Simon Sez IT

Online software training and video tutorials for Microsoft, Adobe & more

  • Course List
    • Adobe
      • Dreamweaver
        • Dreamweaver CC
        • Dreamweaver CS6
        • Dreamweaver CS5
        • Dreamweaver CS4
      • Flash
        • Flash CS5
      • InDesign
        • InDesign CS6
        • InDesign CS5
      • Photoshop
        • Photoshop CS6
        • Photoshop CS5
        • Adobe Photoshop CS4
      • Photoshop Elements
        • Photoshop Elements 2022
        • Photoshop Elements 2019
        • Photoshop Elements 2018
        • Photoshop Elements 15
        • Photoshop Elements 14
        • Photoshop Elements 13
        • Photoshop Elements 12
        • Photoshop Elements 11
        • Photoshop Elements 10
        • Photoshop Elements 9
        • Photoshop Elements 8
    • Microsoft
      • Access
        • Access 2019
        • Access 2019 Advanced
        • Access 2016
        • Access 2016 Advanced
        • Access 2013
        • Access 2013 Advanced
        • Access 2010
        • Access 2010 Advanced
        • Access 2007
      • Excel
        • Excel 2021 Advanced
        • Excel 2021 Intermediate
        • Excel 2021 Beginners
        • PivotTables for Beginners
        • Excel Dashboards
        • Advanced Formulas in Excel
        • Excel for Business Analysts
        • Advanced PivotTables
        • Power Pivot, Power Query and DAX in Excel
        • Excel 2019 Beginners (Mac)
        • Excel 2019 Beginners
        • Excel 2019 Advanced
        • Excel 2016 Beginners
        • Excel 2016 Intermediate
        • Excel 2016 Advanced
        • Excel 2013
        • Excel 2013 Advanced
        • Excel 2010 Beginners
        • Excel 2010 Advanced
        • Excel 2007
      • OneNote
        • OneNote Desktop and Windows 10
        • OneNote 2016
      • Outlook
        • Outlook 2019
        • Outlook 2016
        • Outlook 2013
        • Outlook 2010
        • Outlook 2007
      • Power Automate
        • Introduction to Power Automate
      • PowerPoint
        • PowerPoint 2021
        • PowerPoint 2019
        • PowerPoint 2016
        • PowerPoint 2013
        • PowerPoint 2010
        • PowerPoint 2007
      • Project
        • Project 2019
        • Project 2019 Advanced
        • Project 2016
        • Project 2016 Advanced
        • Project 2013
        • Project 2013 Advanced
        • Project 2010
        • Project 2010 Advanced
      • Publisher
        • Publisher 2013
      • SharePoint
        • SharePoint Online
        • SharePoint Foundation 2013
        • SharePoint Server 2013
        • SharePoint Foundation 2010
      • Teams
        • Microsoft Teams
      • VBA
        • Macros and VBA for Beginners
        • VBA for Excel
        • VBA Intermediate Training
      • Visio
        • Microsoft Visio 2019
        • Visio 2016
        • Visio 2013
        • Microsoft Visio 2010
      • Windows
        • Windows 11
        • Windows 10 (2020 Update)
        • Windows 10
        • Windows 8
        • Windows 7
        • Windows Vista
      • Word
        • Word 2019 Advanced
        • Word 2019
        • Word 2016
        • Word 2013
        • Word 2010
        • Word 2007
    • QuickBooks
      • QuickBooks
        • QuickBooks Pro 2021
        • QuickBooks Online Advanced
        • QuickBooks Online
        • QuickBooks Canada
        • QuickBooks Pro 2020
        • QuickBooks 2019
        • QuickBooks 2018
        • QuickBooks Pro 2017
        • QuickBooks Pro 2016
        • QuickBooks Pro 2015
        • QuickBooks Pro 2014
        • QuickBooks Pro 2013
        • QuickBooks Pro 2012
        • QuickBooks Pro 2011
        • QuickBooks Pro 2010
        • QuickBooks Pro 2009
    • Web Development
      • AngularJs
        • AngularJS Crash Course
      • Dreamweaver
        • Dreamweaver CC
        • Dreamweaver CS6
        • Dreamweaver CS5
        • Dreamweaver CS4
      • Bootstrap
        • Bootstrap Framework
      • Html/CSS
        • HTML/CSS Crash Course
        • HTML5 Essentials
      • Python
        • Introduction to Python
      • Java
        • Java for Beginners
      • JavaScript
        • JavaScript for Beginners
        • jQuery Crash Course
      • MySql
        • MySQL for Beginners
      • PHP
        • PHP for Beginners
        • Advanced PHP Programming
      • XML
        • XML Crash Course
    • Data Analysis
      • Financial Modeling
        • Financial Forecasting and Modeling
      • Alteryx
        • Introduction to Alteryx
      • Power BI
        • Power BI – Beyond the Basics
        • Power BI
      • Qlik Sense
        • Qlik Sense
      • R Programming
        • R Programming
      • Tableau
        • Tableau Desktop
      • Python
        • Introduction to Python
    • Work Productivity
      • Google Sheets
        • Google Sheets for Beginners
      • Confluence
        • Introduction to Confluence
      • Monday
        • Getting Started in Monday.com
      • Asana
        • Introduction to Asana
      • Jira
        • Getting Started in Jira
  • For Business
  • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Membership
    • About Us
  • Pricing
  • Free Resources
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
Home > Microsoft Excel > 5 Steps to Easily Use Excel 3D Maps (Bonus Video Included)

