Link Geography to a Table

Link Geography to a Table

At Sitewise, we understand that proper data visualization is essential for site analysis and effective future planning. You can link your uploaded file to a standard geographic boundary within Sitewise, enabling you to display your data as a thematic layer rather than just as point data. To accomplish this, ensure that your file contains a field ID that corresponds to the relevant boundary code type (e.g., zip code, block group, etc.). 

Use Cases 

  1. Is there a way to visualize the number of new clients based on zipcode? I have a file with a count of new clients in each zip.
  2. I have a file of all of our store sales by census tract codes, how do I display that in Sitewise? 

Importing the file/Uploading a table 

First we need to upload the table before linking it to a standard geography. Please follow the steps in the Uploading a Table article to clean and upload the data. 

For this step it’s important that:  
  1. The file has a column reflecting a standard geographic code. 
    1. For example, this could be the zipcode or the codes for each blockgroup 
    2. This column type must be set as ‘String’ during upload. 
      3. NotesThis is very important since geographic codes regularly have leading zeros. If using Excel, it may automatically remove leading zeros so always check the file before uploading. 
      ie. For zip code value must be 00021 and not 21 
Alternatively, if you have any trouble with setting up the file, the upload process, or linking the table, the Sitewise Team will be happy to assist! 

Linking Standard Geography 

 Once the upload is complete, you can easily link your data to a standard geographic boundary! Follow the steps outlined below: 
  1. Click on the gear  icon in the top right corner of the screen. 
  2. In the menu, click on Settings to open the Settings window. 
  3. In the Settings window, click on the ‘Table’ options to view all the tables within the account that you have permission for.             
  4. If there are multiple tables, you can use the search bar in the bottom right corner to locate the table you want to link. 
  5. Click on the table name to open the edit table window and click on the Details tab if you’re not already in it. 
  6. Find the Link to Census Boundary option on the right side of the Table Details tab. 
            
    1. Link Field: This will show all fields available in the table to use as a link. From the dropdown, select the field containing the standard geographic code. 
    2. Link Geography: This will show all the standard geographic boundaries available in Sitewise, from  Blockgroup/Dissemination area all the way up to State/Province for either using both Canada’s and US’s standard geographic levels.
      7. Click Save in the bottom right corner. 

Once the table settings are updated and saved, then you can add the table as a layer and style the data as you see fit.  Please refer to the Styling section of the Adding Thematic Layers article to do so!

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