August 30, 2010

New printing options

Posted under: Support — Tags: , , , , by Phil V. @ 11:59 am

With the helpful feedback from our users, PolicyMap has recently added a new printing option. The PNG (or High Resolution) option allows users to print an electronic copy that might be slightly larger in size but offers more detail and a finer quality. The JPG printout still provides a quick and easy way to share maps, tables, Analytics from PolicyMap, and a PDF (which uses the JPG images) is formatted perfectly so you can simply print and insert into handouts.

Here are side by side examples of a PNG printout and a JPG printout, and links to the original files.

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July 12, 2010

July 2010 Updates

Posted under: Monthly Updates — Tags: , , , , , , , by Phil V. @ 5:24 pm
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All the data you need. All in one place. All online. | July 2010
You asked. We listened.

Better print resolution and aerial imagery for your maps are here. And you can find them both for FREE in PolicyMap. As a registered user or subscriber, just login and check them out.

PNG Printing.jpgHigher Resolution Maps: You‘ve had the ability to print maps as both JPEGs and PDFs and incorporate them in your own work. Now, make your work even more sophisticated by creating high resolution maps. Just select the PNG file option when you click “print”. Check them out, and let us know what you think!

Aerial Imagery from Google Maps: Using Google’s public API, we’re bringing you Google aerial imagery in PolicyMap. Map your area of interest, then click “aerial” in the bar below the map. You’ll get side-by-side maps. PolicyMap on the left; Google aerials on the right. Pan, zoom in or zoom out, and the maps stay in sync. Create custom regions in PolicyMap and see them on the aerial view. Cool stuff.

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May 18, 2010

PolicyMap enters the Sunlight Foundation’s Design for America competition

Posted under: PolicyMap Messages — Tags: , , , , , , , , by Maggie M. @ 4:08 pm
Sunlight Foundation

We’ve entered a new free widget into the Sunlight Foundation’s Design for America competition. It’s called the Health Widget and contains a number of health indicators from HHS, CDC, USDA and Census. Like our current widget, it gives people the ability to push interactive maps to their own website. This one, though, is new and includes rankings, data download and print features. You can see our entry here: http://sunlightlabs.com/projects/PMAP2010WIDGET/

Feel free to copy and paste the iframe. It’s there for you.

We’ll be updating our other widgets with these features soon. Stay tuned.


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February 8, 2010

Did you know… (Island Printing)

Posted under: Did you know... Series,Support — Tags: , , by Phil V. @ 1:27 pm

Welcome to our series on helpful tips for PolicyMap. With over 10,000 data indicators and many online features, we hope our series can help users better utilize PolicyMap. For a complete training, please join a free online session here: Click Here

Did you know you can print a map of just your target area shaded and have the surrounding area clear?  We call this feature "island printing."  To use island printing:

  1. Search for your default location.  Your searched location will be the area the map will shade by. (i.e. searching for Chicago will only shade the city of Chicago when you choose "island printing.")
  2. Create a map as normal with a data layer and  Add Sites.
  3. When you are ready to print the map, choose "only shade selected region."

 

 Print "only shade selected region"

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September 23, 2009

Updated Home Sale Data, Enhanced Printing, and more on PolicyMap

Posted under: Monthly Updates — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by Phil V. @ 5:22 pm

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PolicyMap is a CNET Webware Winner! | Late September 2009
In this update

  • Enhanced Printing
  • State Map Boundaries
  • 1st Quarter 2009 Home Sale Data
  • Homeowner Affordability for 2009
  • ARRA Transportation Stimulus Investments
  • EPA Brownfields
  • Updated Jobs by Industry Concentration
  • Monthly Unemployment from BLS
  • DHS Green Card Recipients
  • Homelessness Data

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New Features

You asked – we listened.


Enhanced Printing Options: As a Registered User or Subscriber, you can now print a map of a single geography, rather than having to include surrounding areas in your printout. Set your map location in the search bar across the top, add a data layer, and select “Print”. You can choose between shading the entire map or only shading your selected geography!

