15. Maps: Showing Maharashtra on a Map
15.1 Which Map Visual?
| Visual | What it shows | Needs | Good for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Map (bubble map) | Bubbles at points, sized by a measure | Location text or Latitude/Longitude | Orders by city or dark store | Uses Bing Maps; Microsoft is moving users to Azure Maps (15.7) |
| Filled map (choropleth) | Shades whole areas by value | Area names (state, district, postal code) | Orders by district | Only as good as the boundaries the service knows |
| Shape map | Shades regions using a custom TopoJSON map | A TopoJSON file with matching region names | Maharashtra districts or your own delivery zones | Preview feature; turn on in Options |
| Azure map | Modern map with layers: bubble, heat map, 3D columns, filled map, reference layer (GeoJSON) | Location or Latitude/Longitude | Customer density around Kothrud, Hinjewadi; many dark stores | May need an admin setting |
| ArcGIS for Power BI | Esri maps with demographics and spatial analysis | Location data; some features need an ArcGIS account | Advanced GIS use | May be disabled by admins |
Do you really need a map?
With six cities, a sorted bar chart often answers "which city has the most orders?" faster. Use a map when position matters, for example dark store coverage, or distance between stores and customers.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Mitrano, khup students choose a map karan "we have a City column", even when a bar chart would answer the question better. Use a map only when location patterns matter (udaharan mhanje gaps between dark stores). Otherwise, a sorted bar chart by city is easier to read. Ekdum simple aahe, fakt savay lavun ghya.