5 Steps to Easily Use Excel 3D Maps (Bonus Video Included)

This 3D Maps in Excel tutorial is suitable for users of Excel 2016/2019 and Microsoft 365.  

Objective 

Create an Excel 3D Map to visualize various variables of data across different Geographies.     
This guide covers:

  • Excel 3D Maps Explained 
  • Video Tutorial 
  • How to Make Excel 3D Maps? 
  • FAQs
  • Excel 3D Maps – Closing Thoughts


Excel 3D Maps Explained 

Note: 3D Maps in Excel is a data visualization tool available in Excel 2016 and 2019. Excel 2013 users can also use 3D Maps, but it is available as an add-in called Power Maps. If you are using Excel 2013, you will need to jump into Options > Add-Ins and enable Power Maps.  

Imagine this, you want to impress your boss in your next presentation and graphically represent your data across different regions in a visually appealing way. You either thought that this is impossible to implement on Excel or advanced external tools are needed.  

Until Now. 

Not only are 3D Maps in Excel possible, they can be painlessly created in minutes if you follow this guide. So without further ado, let’s begin.  

Three-dimensional Maps helps you visualize data in a different way and discover insights you might not see in traditional two-dimensional tables and charts.   

Related: 

Basic Forecasting In Excel: Recorded Webinar

Advanced Pivottables – 1 Hour Crash Course

Dashboards In Excel Using Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts And Slicers

Excel 3D Maps can analyze geographical data. For example, if you are trying to analyze and compare the population of countries around the world. Or maybe analyze crime stats for different towns or states.  

With Excel 3D maps you can plot geographic and temporal data on a globe or custom map. You can show the data changing over time, build engaging, cinematic visual tours and importantly, any map you create can be shared with other people.

NOTE: Excel 3D Maps use Microsoft Bing Maps to compile the map, so you will need to make sure you have an active internet connection.  

Video Tutorial 

How to add Excel 3D Maps

How to Make Excel 3D Maps? 

If you were left scratching your head by the internet about creating Excel 3D maps, do not fret. We, at Simonsezit, have compiled a set of 7 easy steps to go about creating these complex-looking 3D maps in Excel. 

  1. Creating a 3D Map
  2. Customizing the 3D Map
  3. Navigating the 3D Map
  4. Creating a Tour
  5. Playing & Sharing a tour. 

Read on to implement these Excel 3D maps in your next presentation easily, and to keep your coworkers enthralled.

In this example, I am using sample data available from Microsoft that shows Power Stations in each state of the US and the type of energy they provide.  

If you would like to use the same data, you can download it here. Scroll to the bottom of the page for links. 

Create a 3D Map 

Your data must contain geographical information to create Excel 3D maps. For example, rows or columns that have names of cities, towns, postcodes/zip codes, states, countries, regions, etc. 

  • Open the workbook that contains the data you want to analyze 

My data is in a table, but you do not need to format the data as a table for 3D Maps in Excel to work. Note that my data contains geographical information, ‘State’ in column A, and ‘County’ in column B.  

Data for Excel 3D maps
Data for Excel 3D maps
  • Click in any cell in the data 
  • Click the Insert tab 
  • From the Tours group, click 3D Map 

The Launch 3D Maps box will display some recommended tours. These act as a template from which to start and are just suggestions by Excel based on your data. This functionality is similar in many ways to Recommended PivotTables and Pivot Charts. In this example, I am going to create a new tour from scratch.  

  • Click New Tour 
Click on New Tour - Excel 3D maps
Click on New Tour

3D Maps uses Bing to geocode your data based on the geographical information contained in your dataset. My data relates to Power Stations across the US, and so I have a globe representing that data.  

Also Read: 

Creating An Excel Dashboard In 5 Minutes

Excel Templates For More Efficient Project Management

Creating A Dynamic Pivot Chart Title Using Slicers

Floating Panel & Layer Pane for Excel 3D Maps
Floating Panel & Layer Pane for Excel 3D Maps

Much like a PivotTable, I have a floating panel titled Field List. This panel contains all the column headings from my dataset.  

