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Mapping Your Data

Whether it’s a list of your contacts, office locations, or all the McDonald’s franchises in a 50-mile radius, chances are that somewhere in your QuickBase data you have a list of addresses.
But sometimes, a mere list just isn’t enough. There are a number of ways you could visualize this data. For instance, you could buy a big map and some pushpins. But with budgets stretched thin by the recession, who can afford pushpins? You could map each record individually online, but that would be tedious and time-consuming. Enter Mapping, a new tool that integrates QuickBase with Google Maps to make mapping of data easy and convenient.
Mapping is the first of many free QuickBase tools to be available at www.QuickBaseNation.com, a site sponsored by Data Collaborative to extend the capabilities of QuickBase (future tools include email filing and free file attachment space).

A Bright IKEA

Let’s say you’re searching for the nearest location to purchase some fine Swedish furniture.

ikea locations

This list of IKEA addresses has the information you need, but it doesn’t help you picture where the stores are.

QuickBase Nation’s free mapping tool will help you satisfy your craving for umlaut-laden product names as quickly as possible.

Make a Map

Mapping piggybacks off of a pre-existing QuickBase page, so the first step toward mapping your data is to log into your account at QuickBase.com. Leave that page open, and in a new tab or window navigate to QuickBaseNation.com. Create an account through the free and simple registration process. Upon logging into the Mapping utility, you will see a list of all your QuickBase tables. Pick the one with the address data, and QuickBase Nation will read it right out of QuickBase.

The next (and final) step is to pick out the fields that contain your address data. In most circumstances, these will be “Address 1,” “Address 2,” “City,” “State,” and “Zip.” But if the whole address is in one field, just enter that on the first line and leave the rest of the lines blank.

Then select a field to be the identifier and a title, and click on Submit. We used our IKEA table, but of course, you can map any addresses you have in QuickBase — up to 50 addresses per map.

Existing List

Hit the Road

Voila! Here’s your data: a breathtaking snapshot of IKEAs across America. Clicking on any red location indicator on the map will bring you to the QuickBase page for the record, and the data is presented in a format that should make it a snap to hop in the car and proceed to the nearest retailer. Unless you live in Nebraska.

Existing List

Keep in touch! Be sure to let us know if you come up with any particularly clever uses for Mapping. And if you would like us to customize this tool for your specific uses, please let us know that, too.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 9:09 am and is filed under Articles, Product Announcement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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