Connections globe
Updated 6 years ago by Template retirement home
How to use this template
Connections globe
This three-dimensional template is ideal for visualising flow data such as migration patterns, financial transfers or flights. Each row in the data is represented as an arc drawn between two locations, scaled according to the size of the flow.
Data requirements
To get started upload data to replace the example dataset in the Values spreadsheet. Your data must have columns for source location, destination location and value. To work out of the box, your source and destination columns should contain three-letter country codes (ISO Alpha-3). However, you can use any country/region codes as long as each code has a corresponding entry in the Locations sheet to specify its latitude, longitude and display name.
Menus and sliders
If no “Menu/slider” columns are specified, the visualisation will show all the rows in your data at once. To show subsets of rows in different views (e.g. years or categories or countries) choose one or more “Menu/slider” columns. Each one will create a menu with a view for each value in the column. Once created, you can configure your menus in the “Menu/slider” settings panels – for example to choose between buttons, dropdowns and sliders.
Tips
- If your globe has no arrows, make sure the Source location and Destination locations in the main Values sheet each match with a code in the Locations sheet.
- If you have multiple entries with the same source and destination, by default their values will be summed together, but you can change this (for example to use the max or average value) in the “Data & arrows” settings panel.
- By default the arrows point to the capital cities for each country but you can change the coordinates by editing the latitude and longitude in the Locations sheet.
- You can choose between a number of globe surfaces (“skins”) in the “Design” settings panel. You can also supply your own skin, e.g. by making a custom map in a graphic programme. If doing this, use a map with a Plate Carré (equirectangular) projection to ensure the countries are correctly positioned on the globe.
- Advanced used can edit the CSS styles for the page in the “Page design” settings panel.
- Try making a story to give a guided tour of your visualisation with beautiful cinematic animations.
Credits
This template was adapted from a bespoke project created by Kiln for Google Trends. All preloaded skins were created by Kiln, except for the satellite image, which comes from NASA Visible Earth.
API information
This section documents API usage specific to this template, so for an introduction we suggest you refer to the generic API documentation instead.
template: _191
version: _16
Template data
There are three different formats in which you can supply data to this template. The most convenient for you to use likely depends on the source of your data, as described below.
1. Array of arrays, and a bindings object
You can supply arrays of arrays to opts.data, which might look
like:
{
data: {
values: [
[ "ValuesColumn1Value1", "ValuesColumn2Value1",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value2", "ValuesColumn2Value2",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value3", "ValuesColumn2Value3",
...
],
locations: [
[ "LocationsColumn1Value1", "LocationsColumn2Value1",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value2", "LocationsColumn2Value2",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value3", "LocationsColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
where each array of arrays represents the rows in a data sheet.
To tell the API how the values from each column should be
associated with the keys that the template is expecting, you must also supply
an object attached to opts.bindings. (The meanings of the
keys in the bindings object are documented
below.) The minimal bindings you can
supply for this template are as shown in this example:
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
bindings: {
values: {
src: 0, // index of a column in your data
dst: 1, // index of a column in your data
val: 2, // index of a column in your data
},
locations: {
code: 0, // index of a column in your data
name: 1, // index of a column in your data
latitude: 2, // index of a column in your data
longitude: 3, // index of a column in your data
}
},
data: {
values: [
[ "ValuesColumn1Value1", "ValuesColumn2Value1",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value2", "ValuesColumn2Value2",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value3", "ValuesColumn2Value3",
...
],
locations: [
[ "LocationsColumn1Value1", "LocationsColumn2Value1",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value2", "LocationsColumn2Value2",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value3", "LocationsColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
All possible bindings that you can supply are shown in this example:
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
bindings: {
values: {
src: 0, // index of a column in your data
dst: 1, // index of a column in your data
val: 2, // index of a column in your data
filter1: 3, // index of a column in your data
filter2: 4, // index of a column in your data
},
locations: {
code: 0, // index of a column in your data
name: 1, // index of a column in your data
latitude: 2, // index of a column in your data
longitude: 3, // index of a column in your data
}
},
data: {
values: [
[ "ValuesColumn1Value1", "ValuesColumn2Value1",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value2", "ValuesColumn2Value2",
[ "ValuesColumn1Value3", "ValuesColumn2Value3",
...
],
locations: [
[ "LocationsColumn1Value1", "LocationsColumn2Value1",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value2", "LocationsColumn2Value2",
[ "LocationsColumn1Value3", "LocationsColumn2Value3",
...
]
}
}
2. Array of objects with arbitrary keys, and a bindings object
This format is most likely useful when you have data from an external source,
such as CSV data loaded from d3-dsv.
You should supply this attached to the opts.data, which might look
like:
{
values: [
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
...
],
locations: [
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
... but with the keys being the column headers from your
source data instead. You must also supply an object attached to
opts.bindings. The minimal bindings you can
supply for this template are as shown in this example:
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
bindings: {
values: {
src: "ValuesHeader1",
dst: "ValuesHeader2",
val: "ValuesHeader3",
},
locations: {
code: "LocationsHeader1",
name: "LocationsHeader2",
latitude: "LocationsHeader3",
longitude: "LocationsHeader4",
}
},
data: {
values: [
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
...
],
locations: [
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
}
All possible bindings that you can supply are shown in this example:
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
bindings: {
values: {
src: "ValuesHeader1",
dst: "ValuesHeader2",
val: "ValuesHeader3",
filter1: "ValuesHeader4",
filter2: "ValuesHeader5",
},
locations: {
code: "LocationsHeader1",
name: "LocationsHeader2",
latitude: "LocationsHeader3",
longitude: "LocationsHeader4",
}
},
data: {
values: [
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "ValuesHeader1": ..., "ValuesHeader2": ..., ... },
...