On the right-hand side, I have a Layer Pane. This pane is where I can add fields to visualize and analyze my data in different ways. Verify that the fields are mapped correctly in the Location area, i.e., ‘County’ is mapped to ‘County,’ ‘State’ is mapped to ‘State.’

Currently, my map is showing a blue dot in every location where there is a Power Station.  

I can refine this by adding fields from the Field List to the Height, Category and Time areas in the Layer Pane.  

  • Drag the Capacity (Megawatts) field from the Field List and drop it in the Height area of the Layer Pane 
Drag the required field from the field list & drop it in the height area
Drag the required field from the field list & drop it in the height area

Excel will re-adjust the visualization and add a legend. If you do not want the legend at this stage, you can select it and press the Delete key.  

  • Drag the State field from the Field List and drop it on the Category area in the Layer Pane. 
Drag the required field from the field list & drop it in the Category area
Drag the required field from the field list & drop it in the Category area

Each state is now represented in a different colour.  

Customizing  Excel 3D Maps 

There are many tools and utilities available in Excel to customize your 3D Maps.  

The Home Ribbon contains all the commands to customize Excel 3D Maps
The Home Ribbon contains all the commands to customize Excel 3D Maps

Turning the Legend off and on 

I might decide at this stage that I want to turn the Legend back on. The Home ribbon contains all the commands available for making changes to your Excel 3D Maps.   

  • From the Insert group, click Legend 
Click on the Legend button from the Insert Group
Click on the Legend button from the Insert Group

The legend can be resized by dragging the resize handles in or out.  

The legend can be resized by dragging the resize handles in or out.
The legend can be resized by dragging the resize handles in or out.  

Currently, the legend is named ‘Layer 1’. You will probably want to rename this to make it more meaningful. To rename the layer, click the Edit button next to the layer name in the Layer Pane and type a new name.  

To rename the layer, click the Edit button next to the layer name in the Layer Pane and type a new name.
To rename the layer, click the Edit button next to the layer name in the Layer Pane and type a new name.  

Navigating the Excel 3D Map 

Find Location 

You can zoom in on a location of interest using the Find Location button. Simply type in the place name and click Find. Remember, the place name must exist in the dataset.  

You can zoom in on a location of interest using the Find Location button. Simply type in the place name and click Find.
You can zoom in on a location of interest using the Find Location button. Simply type in the place name and click Find.

Moving around the 3D Map 

Click and drag with your mouse to move the map around. You can utilize the zoom buttons to zoom or out on a location. In this example, I am interested in looking a little closer at the Power Stations located in California.  

Click and drag with your mouse to move the map around.
Click and drag with your mouse to move the map around.

Creating a Tour 

You can utilize Excel 3D Maps to create an engaging Tour. A tour is like a video in many ways. Each tour contains scenes, and each scene can display a different view or aspect of the map. Excel 3D Maps will transition smoothly between the scenes making an interactive and engaging tour. These transitions help illustrate the story of your data.  

In this example, my first scene in my tour shows an overview of all Power Stations in each state. My second scene zooms in on California. My third scene zooms in on Colorado. My fourth scene zooms out to show all states and switches to a ‘Flat Map’ view.  

You can create a new scene in the tour by clicking on the new Scene button
You can create a new scene in the tour by clicking on the new Scene button

To make changes to a scene, select the scene and click the Scene Options button.  

To make changes to a scene, select the scene and click the Scene Options button.
To make changes to a scene, select the scene and click the Scene Options button. 

You can change the look and feel of a scene by selecting the Themes option.  

You can change the look and feel of a scene by selecting the Themes option.
You can change the look and feel of a scene by selecting the Themes option.

You can add Text Boxes to a scene to label maps or provide additional information by clicking the Text Box option.  

You can add Text Boxes to a scene to label maps or provide additional information by clicking the Text Box option.
You can add Text Boxes to a scene to label maps or provide additional information by clicking the Text Box option.  

Playing and Sharing a Tour 

Once you have finished editing your tour, you can choose to play it, or you can share it with others.  

  • To Play, select Play Tour 
  • To Share, select Create Video 
To Play, Select Play Tour; To share select Create Video
To Play, Select Play Tour; To share select Create Video

Latest Posts

  • IFERROR Excel-The Ultimate Guide to Catching Errors in Excel
  • Get the Most Out of Microsoft Teams (1 Hour Recorded Webinar)
  • How to Make a Flowchart in PowerPoint? 2 Easy Methods
  • How to Add Leading Zeros in Excel? 4 Easy Methods
  • How to Use Nested VLOOKUP in Excel? A Step-by-Step Guide

FAQs

Does Excel 2013 have 3D maps?

