The Tables Tutorial
The Tables feature allows you to view data as a bar graph or chart, that can then compare data across multiple geographies; unlike the Maps feature which demonstrates a visual comparison of data across neighboring communities and borders. Parts of this feature are only available to subscribers and trial users.
Users have two ways to create a Table. The simplest way is to click the Tables link at the top left of the page and begin entering locations in the Set Location bar and load data from the Add Data Layer tabs.
You can also use the See Tables feature in the Info Bubble on the map page. When created from the Info Bubble, the table will also load the data layer from the map and all of the geographies in the Info Bubble.
You can then use the search bar to add additional locations to compare in your table. As you add more locations, they will appear in both the table and the bar graph (if a data layer is already loaded). You can delete any location by the X next to the name of that location.
The Tables page work similar to the Maps page. Once you have your list of geographies to compare, you can then change the data layer you are viewing by selecting a new Data Layer from the menu above.
Data Legend – Use the legend to toggle between available years or variables. Note: N/A for a geography indicates that data is not available. In some cases, data is not aggregated to specific types of geography, e.g. Zip Codes, School Districts, etc.
Trend Chart – Once a data layer is loaded, users can use the legend to toggle through any available years and variables; and Tables have a unique ability to show the data through trends across multiple years. To view the trend select the year period beneath: Across Years:
See Values: (Learn more about the See Values feature here) Users can download a spreadsheet of data for any location from the Tables page. This allows you to download all the values of data for all the geographies that make up an area; for instance, you can see all the values of each county in a state, zip codes in a city, census tracts in a county, etc. In the example below, See Values will show the population of all the states which make up the US, or population of each county that make up the state of Oregon, census tracts for the city of Portland, and blockgroups for the census tract.
Subscribers and trial users have the ability to load custom regions onto a table to see aggregated counts. The Tables function does not calculate other variables (e.g. percentage, currency, or percent change), but will offer a See Values list to show the data for the geographies that make up the custom region. To add a custom region to your Table, open the My Custom Regions menu on the bottom right.
See List: (Learn more about the See List feature here) The See List feature will display all the addresses from a point dataset that are contained in a geography. Users can then download a CSV file which will contain all the data for the site. NOTE: Unlike Data Layers, users can load multiple Data Points on to the Table to query and generate a list. Simply add additional point datasets from the data menu above.
Ranking: The Ranking feature allows subscribers and trial users to see where a location ranks among other geographies within a single dataset. Rankings will give you the ranking of the location selected, allow you to see those that rank above and below it and will also give you the top 10 and bottom 10 locations in that dataset.
Finally, like maps, tables can be saved and printed. Select the icons in the upper right corner. You can give your tables a custom name which will be the title of your printout, and then choose to print to a PDF, PNG or JPEG.
All saved and printed tables be will saved to your My PolicyMap page.
Be sure to check the links for each unique feature in the tutorial. We’ve highlighted them on this overview, but each link will describe more information and functionality. If you have any questions or want to lean more, visit our training calendar and attend a free session or contact us at any time.
To read a full guide on all features on PolicyMap, please look at our Primer available here