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State Map Boundaries: Now available in the Map Options at the bottom of the map is the ability to add state map boundaries to all of your maps.
Updated Housing Data

Home Sale Data: Home sale stats for the first quarter of 2009 are now available for subscribers. Check out how the number of home sales and median sales prices have changed in your target neighborhoods since the end of 2008. PolicyMap licenses this data from Boxwood Means, Inc. and displays it at the block group or census tract level.

Homeowner Affordability: Check out the number and percent of homes affordable to 4-person families in 2009, based on HUD’s designated Area Median Income. Users can access this data for free in the Owners & Renters tab in the Add Data Layer menu.
New Add Sites Data

Federal Transportation Stimulus Investment: PolicyMap now shows transportation projects made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for 11 of the 50 states: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

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Users can access this data for free in the Add Sites menu on the bottom left and selecting Federal Transportation Stimulus Investments.

US EPA Brownfield sites: We’ve added the EPA’s directory of brownfields. These are locations for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of the site may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

This data is available for free and can be found in the Add Sites menu on the bottom left and selecting Environment.
Updated Data

Census County Business Patterns: PolicyMap now has the latest 2007 Industry Concentrations data. You can explore industry concentration now by metro area as well at the county, zip code, and state-level.

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All users can find this free job concentration data in the Jobs & Economy tab in the Add Data Layer menu.

Monthly Unemployment from BLS: Check out the latest June and preliminary July 2009 employment, unemployment, and labor force data for states, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence. This monthly and annual data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is available for free in PolicyMap. Visit our blog to see which cities have the highest unemployment rates.

Find this data for places you care about in the Jobs & Economy tab in the Add Data Layer menu.

Department of Homeland Security Green Card Recipients: We’ve added data for FY2008 for non-nationals receiving Legal Permanent Residence (LPR) status in the US.

Users can find this data for free in the Immigration section under the Demographics tab in the Add Data Layer menu.
New Data on PolicyMap

Homelessness Data from HUD: All users can now access 2006 through 2008 estimates of homeless population rates, counts of unsheltered vs. sheltered homeless populations, and 2008 bed inventories for homelessness services by state.

This data is available for free and can be found in the Demographics tab in the Add Data Layer menu.
As you can see, new datasets continue to come in from a wide variety of sources. What else do you need? Let us know. Send your responses to info@policymap.com.

The PolicyMap Team

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December 29, 2008

Embed your own maps and print bigger, better maps!

Posted under: Monthly Updates — Tags: , , , , , , , by Phil V. @ 11:35 am



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December 2008 Update

Now on PolicyMap!

New Features:

  • Embed Your Own Map: Posting a data rich map to your website or blog has never been easier. The embedded map serves as a live link to the actual map on PolicyMap, which provides additional details such as a complete legend and details on the data used. The embed feature is available for free to all PolicyMap registered users and subscribers. Once you create a map you want, all you have to do is click on the “embed” button, copy the html code provided, paste it into your own website and you are done! Read more.
  • Bigger, Better Maps: Creating PDFs and JPEGs of your custom maps to incorporate into your own presentations and reports never looked better. PolicyMap now offers full-page printing and the ability to choose between printing in landscape or portrait. We’ve tried hard to make what you see in your printed material mirror what you are seeing on the screen you’ve created. They’ll look great in your presentations and proposals. Check it out here
  • Map Options: Customize your map by turning off the parks, water and landuse areas or by adding state legislative
    boundaries to you map. Find these options and more under the Map Options tab in the bottom right of your map.
  • Improved Census Tract Search: PolicyMap got smarter and can better help you find the census tract you need in a map, table or report.

New and Updated Data:

  • Jobs: Find the latest job information from County Business Patterns. You’ll now have access to job information for 2006 and for those years going back to 2003. Find this under the Jobs tab in Add Data Layer menu. Available for free to registered users.
  • Home Sales: Annual home sale statistics for 2007 are now available down to the block group level. Track the change in home sales and median prices at the block group level annually from 2000 through 2007; and quarterly from Q1 2007 through Q1 2008 at the census tract level. Find this under the Real Estate Analysis tab in the Add Data Layer menu. Available to subscribers only.
  • Fair Market Rents: Find the latest 2009 FMRs from HUD. Find this under the Owners and Renters tab in the Add Data Layer menu. Available for free to registered users.
Seasons Greetings!