Yes, Excel 2013 has a 3D maps feature. But, it is available as an add-in called Power maps. To activate it go to options—>add-ins—->enable Power maps. 

How to use 3D maps in Excel?

Excel 3D Maps are generally used to track data variables like performance or sales across different geographic regions. Follow the steps above to use them easily. 

Can we add custom regions in Excel 3D maps?

Yes, we can add custom regions in Excel 3D maps by importing the data set of this custom region in the “kml” or “shp”  file format from sources like Google maps. 

Excel 3D Maps – Closing Thoughts

We are near the end of this short guide on Excel 3D Maps. We showed you how to create 3D Maps in Excel, create a tour in 3D maps and navigate locations inside it. To drive home the point, Excel 3D maps are mainly used to visualize various data variables across geographical locations. 

Whilst this is enough to get you started with Excel 3D Maps, there are so many options and different ways to customize and analyze your data using maps in Excel. You can find out more information by checking out the following links: 

Wall Street Mojo – 3D Maps in Excel 

Excel Esquire – Amazing 3D Map Charts in Excel 2016 

For more Free Excel tutorials from Simon Sez IT. Take a look at our Excel Resource Center.

Other Excel classes you might like:

  • Protecting WorkBooks in Excel
  • Logical Functions in Excel
  • Designing Better Spreadsheets in Excel
  • Introduction to Power Pivot & Power Query in Excel

To learn Excel with Simon Sez IT. Take a look at the Excel courses we have available.

Deborah Ashby

Deborah Ashby is a TAP Accredited IT Trainer, specializing in the design, delivery, and facilitation of Microsoft courses both online and in the classroom. She has over 11 years of IT Training Experience and 24 years in the IT Industry. To date, she's trained over 10,000 people in the UK and overseas at companies such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament, SKY, Microsoft, Kew Gardens, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. She's a qualified MOS Master for 2010, 2013, and 2016 editions of Microsoft Office and is COLF and TAP Accredited and a member of The British Learning Institute.

30 day vertical banner

Most Popular Posts

  • How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel? 3 EASY Examples
  • How to Autofit Excel Cells? 3 Best Methods
  • XLOOKUP Google Sheets – 4 Best Alternatives!
  • Dashboards in Excel Using Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts and Slicers
  • Free Microsoft Project Training Course
  • Free Microsoft Access Tutorial for Beginners (3.5 Hours Video)
  • How to Use Blending Mode With Layers in Adobe Photoshop Elements 15
  • How to Create Charts and Graphs in Microsoft Excel 2016

Similar Posts

How to Share Resources Using a Resource Pool in Project 2016

Understanding Access 2013 Relationships between Tables – Part 1

Start Co-Authoring Excel Workbooks in 6 Easy Steps

How to Make a Formula in Excel – Excel Basics

How to Create Professional Documents in Microsoft Word – Recorded Webinar

Using the Loan Manager in QuickBooks 2019

Course Categories

  • Web Development
  • QuickBooks
  • Microsoft
  • Adobe
  • Data Analysis

About Us

  • About Us
  • Free Resources
  • Affiliates
  • Become an Instructor

Products

  • Pricing and Plans
  • Business Pricing
  • Government Discounts
  • Non-Profit Discounts

Support

  • FAQ’s
  • Contact Us
  • DVD support

Connect

YoutubeFacebook
© 2022 Simon Sez IT, Inc.
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
888.817.6665 Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET)
To make this site work properly, we sometimes place small data files called cookies on your device. Most big websites do this too.
Accept
Change Settings
Cookie Box Settings
Cookie Box Settings

Privacy settings

Decide which cookies you want to allow. You can change these settings at any time. However, this can result in some functions no longer being available. For information on deleting the cookies, please consult your browser’s help function. Learn more about the cookies we use.

With the slider, you can enable or disable different types of cookies:

  • Block all
  • Essential
  • Functionality
  • Analytics
  • Advertising

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Functionality: Remember social media settings
  • Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settings
  • Functionality: Remember selected region and country

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settingsl Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
  • Advertising: Use information for tailored advertising with third parties
  • Advertising: Allow you to connect to social sites
  • Advertising: Identify device you are using
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

  • Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
  • Essential: Allow session cookies
  • Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
  • Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
  • Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
  • Essential: Remember language version you selected
  • Functionality: Remember social media settingsl Functionality: Remember selected region and country
  • Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
  • Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
  • Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
  • Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
  • Advertising: Use information for tailored advertising with third parties
  • Advertising: Allow you to connect to social sitesl Advertising: Identify device you are using
  • Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website won't:

  • Remember your login details
Save & Close