# Create shareable maps
The Maps menu is a place where all your published map layers are visualized. Clicking on the Maps menu found in the navigation bar, you will find a full screen map with your map layers available through a layer panel found on the left side of the app.
# Map settings
In Maps you can set the default zoom so that every time you go to Maps, it will automatically zoom to your region of interest. If you have country(s) of interest, you can select them and begin to explore its administrative level boundaries on the map even before you create any map layers!
To access the Map settings, click on your profile icon in the top-right corner and under Workspace, click Map Settings (Only accessible by members who have Admin or Owner roles).
# Map placement and default zoom level
Under Map settings, you have the ability to set the default zoom and map placement. To do so, scroll down to the map found at the bottom of the page and begin to move the map itself into the position and zoom level that you prefer. By doing so, you will change the fields found under the Map placement section. Once done, click Save and you will have fixed the map to your region.
# Set country administrative levels
Under the Map settings, you can select country(s) of interest and any of its available administrative levels. By doing so, you will enable these country administrative levels to be viewable on the Maps menu. This can be a helpful way to add more context to your visualizations.
If you would like to add multiple administrative levels for a single country, click + Add Country button and a new row will be available for you to select the country and its administrative level.
EXAMPLE: Adding multiple admin levels for a country
Here is an example of Map settings with 3 administrative levels for a single country.
# Publishing map layers
Publishing map layers allows your map layers to be viewed on the Maps menu found in the navigation bar. This means map layers can be viewed by members in your workspace. Viewing maps will allow members to toggle on and off multiple map layers for analysis and comparison.
In order for your map layer to be viewable on the Maps menu, your map layer needs to be published first. By default, all map layers are published by default after the map layer is created. Members have the ability to review map layers and decide to publish and un-publish them from the Maps menu.
How to publish map layers
To review which map layers are published, click on the Data menu, select the table in which you have map layers created from and on the layer panel you will see a list of map layers with a toggle switch. The toggle switch is used to publish and un-publish map layers. Once you have finished publishing or un-publishing map layers, you can now click on the Maps menu and see your latest changes reflected in the map view.
# View map by layers
After creating multiple maps layers, you can now view them together in the Maps menu. In order to view the map layers, map layers must be published first (see Publishing map layers (opens new window)).
On the Maps menu, you can click on the arrow icon to expand the layer panel. Here, you will find two sections:
- Country: Under Country, you will find a list of administrative level boundaries that have been enabled on your workspace - see Map settings (opens new window) for more details.
- A list of data tables: Under each data tables you have imported, you will find all the map layers you have created.
As you explore your map layers, you can click on the checkbox next to each map layer to hide or display the map layer. For map layers such as Choropleth maps, you'll notice an additional legend that will appear when this type of map layer is selected.
Have fun exploring your maps! 🗺 🤓