3D Maps in Excel

Excel 3D Maps

3D map is a new feature provided by excel in its latest versions of 2016 and so on. It is a feature to introduce maps feature in excel graph axis in three dimensions. 3D maps in excel is an extremely useful tool provided by excel which is like an actual functional map. In excel 3D maps, we represent the data either on a globe which can either be international or on smaller scales. It is totally dependent on the type of data.

We can also use any image to show a 3D map for data. In excel 3D maps, we can change the type of visualized data or change the themes or even change the size of the shape of the data represented. 3D maps in excel can be used to shown a geographical view of data or can be used on any customized image.

Explanation of 3D Maps in Excel

As explained above, 3D maps in excel is a new feature provided by excel in its latest versions. It is available for excel 2016 and above versions. It needs to be activated by enabling power pivot adding in excel 2013 pro version.

In excel 3D maps, we represent the data either on a globe which can either be international or on smaller scales.

How to use 3D Maps in Excel?

Let us learn how to use 3D maps in excel by a few examples.

As we know it is provided in excel 2013 pro version of excel or versions 2016 and higher, to use 3d Maps in excel in 2013 pro version first we need to activate power pivot plugin excel.

It is an inbuilt feature for 2016 and above versions. Then we select the data which we want to map and click on 3D maps in the tour section provided in the Insert Tab.

Example #1

Let us consider the following data,

Here we have city names of different locations and have the total number of hospitals available in each city and how many of those hospitals are actually those hospitals where cancer can be treated. We will try to plot this data on 3D map using the 3D map feature provided by excel.

Step 1 – First, select the data we need to plot.

Step 2 – In the Insert tab, click on 3D maps under the tours category.

Step 3 – A dialog box opens up, like the one below.

Step 4 – Click on open 3D maps and we see another set of options,

Step 5 – As I have already a few open in my excel file so it is showing some additional tours. We need to click on New tour button provided.

Step 6 – We need to may wait for a few seconds and then another excel windows pop up, which looks something like this,

Step 7 – Click on the new scene in the scenes tab provided.

Step 8 – It provides us with three options and we can choose any one of them,

Step 9 – Let us choose the first one which is copy scene 1. And in the left-hand side of the window, we can see a box for the scene created.

Step 10 – Now we have different field list as we saw in the raw data above which is being displayed on the right-hand side of the window.

Step 11 – We need to drag the column headers in the respective fields. First drag city into–>Location.

Step 12 – Now drag a number of hospitals in the heights section and number of cancer hospitals are dragged to the category field.

Step 13 – While we do these changes we can see that the Legend entry is changing.

Step 14 – Now our 3d Map for the above data is generated.

We can do certain changes in the 3D map in excel as our requirements.

Example #2

The above data we took was on a smaller scale. Now let us have a look at the data on a bigger scale i.e. on the international level. Have a look at the below data.

We have the above data for five different countries for their import and export revenues for the current year. We will represent this data in a geographical globe.

Step 1 – The first thing we need to do is select the data to give ranges to the 3d Maps.

Step 2 – Now in the Insert tab under the tours section click on 3D maps.

Step 3 – A wizard box opens up for 3D maps which gives us two options,

Step 4 – Click on Open 3D maps in excel and we can see that different templates have been created earlier too. Click on the new tour.

Step 5 – Click on New scene from the scenes button.

Step 6 – It will provide us with three options, we will choose the world map as it is international data.

Step 7 – In the left-hand side, we can see that scene two is created for us.

Step 8 – Whereas on the right-hand side, we have our fields lists. Drag each one of them in the order.

(Note: The range for previous data is also visible as this map is also created in the same workbook)

Step 9 – Drag the country to the location box.

Step 10 – Now drag export & import in billions of data to category and height respectively,

Step 11 – Now we can see that the 3D map for the above data has been created in the globe.

We can also hover our mouse to see the different parts of the globe to see the different values of data. We can make changes to axis or data and click on refresh data to see changes in the map as per our requirements.

Things to Remember

1. It is not provided in excel versions of 2013 or lower.
2. It can be used for smaller scales of data or on a bigger scale or an international scale.
3. 3D maps in excel are used to demonstrate data in location format.
4. We can use the custom image or global map provided by excel to represent the data.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to 3D Maps in Excel. Here we will learn how to make 3D Maps in Excel along with some practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You may learn more about excel from the following articles –

• what is 3D Reference in Excel?
• Create Pie Chart in Excel
• Use Chart Templates in Excel
• Create Funnel Chart in Excel