Add a map to Excel

A map provides a geographic view of data and allows you to explore and interact with that data. With ArcGIS Maps for Office, data that you've stored in an Excel spreadsheet can be displayed on a map. Additionally, you can combine your data with data from ArcGIS Online on a single map, allowing you to visually analyze the information and share it with others.

A map is a spatial document composed of one or more layers. A layer is the way in which ArcGIS Maps for Office visually represents geographic datasets. A layer is similar to a legend item on a paper map. For example, on a road map, roads, national parks, political boundaries, and rivers might be considered different layers. When you add data from Excel to a map, ArcGIS Maps for Office creates a layer and displays it in the Contents pane. Once the layer is created, you can configure how it's styled, set its transparency, enable clustering or heat maps, turn on pop-ups, and so on.

You can add multiple maps to an Excel spreadsheet. Each map floats in its own window, making it easy to move the map to a second monitor, or move it out of the way entirely when you don't need to see it.

Data import considerations

When you're creating a map, it's easy to get carried away and try to add a very large amount of data to the map. It's important to keep in mind that plotting too many individual features on a map can lead to viewer confusion and frustration, and doesn't provide a clear picture of your business data. In addition to creating a map that's difficult to interpret, trying to add a large number of rows to a map negatively impacts the performance of ArcGIS Maps for Office. If your data contains a very large number of features, you can try adding it to the map in subsets; for example, if you have 100,000 features, create two separate layers containing 50,000 points each.

For this reason, ArcGIS Maps for Office restricts the number of features you can add to a map without impacting performance. Data import limits per layer are as follows:

Areas (polygons)—15,000
Lines—15,000
Features (points)—50,000

Add a quick map

When you begin the Add Data workflow, ArcGIS Maps for Office scans your spreadsheet and attempts to find location-based information. Your data must contain at least one location-based attribute, such as address data or longitude and latitude values. ArcGIS Maps for Office analyzes the data in your spreadsheet and suggests the best ways to represent it on a map, offering a selection of styles for you to choose from. You can quickly add a map to your spreadsheet by choosing one of the suggested maps styles.

You can add up to five maps to an Excel workbook.

To add a map to your Excel spreadsheet, do the following:

In Microsoft Excel, open the workbook.
Click the ArcGIS Maps tab on the Excel ribbon to display the ArcGIS Maps tools.
Click Sign In to sign in to your ArcGIS account.
See Sign in to ArcGIS for more information.
Click Add Map.
The Add data from my spreadsheet window opens, displaying a carousel loaded with options specific to your data.
Review the Data, Location Type, and Style by Column options to ensure that they are correct.
- Data—Allows you to choose the data in your spreadsheet that will be used to create the map. Choose data from a table, a cell range, or a named range. For more information, see Tables and named ranges.
  If your workbook contains multiple spreadsheets, tables, or named ranges, you must specify which data to use to create the map.
- Location Type—Determines how your data will be mapped and controls what's displayed in the carousel. If you choose address, city, or coordinates, your locations will be mapped as points. If you choose state, province, or other area location type, your data will be mapped as polygons. You can also map your data to custom location types, such as park boundaries or sales territories, that aren't included in the default list. For more information, see Location types.
  Note:
  Click Confirm location columns to verify that ArcGIS Maps for Office found all the columns necessary to map your data. If you're having trouble getting your data on the map, it's likely that all your location columns were not identified correctly. You can manually select the location columns and try again.
- Style by Column—Allows you to choose the column used to compare the points, lines, or areas on your map. For example, to compare all the stores in a franchise based on sales, choose the column that contains the sales information. The carousel will display different ways you can compare the records on the map. Typically, you compare records by varying the size or color of icons. To map your records without comparison, choose None from the drop-down menu.
Using the forward and back arrows on the carousel, scroll through the available styling options. Hover over a style to view its description.
Choose the style you want for your map and click Add data.
The data from your spreadsheet is added as a layer to the map.

Add a map from specified Excel data

To add a map by specifying data in your spreadsheet, do the following:

On the ArcGIS Maps ribbon, click Add Map.
If your spreadsheet contains a table that includes location information, the Add data from my spreadsheet window opens, displaying a carousel loaded with options specific to your data, as described above.
If your spreadsheet contains multiple tables, named ranges, or if ArcGIS Maps for Office cannot find location-based information, the Add Map workflow window opens.
Click Table, Cell range, or Named range to specify the areas in your spreadsheet that contain the data you want to map.
If required, specify the columns that contain the location information.
For example, match the columns in your data that contain the Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y) information.
Click Add data.
ArcGIS Maps for Office creates a map with the default basemap and the specified data.
You can add new layers to the map at any time; see Add layers from Excel for more information.

Add a blank map

To add a blank map to your spreadsheet, do the following:

On the ArcGIS Maps ribbon, click Add Map.
If your spreadsheet contains a table that includes location information, the Add data from my spreadsheet window opens, displaying a carousel loaded with options specific to your data, as described above.
If your spreadsheet contains multiple tables, named ranges, or if ArcGIS Maps for Office cannot find location-based information, the Add Map workflow window opens.
Click the Close (X) button in the upper right corner of the window or click Cancel to close the Add Data workflow.
ArcGIS Maps for Office creates a map with the default basemap and no layers.
You can add layers to the map at any time; see Add layers from Excel for more information.