In ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App, set the area of interest and level of detail to refine the map display. The area of interest defines the focus area for the map, and the level of detail defines the density and quantity of geographic information.
You can set the area of interest and level of detail in color-coded maps, smart map search, points of interest (POI) search with aggregation enabled, benchmark comparisons, and suitability analysis.
Potential use cases
The following are potential use cases of setting the area of interest and level of detail for refined analysis:
- Create a color-coded map in Europe of population density using hexagons to visualize patterns in overcrowding.
- Use smart map search with Maine as the area of interest and block groups as the level of detail to create a map displaying areas with high population density and low income. Each block group is filtered according to your criteria.
- Run benchmark comparisons with Mumbai as the area of interest and villages and wards as the level of detail to compare literacy rates. Each village and ward is compared to the mean to show areas of higher and lower literacy.
- Aggregate POIs representing outdoor landmarks with Osaka as the area of interest and municipalities as the level of detail. Each municipality is color coded to visually represent the number of landmarks within the area.
Set the area of interest
The area of interest controls what geographic area is displayed on the map.
The following image shows the Area of interest options:
Depending on the workflow, the area of interest may have a default state as follows:
- For color-coded maps, the default area of interest is set to the data source country, such as the United States for Esri 2026.
- For smart map search and POI search with aggregation enabled, the default area of interest is set to the current map extent.
- For benchmark comparisons and suitability analysis, you must manually set the area of interest; it is not set by default.
In each workflow, the area of interest can be set to specific areas. For example, provide the name of a standard geographic area in the search field or browse and select sites from your project.
Set the level of detail
The level of detail controls how data is summarized within the area of interest. In Business Analyst Web App, you can either use standard geographies or hexagons.
Standard geographies
Standard geographies are country-specific hierarchal geography levels. For example, postcodes in Canada and ZIP codes in the United States are both country-specific geography levels used by postal services to deliver mail.
The following image shows the Geographies options:
Business Analyst Web App automatically lists geography levels from largest to smallest. Some geography levels may be unavailable based on the map extent. Zoom in to view smaller, hyper-local areas, or zoom out to view larger, more general areas. Depending on the data source, browse geography levels by topic, such as school districts or administrative boundaries.
Hexagons
Hexagons are six-sided polygons that create a uniform grid on the map. Hexagons can vary in size (resolution). In Business Analyst Web App, you can use resolution 1 through 7. For context, the size of a resolution 1 hexagon is similar in width to the state of Iowa, whereas the size of a resolution 7 hexagon is about the size of LaGuardia Airport.
The following image shows the Hexagons options:
Hexagon mapping is available if you have a Business Analyst Web App Advanced license. Hexagon mapping is available in color-coded maps, smart map search, POI search with aggregation enabled, benchmark comparisons, and suitability analysis.
Limitations
Maps can display up to 10,000 features at a time. To ensure that your analysis captures the focus area, modify the area of interest.
Credits
Mapping and analysis workflows consume credits. See Credits for information about credit consumption in Business Analyst Web App.
Licensing requirements
Hexagon mapping and some analysis workflows require an Advanced license. To learn about ArcGIS Business Analyst license types, see Licenses.
Resources
To learn more about mapping options in Business Analyst, see Hexagons reference.