Using the selection toolbox

Creating a selection

This guide will walk you through using the selection toolbox available when creating a mask or a report from maps. Let's dive right in!

As of right now, Social Explorer users can select geographies and areas of interest using six different selection tools: 

•  individual geography selection
•  rectangle selection
•  circle selection
•  polygon selection
•  line selection tool
•  layers selection tool

Using the point selection tool

 point selection tool is best used when you want to select individual geographies. For this example, we’ll be using Social Explorer’s Creating reports from a map feature. Click on the  icon in the Change data menu and select the Create report option.

1. From the geography dropdown, select the geography level you wish to use to generate your report.

   When using the masking tool, you may also choose to include sub-geographies while masking an area. These will show up as we zoom into the map. If none of the sub-geographies are checked, you will only see the geographies you selected.

2. Click the  point selection tool from the selection toolbox next to the Create a report panel.
3. Click all the geographies you want to add to your selection. 

   To unselect a geography you already selected, click on it again. To unselect all selected geographies, click Reset in the Create a report panel.

Using the rectangle and circle selection tools

 rectangle selection and  circle selection tools allow you to select multiple geographies at once. 

1. From the geography dropdown, select the geography level you wish to use to generate your report.
2. Click the  rectangle selection or  circle selection tool.
3. Click on the map and drag to draw a rectangle or a circle. 

   To move the map, hold the spacebar and click and drag the map around. To move the shape you're drawing, press the spacebar while drawing and move the shape. To cancel, press Esc while drawing the shape. 

Using the polygon selection tool

 polygon selection tool allows you to select multiple geographies at once.

1. From the geography dropdown, select the geography level you wish to use to generate your report.
2. Click the  polygon selection tool. 
3. Click on the map to start drawing. 

   Unlike the  rectangle selection and  circle selection tools, you don't have to drag when drawing a polygon. Instead, click on the map where you want to add corners. 

4. Double-click anywhere on the map, or click the starting point of the polygon to close it. 

Selection modes explained

The  polygon selection,  rectangle selection, and  circle selection tools have three different modes. 

• The touching mode will select every geography included in the shape, even if a single pixel is included in the shape you draw. 
• The enclosed mode will select only the geographies included in their entirety in the drawn shape. (Even if a single pixel is left outside the shape you draw, the geography will not be included in the selection.)
• Centroid mode selects features whose geographic centroid falls within your selection. The geographic centroids are also displayed on the map as black dots for each feature so you can clearly see what will be included in your selection when done.

We also added new units of length to the Rectangle and Circle tools. To measure small areas, you can now use yards or even feet. We also added kilometers and meters for all the metric lovers out there. Our circle selection tool is now even more customizable: you can now manually enter a precise radius. Simply, select the circle tool, click anywhere on the map, enter the radius, and hit OK.

Using the line selection tool

 line selection tool is best used when the geographies you want to select are lined up one after the other. 

1. From the geography dropdown, select the geography level you wish to use to generate your report.
2. Click the  line selection tool. 
3. Click anywhere on the map to start drawing a line. 

   You don't have to click and drag when drawing a line. Instead, click on the map where you want to add line breaks. 

4. Double-click anywhere on the map when you're done drawing the line. 

Using the layers selection tool

layers selection tool allows you to select the geographies from your uploaded dataset.

If you have uploaded your own dataset into Social Explorer and would like to create a report or mask for the select geographies in your uploaded dataset, the layers tool will help you layer the map with the geographies from your uploaded dataset. As long as your uploaded dataset contains lat/long coordinates or geocoded addresses, you’re all set.

1. From the geography dropdown, select the geography level you wish to use to generate your report.
2. Click the layers selection tool.
3. Select the uploaded dataset from which you want to add the geography layer you’re interested in creating a report for. The geographies from your uploaded dataset will appear layered on the map and listed in the left-hand side panel.

You can change the geography level to county or census tract if you’d like a report for the sub-geographies nested in your uploaded dataset.

To learn how to upload and visualize your data, read this guide.

Downloading and uploading selections

Selecting geographies can be pretty straightforward on the state level. However, when you get down to the finer geographies, such as census tracts, the task can be rather challenging. It becomes more difficult when you need to apply the same selection on a different project. We solved this problem by enabling selection download and upload.

1. In the Create a report panel on the left-hand side of your screen, click on the  icon to download the geography list.
2. Enter the name of the CSV file if prompted.

You can easily reuse your selection on any map. 

1. Find the CSV file you downloaded on your hard drive. 
2. Click on Upload in the Create a report panel located below “Select geographies”, navigate to the CSV file you previously downloaded, select the file, and click Open.

Once the upload is complete, the selection will instantly load on the map you’re viewing, regardless of the variable displayed.