How to add markers

After creating a locator map (e.g. directly here), you'll see four steps at the top that lead you to your final map: 1: Add markers, 2: Design map, 3: Annotate, and 4: Publish. In this article, we will focus on adding markers.

There are four types of markers supported in locator maps: point markers, area markers, line markers, and arrow markers. Points are for calling attention to a particular specific location, area markers can be used to highlight a region or show boundaries, line markers are useful to draw routes, and arrows are great to show movement between two places.

There are a few different methods of adding your markers to a locator map, depending on which type of marker you're using.

Let's go through the options to add markers to your map.

Contents

1. Use the Add button
2. Search by name
3. Enter coordinates
4. Paste Google Maps link
5. Import markers
6. Bring all your markers into the map view

Use the Add button

If you want to add point or arrow markers, you can click on the big Add button. For point markers, this will add a marker in the middle of your map viewport. For arrow markers, you have to click twice on the map to define the start and end point of your arrow.

After adding the marker, you can go directly into the map and drag the markers around. To do so, your mouse pointer needs to be on the map symbol (e.g. ⚫️), not the marker text.

Search by name

For point, area, and arrow markers, you can search for locations by name. For area markers, you can search for a country ("Nigeria"), state ("Texas"), or even smaller administrative regions (when you zoom in enough). For point and arrow markers, you can search for cities ("Shanghai") or addresses You can look for sights as well, e.g. "Empire State Building."

Enter coordinates

For point and arrow markers, you can enter or paste coordinates into the Search field, like 40.7584421, -73.9756589:

Paste Google Maps link

For point and arrow markers, you can also paste Google Maps links into the Search field.

For a Google Maps link, use the URL directly from your URL bar, which gives you a link including the place name and the coordinates. For example, you can use a link like this: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Empire+State+Building/@40.7484445,-73.9882393,17z (Don't use the Share feature in Google Maps, as this won't work.)

Import markers

If you have a lot of point, area, line, or arrow markers to upload, or precise geodata for your them, uploading a file containing those markers might be a great option. Locator maps support GeoJSON, CSV, GPX, or KML files. Learn more about importing markers in this Academy article.

You will see all your added markers in a marker list below the search field. Learn how to manage (e.g. delete, lock, and group) them here. We also published articles on how to style them: point markers, line and area markers, and arrow markers.

Bring all your markers into the map view

After you add markers to your map, you'll want to make sure they're all visible. You can adjust the view of your map by zooming in on the specific area of interest, or by moving the viewport until you can clearly see the markers. Datawrapper automatically detects when your markers are within the viewport, and if they're not, you'll see an option to Fit map view to markers.