Map buildings and the 3D view

The Buildings layer colours each point with the building it stands in, and the 3D view adds terrain, hillshade and 3D buildings to a map. This page explains the street zoom the layer needs, the notes the map adds, and how a map remembers the view you leave it in. For the basics of adding a map, see Map visual.

Turn on the Buildings layer

1. Add a Latitude and a Longitude field to Location. The Buildings option appears in Layer only when both coordinate fields are in place.
2. Open Visual > Map and set Layer to Buildings.
3. Set Snap to building within to say how close a point must stand to a building to take its colour.
4. Set Show unmatched as points to keep or hide the points that match no building.

The first measure in Values gives the buildings their colours. At street zoom, each point takes the colour of the building it stands in.

What you see at each zoom level

• Zoomed out, the layer shows plain points and notes Zoom in to colour buildings.
• From zoom 14, a flat map draws building footprints.
• From zoom 15, the 3D view colours buildings.
• A Buildings map fits small data at street level, as close as zoom 16.
• Building data is read under your points in the background, six tiles at a time, so a street view colours in shortly after it stops moving. A data set that spans many tiles is read under the points in view.
• Where a building's parts cover its outline, the map draws the parts instead of one flat block.
• The map colours at most 2,000 matched buildings in view, and matches up to 20,000 points to buildings at once.

What the map notes mean

The map adds a note when it cannot colour buildings as asked:

• Buildings need latitude and longitude: Location does not hold both coordinate fields, so the layer falls back to points. Add a Latitude and a Longitude field.
• Zoom in to colour buildings: the map is too far out. Zoom in to street level.
• Over 2,000 buildings in view: shown as points: more buildings are in view than the layer colours at once. Zoom in until fewer are in view.
• 3 points not on a building: these points could not be matched to a building within the snap distance. Raise Snap to building within, or check their coordinates. They stay as plain points while Show unmatched as points is on.
• Some buildings could not be read from the map engine: their points are shown: some of the building data could not be read, so those points show as points. Move or zoom the map to read the data again.

For values the map could not place at all, see Map locations, matching and pins.

The 3D view

• Turn on 3D view under Visual > 3D to add terrain, hillshade and 3D buildings. The map swaps its style in place and keeps its position while terrain loads.
• If the 3D style cannot be read, the map falls back to the flat style instead of failing.
• Terrain exaggeration makes the terrain taller or flatter.
• In Interact mode on a report tile, right-drag or Ctrl-drag to tilt and turn the map.
• A tilt stops at a pitch of 70 degrees. The default pitch is 55 with the 3D view, 45 with 3D columns and 30 for the Globe.
• Terrain credits and the map's data sources are listed in Map data and licences.

The view you leave is saved

• On a tilted map, the view you leave the map in is saved with the visual. Move the map as you want it (drag, wheel, tilt, turn or the zoom buttons), stop, and the save follows once the map has rested for 600 ms.
• A map that is still moving does not save, and starting a new move cancels a save that was pending.
• The map's own moves are never saved, so opening a report is not an edit.
• Only the report's editor can save a view; viewers and exported tiles are read-only.
• A saved view is used only while it still shows the data. When a filter, a drill or row-level security moves the data out of it, the map opens on the data's own view instead. See Row-level security and View as.
• Show all data returns to the data's view without clearing the saved one. Reset view under Visual > 3D clears it.
• Consecutive saves merge into one undo step.

What an export waits for

A map export waits for the map to settle before it is captured: up to 45 seconds on a flat map, and up to two minutes with terrain. A map that cannot settle is taken at that ceiling rather than holding the export longer. The rest of the export flow is described in Export reports and data.

Questions, answered

Why does my Buildings map show points instead of coloured buildings?

The map can colour buildings only from street zoom, and only within its limits. When it cannot, it draws points and adds a note that names the reason, such as Zoom in to colour buildings, Over 2,000 buildings in view: shown as points or Buildings need latitude and longitude.

What does "3 points not on a building" mean?

Those points could not be matched to a building within the snap distance, so they are counted in this note and stay as plain points while Show unmatched as points is on. Raise Snap to building within under Visual > Map, or check the coordinates of the rows that do not land on a building.

What does "Some buildings could not be read from the map engine: their points are shown" mean?

Some of the street-level building data could not be read, so those points show as points instead of coloured buildings. Move or zoom the map to load the building data again.

Can I hide the points that match no building?

Yes. Turn Show unmatched as points off under Visual > Map. Points that match no building then leave the map, and only the coloured buildings remain. Points that do stand on a building are hidden where the buildings are drawn.

How close must a point be to a building to take its colour?

It must stand within the snap distance. Set Snap to building within under Visual > Map. If several buildings hold the point, the smallest wins; otherwise the map takes the nearest building inside the snap distance.

Why are some buildings grey or faded?

A building with no value for the colour measure is drawn in the map's No data colour. A building that holds none of the current selection steps back, and comes forward again when the selection clears.

Why does the map stay flat when I turn on the 3D view?

If the 3D style cannot be read, the map falls back to the flat style instead of failing, and the rest of the map keeps working.

Is there a limit to how far I can tilt the map?

Yes. A tilt stops at a pitch of 70 degrees. The default pitch is 55 with the 3D view, 45 with 3D columns and 30 for the Globe.

Why did the map open somewhere other than where I left it?

A saved view is used only while it still shows the data. When a filter, a drill or row-level security moves the data out of the saved view, the map opens on the data's own view instead of an empty one.

How do I clear the view saved on a map?

Open Visual > 3D and choose Reset view. Show all data only returns to the data's view; it does not clear the saved one.

Can just viewing a report change the saved view?

No. The map's own opening moves are never saved, so opening a report leaves it alone. Only a move you make on a tilted map, after it rests, updates the view.

Why does exporting a 3D map take longer?

Terrain needs longer to settle: the export waits up to two minutes for a 3D map, and up to 45 seconds for a flat one. If the map cannot settle at all, the picture is taken when the ceiling is reached.