],
locations: [
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
{ "LocationsHeader1": ..., "LocationsHeader2": ..., ... },
...
]
}
}
(As before, the keys containing "Header" would be replaced by column names from your data source.)
3. Array of objects with template-defined keys
There is an alternative format you can use, which is likely to be easier to
use if your data is not from a spreadsheet source. With this alternative format
you supply your data to the template as
an array of objects, attached to opts.data, where the keys must
be those used by the template, as documented below. In this case
there is no need to supply a bindings object, since the key names are already
those expected by the template. The required properties in the data
object are as follows (scroll down for a
description of what each property is):
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
data: {
values: [
{
src: ...,
dst: ...,
val: ...
},
...
],
locations: [
{
code: ...,
name: ...,
latitude: ...,
longitude: ...
},
...
]
},
...
}
And the full list of all possible properties is as follows:
{
template: "_191",
version: "_16",
data: {
values: [
{
src: ...,
dst: ...,
val: ...,
filter1: ...,
filter2: ...
},
...
],
locations: [
{
code: ...,
name: ...,
latitude: ...,
longitude: ...
},
...
]
},
...
}
Meanings of the template data keys:
- values.src: The column containing the code for the arrow’s source
- values.dst: The column containing the code for the arrow’s destination
- values.val: The column containing the value of interest - this specifies the thickness of the arrow
- values.filter1: Creates a menu or slider based on the values in a column
- values.filter2: Creates a menu or slider based on the values in a column
- locations.code: The column containing the location code, as specified in the Source and Destination columns of the Values sheet
- locations.name: The column containing the location name
- locations.latitude: The column containing the latitude of the location
- locations.longitude: The column containing the longitude of the location
Template settings
Options for opts.state.
Title & subtitle
title string
Title.
subtitle string
Subtitle.
Design
globe_skin string
Globe surface. Choose a preset skin or provide a URL of jpg sized 4096×2048 pixels Predefined values:
arrow_colour color
Arrows.
selected_colour color
Highlights.
text_color color
Text.
accent_colour color
Accent.
background_colour color
Background.
grad_opacity number
Gradient opacity. Max: 1
grad_overwrite boolean
Use custom gradient colour.
grad_color color
Custom gradient colour.
custom_controls_colors boolean
Customise controls colours.
controls_background_color color
Controls.
controls_text_color color
Controls labels.
controls_button_border color
Button border.
controls_channel_color color
Slider.
custom_css boolean
Use custom CSS styles.
css text
Data & arrows
aggregation_method string
If multiple rows with same locations…. Allowed values:
arrow_scale_reference string
Scale arrows relative to max value in:. Allowed values:
num_arrows number
Max number of arrows. Sets a limit on the number of arrows to draw to improve animation performance
arrow_scale number
Arrow scale. Multiplier to increase or decrease the width of the arrows
value_prefix string
Number prefix.
decimal_places number
Decimal places.
value_suffix string
Number suffix.
Top results list
num_results number
Number of results to show. How many countries to show in the results list
show_values boolean
Show values next to locations. Show the data value for each location in the results
leaderboard_country_header boolean
Show country header. When there’s only one source or destination in the list, show it as a header.
Menu/slider 1
f1_type string
Data type. Allowed values:
f1_temp_format string
Date/time format in data. The date/time format in your data sheet. Used only to sort the data, if required. If your format isn’t in the list, you can enter a custom format using d3-time-format syntax. See npmjs.com/package/d3-time-format for details. Predefined values:
f1_sort_options boolean
Sort menu. If unchecked, the menu ordering will follow the ordering in the spreadsheet
f1_control string
Control. Allowed values:
f1_width number
Menu width. Min: 150
f1_play_button boolean
Include play button.
f1_step_time number
Time between steps when playing. Measured in seconds, positive values move the slider left to right, negative values move the slider right to left.
f1_loop boolean
Loop on play.
f1_loop_pause number
Pause before loop restarts. Measured in seconds and in addition to the regular step time displayed above.
Menu/slider 2
f2_type string
Data type. Allowed values:
f2_temp_format string
Date/time format in data. The date/time format in your data sheet. Used only to sort the data, if required. If your format isn’t in the list, you can enter a custom format using d3-time-format syntax. See npmjs.com/package/d3-time-format for details. Predefined values:
f2_sort_options boolean
Sort menu. If unchecked, the menu ordering will follow the ordering in the spreadsheet
f2_control string
Control. Allowed values:
f2_width number
Menu width. Min: 150
f2_play_button boolean
Include play button.
f2_step_time number
Time between steps when playing. Measured in seconds, positive values move the slider left to right, negative values move the slider right to left.
f2_loop boolean
Loop on play.
f2_loop_pause number
Pause before loop restarts. Measured in seconds and in addition to the regular step time displayed above.
Rotation
auto_rotate boolean
Auto rotate globe based on data.
distance number
Initial zoom. The distance from the earth, from 350 (closest) to 1000 (farthest away) Min: 350 Max: 1000
default_lat number
Default lat. The latitude to show on load. Ignored when Auto rotate is selected and there are arrows showing. Min: -90 Max: 90
default_lon number
Default long. The longitude to show on load. Ignored when Auto rotate is selected and there are arrows showing. Min: -180 Max: 180
