Getting Started with Google Fusion Tables
Geo for Good Summit 2013
Vanessa Schneider
Google Earth Outreach
Agenda
What is Google Fusion Tables?
How are people using Fusion Tables?
Let’s walk through some exercises.
Website:
sites.google.com/site/ftforgood2013
What is Google Fusion Tables?
A web application that makes it easy to host, manage, �collaborate on, visualize, and publish data and visuals online.
How are mappers using Fusion Tables?
The Guardian maps deaths and injuries in Iraq.
by Jerry Vermanen
Bay Citizen tracks accidents and fatalities that involved bicycles. Note the custom info bubble.
The Guardian maps homelessness in the United Kingdom.
^ Fatalities by
province
< Afghanistan troop �levels by month
^ US military deaths in Afghanistan by year
What do I need to get started with Fusion Tables?
Spreadsheet data
A Google account
Add the app in Google Drive
File types and limits
File types accepted:
comma-separated text (.csv)
other text-delimited files (.tsv, etc)
KML (.kml), for geographic data
spreadsheets (.xls, .xslx, .ods, Google Spreadsheets)
You can import up to 100 MB per file.
1,000 columns per table and 1MB of content per row.
Quota of up to 250MB per Google account.
Let’s walk through some examples
Today, we’ll cover how to:
Import and map your data
Style your map
Filter your map
Share and embed your map
Merge tables
Create a custom intensity map
Use the FusionTablesLayer Wizard
Create and style a bar chart
sites.google.com/site/ftforgood2013
Exercise 1: Import and map your data
To get started:
<drive.google.com
3) Hit Create
4) Select Fusion Table
To manually identify the location column:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Style your map
Style your map: Additional icons | bit.ly/fticons
Style your map: Info windows
Filter your map
Collaborate on your map
Embed your map
Create a custom intensity map
What you’ll need
Table of U.S. state boundaries
Where we got the data
Exercise inspired by:
http://bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-2/death-on-the-job-fatal-work-injuries-in-2011.htm
Fatal injuries in 2011, via the BLS:
http://bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-2/death-on-the-job-fatal-work-injuries-in-2011.htm
U.S. state population estimates, vis the U.S. Census Bureau:
http://www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/2010s/vintage_2011/state.html
U.S. state boundaries, via the U.S. Census Bureau:
https://support.google.com/fusiontables/answer/1182141?hl=en&ref_topic=27018
Step 1: Merge (fusion!) the two tables
Exercise 3: Combine multiple map layers
FusionTablesLayer Wizard | bit.ly/layerwizard�
Add the first layer
1. Go to Table 1 (Intensity map): Tools > Publish
2. Copy "Send a link in email or IM” link
3. Paste link in field "Embed link" > "Put layer on Map"
Add second layer
1. Table 2: Tools > Publish
2. Copy link
3. Add layer button
4. Paste link
Use Set Map size and zoom and Style base map to change the appearance of your map.
Copy the HTML code at the bottom to embed the new map on your website.
Build a search using the Layer Wizard
Exercise 4: Create a bar chart
What you’ll need
Download and import Europe CSV
Add a chart table
Select the Bar chart option
Sort your bar chart
1. Go to Sort by and select Sep 2012
2. Click reverse
3. Your chart should now list highest rates at the top.
Style your bar chart
1. At the top right, click the button Change appearance...
2. Add title: European Countries with Highest Unemployment Rates
3. Change colors of bars to purple
Your finished chart should look like ...
Tools > Publish
Today, we covered:
What is Fusion Tables?
How are newsrooms using Fusion Tables?
Exercises:
Import and map your data
Style and filter your map
Share and embed your map
Create a custom intensity map
Use the FusionTablesLayer Wizard
Create and style a bar chart
Fusion Tables–related tools
Open Refine
Clean up messy datasets before importing to Fusion Tables.
Fusion Tables API
developers.google.com/fusiontables/
Programmatically manage tables. Use FusionTablesLayer with the Google Maps API.
Shape Escape
Import .shp files into Fusion Tables