Specify a location type

Note:

Some workflows may require specific privileges. For more information about user types, roles, and privileges, see the Accounts topic.

You can specify the data location type.

See Data and geocoding to learn more about geocoding.

To add ArcGIS for Excel data to a map, the Microsoft Excel data must contain at least one of these location types: coordinates (latitude and longitude values), address, Esri JSON geometry, or geographic data.

The location type determines how the data is mapped. If you choose Coordinates or Address, the locations are mapped as points. If you choose Esri JSON Geometry or Geographic data, the data is mapped as polygons, polylines, or points.

Note:

When adding data from Excel, you must be signed in to an ArcGIS account to see all location types options. If you are not signed in, only the Coordinates and Esri JSON Geometry options are available.

To specify a location type, complete the following steps:

1. In the Add layer pane Excel tab, make a selection from Data and choose from the drop-down menu.

   The available data options depend on the location type you choose. Use the drop-down menus to choose the appropriate columns in the data to match the location options.

2. Choose and format the location type.
   • Coordinates—Use the Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y) drop-down menus to match columns in the data that contain coordinates. Use the Spatial Reference drop-down menu to choose a spatial reference system, search for a well-known ID (WKID), or select the 4326 - GCS WGS 1984 default value.

     Tip:

     See the Coordinate Systems: What's the Difference ArcGIS blog article to learn more about WKIDs.

   • Esri JSON Geometry—Use the Geometry column drop-down menu to identify which column contains the geometry. Esri JSON encodes both geometry and feature information into objects. An Esri feature set is a collection of features with the same geometry type and coordinate system. In a JSON document, a feature set is represented by a JSON object.
   • Address—Use the Geolocator drop-down menu to identify which column contains single-column coordinates, and then choose a Country option.
   • Geographic data—In the Select Geographic data pane, click and select a data repository from the drop-down menu. The search box dynamically changes to the selection made. You can also conduct a search for a boundary and refine your search by clicking the Filters button , Sort button , and the Details view button to change the view.

     Click the Filters button and do any of the following:

     • Turn on the Search within map area toggle button to only see results that contain data for the current view of the map.
     • Choose a date range from the drop-down menu to filter results by date modified, or choose Custom date range and use the calendar to select a start date and end date.
     • Click Clear filters to remove all filters.

     If your organization administrator has restricted access to searching for content outside of your organization, the search returns only results from your organization.

     To style data in ArcGIS for Excel, the content you add must be a feature service or a web map. These contain the data used to create the layer. If you add a map service layer, the Style option is not available.

   • Click the Sort button to sort the results by date modified, title, oldest, or most recent.
   • Make your selections in the Join to geography layer pane.
   • Click Add. The data is added to your Excel worksheet and the layer to your map. You can see the progress in the Layers list tab. You can choose the ArcGIS content you want to work with from the list.