap user will also receive a new login.
4. Select the shape, color, and size of the icon for the dataset (shown respectively in the images below). These settings can be changed at any time and are not permanent for a dataset.
Once you have setup your dataset, 
release the map and allow you to start adding addresses the maps.
Just like the maps page, you can start by using the Set Location bar to zoom into a neighborhood. To add an address, use the 
button, which will locate your address and drop an icon at the location, or to simply click anywhere on the map.
After finding a site or adding a site by selecting a point on the map, you can customize each site with the following options:
- All locations must have a title
- The description box is an open text box that allows you to add as much information as you would like for the site.
- Additionally, you can add an image for the site. Images are not hosted on PolicyMap, so you should link the location of an image into the Image box. You will get an error if the image link is incorrect.
Repeat this for all addresses or points you want to add to the dataset. All locations added to the dataset will be shown on the left side of the map.
At any time, you can edit a location by selecting the 
icon or delete a location with the 
icon. When you are done adding sites to your dataset, select 
Users can create a new dataset at any time by selecting the Create New Dataset tab on top, or edit a saved dataset.
The Access/Edit My Dataset tab will display all previously created datasets. When you select the tab, you can click the icon or the dataset name to open and begin editing an existing dataset. In editing, you have the same functions as you did when first creating a dataset; you can change the name, how the dataset is shared, add or remove sites, edit existing sites, or download the data and list of all the sites into a spreadsheet.
To load your datasets on the Maps or Analytics page, we’ve added a few new menus in the Add Sites section. My Sites will show all of the datasets you have created. My Sites will also include datasets that have been shared with your account from another user. Subscriber-published Sites underneath are datasets that other have chosen to share with the public as well as datasets that have been process by our team for subscribers. All datasets will show when the dataset was created and by what user.
You can click onto each site and view all data. If the location has an image attached to it, you can select the Click to View link to open.
You can edit any of your datasets by selecting the icon. This will take you to the Upload/Edit Data tab with your dataset already loaded for editing.
– Use the Load Dataset button to quickly load the dataset onto the Maps page.
– Download Points will download a spreadsheet of the dataset, including the latitude and longitude for each location.