How do I use a Heat Map Report?

The Heat Map Report provides a visual distribution of clients who have visited in the reporting period. 

How is this map created?
The heat map only shows one data point per zip code, to help maintain client anonymity. Please note: In rural areas with very large zip codes, it will seem very sparse.

We drop a data point on the map at one single spot per zip code for each visit in the report. Say for example there are 100 visits at 90210, those would all appear at a single point in Beverly Hills, even if it was 100 individual households spread around.

The address data points come from Open Street Map and Open Addresses and the United States Postal Service. These services identify coordinates based on addresses and zip/postcodes. It uses the entirety of the map and then finds the total number of data points. The system looks at actual geolocation by street address and selects one location to represent those addresses. The legend is used to define the density by zip/postcode. The level of density will be adjusted depending on how zoomed in you are. 

This article covers the following topics: 

• Additional steps following basic setup
• Table overview
• How do I print a Heat Map Report?
• Efficiency and Timeliness of Report Generation

Additional steps following basic setup

Please see Report Setup Foundations for information on basic setup steps for all reports. 

Additional steps: 

1. Under the heading On The Heat Map, you will be able to indicate the data points that will be displayed on the Heat Map. 
   • Show a marker for each organization on the Heat Map report: Checking the box will show a house icon on the map for each organization selected under Organizations. If the box is unchecked, the map will not show house icons.
   • Show data for: Choose what type of data you want the heat map to report on. 
     • Age Group: Individuals (Unique): Shows only people of a particular age.
     • Gender Identity: Individuals (Unique): Shows people only with that selected gender identity.
     • Served: Households (Unique):  Shows each household only once regardless of the number of times they visited. 
     • Employment: Students (Unique): Shows people who have indicated that their employment is Student or selected Yes for the Post-Secondary Student question.
     • Served: Households (Duplicated): Shows location of household for each visit, duplicated count. 
2. Click Create Report at the bottom, your report will be found in your Report Inbox on the left-hand side of the screen under Reports. Alternatively, you can hit Save Template if you want to save this as a template for future use. More on templates can be found here. 

Review Report Basics for information on what Unique/Duplicated mean. 

Table overview

To zoom in and out, hold down CTRL (or Command on a Mac) and zoom in and out with your mouse. 

The Heat Map colors range from white to red. It also includes a legend for the colors. See How do I print a Heat Map Report below for instructions on how to print this report. 

How do I print a Heat Map Report?

Clicking on the How Do I Print a Heat Map Report? button will navigate you through to this article. (May bring you to our old user manual in the meantime while we work on updates to links)

In order to successfully print the Heat Map Report please follow these steps: 

1. Use the zoom-in/out icons to make sure the area you want to print is visible on your screen. Make sure that your web browser is in full-screen mode. 
2. Click on the PrntScr button on your keyboard. It should be on the top right of your keyboard. It could also be labeled Prt Sc or PrtScn.
3. Selecting this keyboard button means the image on your screen has been copied. 
4. Open the Paint program on your computer. If you cannot search for it, it can usually be found in the Accessories folder. 
5. Once open select Paste or select Clipboard then the first button on the right which is Paste.
6. Since your entire screen has been copied, you will need to select the area you want to print by excluding the areas you don't want, like the website address and toolbar.
7. Click on Crop on the top of the toolbar or select the rectangle under Image, select the area, then select the second option from the right which is Crop. 
8. Once you have the map selection you want, go to File, then Print as usual. 

Snipping Tool some newer PCs have the Snipping Tool. You can use it to just select the map on your screen before copying it into paint or alternatively you should be able to save the image you capture directly or print directly by selecting the three circles in the top right of the tool.

NOTE: Using the autocomplete address widget in the UI is the best way to update addresses and get them to appear on a map, for both clients and organizations.

If clients have addresses that aren’t mapping correctly to Latitude and Longitude, they will appear with a yellow alert above their address that says: “At least part of this client’s address could not be found in the location database, which will impact reporting. Please confirm it is correct. Make sure to include apartment and unit numbers on the second line.” The “impact to reporting” is that they won’t appear on the Heat Map report, and the map on the Personal tab will not pinpoint the client’s house.

Efficiency and Timeliness of Report Generation

In our report generation process, we understand the significance of minimizing wait times for our users. Currently, the wait time is determined by the number of organizations included in the report and the duration covered. Let's delve into the details of our report queues for a clearer understanding.

We manage two queues: one for regular reports and another for large reports. We allow up to 20 reports to run simultaneously. This setup enables concurrent processing of multiple reports but may result in a slightly extended initial wait time to ensure efficiency.

Report size is determined by multiplying the number of sites by the duration in days, with a limit set at 50 sites x 180 days (equivalent to 9000). Anything exceeding this threshold is directed to the large queue.
Recognizing the complexity and scale of large reports, they are processed in a separate queue, occasionally resulting in wait times measured in hours. We understand the inconvenience and are actively working towards optimizing processing times for such reports in the future. 

Conversely, our regular queue processes reports efficiently with a minimum wait time of 6 minutes per report. Multiple reports can run simultaneously, minimizing overall slowdowns. However, there are instances where regular reports may take longer, ranging from 20 to 30 minutes each. It's essential to note that even a quick report may experience delays if queued behind longer reports.

As we strive to optimize report processing times, your feedback is crucial. Please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions, these contribute to our ongoing efforts to enhance and streamline this process for an improved user experience.