Quickstart guide to create your first map
This is a quick guide to help you get started and is a step-by-step overview on how to connect CARTO to your data warehouse, explore your data, and create maps.
The CARTO Workspace includes functionalities for registering and managing connections to your data warehouse(s). Additionally, for each organization we also provision resources from the CARTO Data Warehouse to ensure you can get going with our technology from the beginning.
Once you have registered a connection to a data warehouse, you can start using your data with all components of the CARTO platform, such as running advanced spatial analysis with our Analytics Toolbox or creating stunning maps with Builder.
Go to the Connections section in the Workspace, where you can find the list of all your current connections. If you haven’t registered a connection yet, you will see the following page:
To add a new connection, click on New connection and follow these steps:
- 1.Select your data warehouse from the list of support platforms: Google BigQuery, PostgreSQL, Amazon Redshift, or Snowflake.
- 2.Click the Setup connection button, or the Connect using a service account button if you are connecting to Google BigQuery.
- 3.Enter the connection parameters and credentials. You need to enter the connection parameters such as the server, username, password, or provide a service account, depending on the type of connector.
The following screen shows the connection setup options for Google Cloud BigQuery:
After you have provided the connection parameters, click the Connect button. Then you will see the list of your current connections with the new one added:
You can manage your connections to your data warehouse(s) through different options: edit, delete or share your connection. For more details, check the Creating a connection guide.
The Data Explorer section enables you to explore the contents accessible from your connected data warehouse, preview your geospatial tables and tilesets, and start creating maps or tilesets from your data. If you haven’t connected your own data warehouse yet, you will see the provisioned
CARTO data warehouse connection with access to some demo data.
To add your first connection, you can follow the previous Guide to create a data warehouse connection.
Once you have added a connection, go back to the Data Explorer section, where you will see the list with all of your current connections.
Select a connection and start exploring the content (database/project(s), schemas/datasets, and tables) in a collapsible tree.
Click on Show more... button if you want to expand the list and visualize more results.
Once your table or tileset is selected, you can access a preview of the map and some metadata details of the selected table or tileset.
You can create a map by clicking on the Create map or Create a tileset button on the top to visualize larger volumes of data from a table. This will open the CARTO map-making tool, Builder.
The Maps section enables you to create and manage maps in the CARTO Workspace.
From your Maps page, click Create your first map. This will open the CARTO map-making tool, Builder.
You can also getting some ideas from our sample maps.
From the Layers tab on the left side, you can add data as a map layer from any of your existing data warehouse connections. In this example, we are using the BigQuery connection created in the previous step of this guide. With BigQuery we can use a custom SQL Query to retrieve data, add an entire table, or a tileset.
A new dialog will open so you can select your connection and your data source.
In this example we are going to use a table from our BigQuery connection. Select the table from the list and click Add source.
Once the process is finished, the BigQuery table is included in Builder as a new layer to the map. You can add additional layers, or apply styling and analysis features to the layer that you have just added.
CARTO Builder contains many features that guide you through the process of creating a map, changing the styling, and selecting how your data appears rendered on a map. Use the following task list as a guide for some of the main features of CARTO Builder:
Creating tilesets is currently available from BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and PostgreSQL connections. Support for Databricks connections will come soon.
Check this reference documentation to get started using the Tiler module as a solution to visualise massive datasets hosted in BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift and PostgreSQL connections.
To learn more, please visit the Documentation page of the CARTO Analytics Toolbox for each provider:
You can create a tileset by clicking on the Create tileset button at the top of the screen. In this example below we are showcasing the workflow for a creating a basic tileset out of a polygon-based table.
Now from this interface will allow you to set the location and name of the output tileset in a directory where the user has write permissions. Once you have completed this configuration, click on Save here.
A new dialog will open so you can create the tileset from a form mode or from a sql mode. You are initially presented with a form mode to configure the tileset. You need to select the tileset zoom levels and choose the geometry column. You can also add a custom description to the tileset. Once you have completed this configuration, click on Continue.
