You Asked, We Delivered: Precise Timing for Map Markers is Here
We are excited to announce the rollout of our most requested feature for everviz location maps! You can now control exactly when regions, markers, or custom overlays appear within your animated map timeline.
This highly anticipated update gives you complete control over your map narratives, allowing you to tell a clearer story, phase out information gracefully, and finally eliminate frustrating marker overlaps.
See it in action
watch this video to learn how to use the new Time-Controlled Overlays!
The Problem We Solved: Clutter vs. Clarity
Animated maps are a powerful way to visualize change over time, but historically, they had a major limitation: every marker and region you added to the map often appeared on the screen at the very start of the animation.
The Solution: Granular Control Over Every Element
With Time-Controlled Overlays, you gain granular control over the timing of every visual element in your animated map. This means you can design a compelling, step-by-step narrative where regions and markers appear precisely when you need them.
This feature applies to all overlays, including:
- Individual markers (pins, custom icons)
- Highlighted regions (states, countries, custom areas)
- custom paths using the line, polygon and circle tools.
You can now choreograph your map to introduce new locations one by one, allowing the viewer to focus on the key data point at each stage of the animation.
This is an example visualizing a shooting incident that occurred near the White House in Washington D.C. recently.
How to Use Time-Controlled Overlays
The best part? Integrating this powerful control into your map is effortless and works directly within the animation timeline you’re already familiar with.
- Open the Animation Timeline: Navigate to the animation settings for your location map.
- Locate the Overlay Marker: Once you have added your markers or regions to the map, a corresponding overlay marker will appear in the animation timeline area.
- Drag to Define Timing: Simply click and drag the overlay marker horizontally along the timeline to the exact point in the animation where you want it to appear.
- Preview and Refine: Click Play to preview your animation. Watch the markers appear exactly when you intended, and adjust their position in the timeline as needed.
This simple mechanism for setting in-and-out points allows you to perfectly synchronize the introduction of map features with your data, resulting in a cleaner, more impactful animated visual.
