Sometimes all you want to do is upload an Excel spreadsheet and have a piece of software automagically make a map. But if you’re at a hackathon and just need to get a map online, here are the WYSIWYGs of the map world: Beware: this functionality usually comes at a cost. You just want to play around, draw some polygons, and drop some points. Edit csv files with proper cell alignment.
Edit json and csv files with proper syntax alerts. Turn spatial files into published services to feed into your map software. Create and edit files containing spatial data.
Here’s a rundown of free tools you can use to prep your data for making maps: If you need to host your map data, consider using ESRI’s free ArcGIS Online map service. You’ll be able to create a hosted feature service for your mapping application. This free, open source software gives you the ability to create features on a map and save it in a standard format.īut what about serving this data? After you create a dataset, it needs to live somewhere. If you don’t want to get an ESRI license, consider qGIS as an alternative. In order to edit those files, you’ll need a GIS editor. You’ll encounter a whole new set of data formats. Prepping & Hosting Your DataĪfter deciding to make a map, the first thing you need to do is get your data together. We checked to make sure all of these links are available for free, or they offer a substantial free trial. What follows is a long list of free tools designed to cover a lot of ground, whether you have a carefully planned dataset, you just want to drop some pins on a map, and everything in between. The right tool for you depends on what you want to show, how you want to show it, and the type of user interface you prefer. You’ll face some limitations, but at least you’ll be able to get data onto a map without much trouble. Good news: there are a lot of really powerful tools available for free.
Maybe you’re at a hackathon and you just want to build something cool. In the past, you had to have enterprise software licenses and a lot of GIS knowledge.īut if you’re just getting started with making maps, you probably don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars for software. Making maps is a great way to visualize data.