The next screen will allow you to easily select the attributes of your table that will be included in the tileset. After completing this step, click on Continue :
The last screen will show you a summary of the configuration of the tileset for your confirmation. To confirm, click on Create :
At any point of the process you can switch to enable the SQL editor. This editor allows you to configure your tileset directly on the query that will be run to create it, therefore allowing you to edit all of the advanced options available. Once you have finished editing the SQL query, click on Create:
Please note that if you edit the SQL query and go back to the form, a message appears warning you that all changes will be lost. Click on Clear to accept this or click on Cancel to continue editing:
You can follow up your tileset creation process and check the status: creating tileset, tileset created successfully or tileset creation error. For more details, check the Creating a tileset from your data guide.
CARTO allows you to create geospatial tables through:
by importing files from your computer or via URL. Once a file is imported, the resulting table can be previewed in Data Explorer and used in Builder and external applications to create maps.
To import your data, go to Data Explorer section and click on the Import data button on the top right:
Please note that if you have selected a connection or folder, the Import data button will be displayed with an icon:
You can also import your data from the Home section, by clicking on the Import dataset button in Recent datasets:
A new dialog will open allowing you to import your data into the available connections. Check supported formats guide for more details.
You can import your data through two different methods: Local or Remote. For more details, check Importing data guide.
The Data Observatory is a spatial data platform that enables you to augment your data with the latest and greatest in spatial data. With a catalog of thousands of spatial datasets from public and premium sources that have been vetted by our Data team, the Data Observatory provides a streamlined process to reduce the operational inefficiencies of discovering, licensing, and accessing spatial data.
We strongly recommend reading through the Terminology to get familiar with all the components of the Data Observatory.
In the following sections you will find a collection of resources where you can learn how to:
CARTO Builder allows you to export your data.
To export your data, add a source to the map and click on the Export viewport data button.
A new dialog screen will open informing you that the resulting CSV files will contain data from the current features in the viewport. Click the Export data button to confirm the download of the data or click on Cancel if you don’t want to continue exporting.
The result of the export will be a compressed file containing all visible features in the viewport in csv format.
You can duplicate existing maps from CARTO Workspace, the organization area; and also from CARTO Builder, our map editor. This option is available for all maps, whether you have admin or edit access.
To make a copy of an existing map from CARTO Workspace, go to “Maps” and click on the three-dotted menu in each map card. If you are the owner of the map, you will have access to the 3 available options: Edit name & description, Duplicate map and Delete.
To make a copy of an existing map from CARTO Builder, add data or a title to the map and click on the three-dotted menu in the top right of Builder.
Copied maps will always start as
Copy of plus the original map name, and will always started as private maps for yourself.When duplicating a map, you’ll receive a warning if any of the sources is not shared with you (eg: a private connection) — You can continue anyway, but the private sources will load with errors and the corresponding layers will not be visible, leaving you the choice of fully removing them or asking for access.
This ensures security across data sources, even when making editable map copies between users.
You can also delete existing maps from CARTO Workspace, the organization area; and also from CARTO Builder, our map editor.
To delete an existing map from CARTO Workspace, go to “Maps” and click on the three-dotted menu in each map card. If you are the owner of the map, you will have access to the 3 available options: Edit name & description, Duplicate map and Delete.
To delete an existing map from CARTO Builder, click on the three-dotted menu in the top right of Builder.
By default all maps you create are set as private. With CARTO you can share your maps with your organization or publish them for anyone with the link.
Once you publish a map, you obtain a URL to share access to the map or HTML code to embed it on a website or blog. You can also get the map token to call the map when developing an application in CARTO.
There are different sharing options, like sharing visualizations in a protected way with a map password or controlling how it is displayed using URL parameters.For more details, check the Publishing and sharing maps guide.
Last modified 4mo ago