Sharing a map from Fusion Mapper

Authored by the Google Fusion Tables team

This tutorial shows you several options for sharing a map made in Google Fusion Tables.

Google Fusion Tables is a online data management application, designed for easy collaboration, data visualization and web publishing. It allows you to upload and merge large datasets and offers simple data queries and filters. Read more on this Google Research Blog post.

Other tutorials on Fusion Tables show how to make a map with sample data or map your own data.

Here are some examples of maps created and published with Fusion Tables.

• Point data: Medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles - L.A. Times
• GPS tracks: Biking and Hiking trails from MTBGuru.com
• Intensity map: Freshwater availability vs. childhood mortality - Circle of Blue | Waternews

 

Ways to publish and share your map

• Send the map to other people by email
  • Share with specific people and then send a link to the map within Fusion Tables
  • Download a static copy of the Map for Google Earth and send it by email.
• Add the map to your website
  • embed the map in a website
• Take the map offline
  • download a static copy of the Map for Google Earth
• Make a map that automatically updates as the data changes
  • create a dynamic link to your map for Google Earth

 

Set permissions to share the map

Now that you have a map of your data, you can view, download and share it. You can either share the map with specific people, or with the general public.

Share with specific people

Give specific people permission to access the datatable you've created in Fusion Tables. Then email them the link to the map. They will need to sign in to see it.

1. Click on the Share button at the upper right of Fusion Tables
2. Select either the As viewers, As collaborators or As owners option
3. Enter the email address of the person you would like to invite
4. Click Invite these people button
5. Close the dialog box

 

Make the map Unlisted or Public

You don't have to require people to sign in to see your map. In fact, if you'll be embedding it in a website or calling it from a dynamic link in Google Earth, you will need to make your map available without requiring sign-in.

Select Unlisted if you'd like to give access to anyone who has the link.

Select Public if you'd like people to find your datatable and map in Fusion Tables Public Table search and possibly from Google.com and other search engines.

To remove the need to sign in:

1. Click the Share button
2. Select the Public or Unlisted radio button under Visibility options.
3. Close the dialog box

 

Keep other data columns private

Not all of the data in your datatable needs to be given the same permissions. See more information about options for controlling access to your data.

 

Publish the map

Get a link to the map

When you made your map, you selected a visualization to apply to your data. You may also have changed the zoom level or set a filter or done other adjustments until it's just right to tell the story you want to tell. Get a link to this same set of adjustments on your data and send it to others by email or link to it from a webpage.

Note: These adjustments will be applied to your data anew each time someone uses the link. If you change the data, what others see may change too.

To get a link to exactly what you're seeing:

1. Click the Get link button
2. Copy the URL that appears
3. Optional: give the link a name and save it for quick access later
4. Close the dialog box

When other people follow this link, they will need to have permission to see the data in Fusion Tables. See above for how to share with specific people or remove the need to sign in.

 

Embed the map

You can embed the map on your website.

Note: In order to appear for others on your website, your map must not require sign-in. Make the map Public or Unlisted.

From the map view (Visualize > Map):

1. Click Get Embeddable Link
2. Copy the HTML code in the box
3. Paste this HTML code into your website or blog's HTML editing feature.

Using Blogger? Check out this tutorial on embedding visualizations in Blogger.

 

Download a static copy of the Map for Google Earth

To download a static copy of the map for viewing in Google Earth, under the map view (Visualize > Map):

1. Click Export to KML
2. Open the downloaded file in Google Earth
3. Email the file to your friends, or upload it to your website to share.

Note: any changes to the Fusion Table online will not appear in this static copy of your data.

 

Create a dynamic link to your map for Google Earth

You can also create a dynamic link from Google Earth to your Fusion Table, so that any changes to your data online will be reflected in Google Earth.

You can add more rows, edit data within Fusion Tables, or use the Fusion Tables API to change the data programmatically.

Note: Your map must be not require sign in for the dynamic link to work. Make the map Public or Unlisted.

To create the dynamic link, start at the map view (Visualize > Map):

1. Click Get KML Network Link
2. Copy the URL in the box
3. Go to Google Earth and click on the Add menu > Network Link
4. Paste the URL into the Link field and click OK
5. Your map should appear in Google Earth.

 

Discussion & feedback

Have questions about this tutorial? Want to give us some feedback? Visit the Google Fusion Tables user group or the Google Earth Outreach Discussion Group to discuss it with others.

What's next?

• See the Tutorial: Promoting Your KML for more tips on sharing your layer with the world.
• See all tutorials and tools available at Earth Outreach.
• Go back to the main tutorial page.