Interactive Globes

3D World Maps for WordPress

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Populating Map with data from a Google Spreadsheet

With Interactive Globes – 3D World Maps Pro version and the Extended Data Sources Addon, you can populate your globe with data the is stored in a Google Spreadsheet.

Learn how to create a globe world map that reads data from a Google Spreadsheet and automatically syncs the information and updates the globes when the spreadsheet also updates.

Tips for Creating Your Spreadsheet:

  • Freeze the First Row: Use it as the header for your entries.
  • Organize by Rows: Each row should represent a specific region or marker, not the columns.
  • Include Region IDs: Ensure there’s a column for the IDs that correspond to the map you’re using.
  • For Marker Maps: Add separate columns for latitudes and longitudes.
  • Fill All Cells: Avoid leaving cells blank, especially in the last column.

Preparing the Spreadsheet for the Globe:

  • Ensure the data is formatted to populate your map accurately.
  • Make the Spreadsheet Public:
    1. Go to File > Share > Publish to the web and publish it.
    2. Go to File > Share > Share with others and set sharing permissions so that anyone with the link can view.

Now your spreadsheet is ready for the Globes to read data from it.

Getting a Google API Key

When setting up the globe to read from your spreadsheet, you’ll need to enter a Google API Key, which you can get for free.

  1. Access Google Cloud Console:
    • Create a new project.
    • Go to API Library, search for Google Sheets API, and enable it.
  2. Create Credentials:
    • Navigate to Credentials > Create credentials > API key.
    • Copy the new API key and consider using the Restrict Key options.
    • Optionally, create a Service Account if needed.
  3. Use the API Key:
    • This key will allow your application to access the data.

Creating your Globe

If you have the Extended Data Sources addon installed, when you create a new Globe, in each data section (Markers and Regions) you’ll find the option to enable other data sources. You can enable the ‘Google Spreadsheets’ option here.

Finding the Google Sheet ID

  • Locate the spreadsheet ID in the URL of your Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/SPREADSHEET-ID/edit#gid=0
  • Use the ID (replacing SPREADSHEET-ID) in your globe setup.

Defining the Sheet Range

  • Use your Sheet name (e.g., Sheet1) to define the range.
  • For specific data, use A1 or R1C1 notation.

Configuring Property Fields

  • Property fields correspond to the column headers in your spreadsheet.
    • Avoid special characters or spaces to prevent errors.
  • Required fields:
    • ID/Identifier Property Field: Mandatory for regions and markers. Could be a column that has a unique name for Markers. Should be the column with the name or region code for Regions.
    • Latitude and Longitude Fields: Required for markers, but if you spreadsheet contains a Latitude/Longitude named columns it will be automatically recognised.

The Action Content Template and Tooltip Template

In the Action Content Template and in the Tooltip Template that you’ll find above, you can use placeholders that will be replaced by the actual data from the spreadsheet for each entry. You will just need to use the columns headers in curly brackets. For example:

City: {Name}<br>
Population {value}

More information:

The action content is what will be displayed after the user clicks the marker or region, you can have the information display in a lightbox or outside the map on click.

Caching the data

In the settings page of the plugin, there’s an ‘Extended Data Sources’ section. There you can set a cache time. If you set it to 0, the globe will always fetch the data from the spreadsheet when loaded.