Set Map Properties

When you select an element in a map, you can view its properties in the Properties pane. Some properties are dependent on the existence of other properties.

If you are familiar with using conditional variables, you can customize the map to change appearance or provide information in response to expressions or conditions.

When you change a map property, you usually do not see the change until you run the report. Changes to the properties of labels and titles are reflected immediately.

These are some of the properties you can change in maps. These properties are available when you select the map object, unless specified otherwise in the Action to perform in the Properties pane column.

Goal	Action to perform in the Properties pane
Hide or show the title, subtitle, footer, or axis title	Under Chart Titles, set the Title, Subtitle, Footer, or Axis Title property.
Hide or show the legend	Under Chart Annotations, set the Legend property.
Hide or show region and point layer values and labels on the map	Select the region or point layer. Under Chart Labels, double-click the Show Values property and select the options that you want. To hide overlapping labels, select the Hide overlapping labels check box.
Hide or show display layer labels on the map	Select the display layer. Under Chart Labels, double-click the Show Labels property and select the option that you want. To hide overlapping labels, select the Hide overlapping labels check box.
Hide or show the border around the legend	Select the legend icon. Under Box, set the Borders property.
Change the border around the map object	Under Box, set the Border property.
Hide or show the tooltips Note: Some versions of Acrobat Reader do not support tooltips.	Under Chart Labels, set the Tooltips property.
Change the amount of white space around the map	Under Box, set the Padding or Margin property.
Change the default colors for all map elements	Under Color & Background, set the Background Color, Foreground Color, or Fill Effects property.
Change the font and the alignment of text	Under Font & Text, set the Font or Relative Alignment property. Tip: The 2011 Quarterly Sales Forecast sample report in the GO Sales (analysis) package includes text alignment. For more information about The Sample Outdoors Company samples, see Sample Reports and Packages.
Resize the map	Under Positioning, set the Size & Overflow property.
Change the font for the legend	Select the legend icon. Under Font & Text, set the Font property.
Change the format of values in the legend	Select the value in the region or point layer. Under Data, set the Data Format property.
Ignore data with no features	Under Data, set the Ignore Data with No Features property.
Specify the size of points	In the point layer, click the measure in the Size drop zone and set the Minimum Size and Maximum Size properties.
Add titles, subtitles, footers, or axis titles	Set the Title, Subtitle, Footer, or Axis Title property.

Procedure

Select the map object or map element to change:
- To change general properties, such as size and color, click the map object.
- To change specific map elements, such as a layer or title, click the element itself.
Tip: To cancel a selection, press the Esc key.
In the Properties pane, set the property value.
An ellipsis button indicates that a dialog box provides further options.

Note: You may have to scroll to see all the properties.