Here at TRF’s PolicyMap, we wish you a healthy and peaceful new year. We look forward to helping you with your data and mapping needs in 2009. Look for health insurance coverage data, home sale statistics for Q2 2008 and even more customizable mapping tools in January! Improved functionality comes from feedback by our PolicyMap users, so please send your suggestions to pmap@policymap.com.

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December 18, 2008

New PolicyMap Feature Simplifies Online Map Sharing

Posted under: News/Press Releases,Online Buzz — Tags: , , , , by Phil V. @ 12:16 pm

New PolicyMap Feature Simplifies Online Map Sharing

 

Online Mapping Tool Now Lets Users Embed, Share Thematic Maps on the Web

 

(Philadelphia) December 16, 2008 – PolicyMap, the online data mapping tool, today unveiled a new functionality that allows users to embed customized, data-driven maps into their own websites and blogs.  Through this new functionality, users can easily share thematic data from www.policymap.com on any website of their choosing.

 

PolicyMap offers quick and easy access to a wealth of market and demographic data for policymakers, professionals, and the general public. PolicyMap users can map and analyze by geography more than 4,000 data indicators related to demographics, real estate markets, education, employment, money and income, crime, energy, and public investments. These indicators are aggregated from a variety of sources including U.S. Census, Claritas, FBI, IRS, the Postal Service, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

 

For full directions on how to embed a map, visit: http://blog.policymap.com/?p=1520

 

The embedded map serves as a live link to a full-scale map on PolicyMap, which provides additional information such as a complete legend and details on the data used. The embed feature is available for free to all registered PolicyMap users.

 

Nearly 150,000 people have utilized PolicyMap since the site launched earlier this year. To date, PolicyMap has more than 8,000 registered users. Its varied subscribers include foundations such as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, state agencies including the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency, private entities like Comcast as well as nonprofit community organizations nationwide.

 

About PolicyMap

PolicyMap is an online mapping tool that makes it quick and easy to gather and analyze geocentric information. PolicyMap is a service of The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a not-for-profit leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization. TRF developed PolicyMap to empower decision makers with better access to credible market and demographic data. To utilize PolicyMap, visit www.policymap.com. To learn more about TRF, visit www.trfund.com.

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December 16, 2008

Bigger, Better Maps

Posted under: Support — Tags: , , , by Phil V. @ 11:19 am

Bigger, Better Maps: Creating pdf and jpegs of your custom maps to incorporate into your own presentations and reports never looked better. PolicyMap now offers full-page printing and the ability to choose between printing in landscape or portrait. We’ve tried hard to make what you see in your printed material mirror what you are seeing on the screen you’ve created. We think they’ll look great in your presentations and proposals.

Printed portrait maps will now have over 50% more map shown. 
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October 8, 2008

PolicyMap Quick Start

Posted under: Support — Tags: , , , , , , , , by Phil V. @ 10:37 am


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PolicyMap is a tool for all of you who wished there was an easier way to incorporate the power of data into the decisions you make. It’s fast, efficient and captures data in visually powerful ways through custom maps, tables and reports.

There are over 4,000 predefined maps and many unique features, so we invite anyone to join a free online training session to learn more about PolicyMap.  Visit our website and sign up for a session here:  PolicyMap Training Calendar.

We have created a Quick Start for those who wish to jump right into PolicyMap. You’ll learn how to search for specific addresses, locations or census tracts, find and add data to your map, use the identify tool to see the data behind the map and use the features loaded into the legend.

For a more complete guide to PolicyMap, check out our PolicyMap Primer which covers all features on PolicyMap including unique subscriber data. You can download it here: PolicyMap Primer v2.8.1.

For additional questions regarding PolicyMap, please contact our support team at info@policymap.com or call us at 866-923-MAPS (6277).

Watch our Quick Start video below

Download PDF of Quick Start Guide v2.8.1

Start discovering today.

Watch a video demo of PolicyMap’s newest feature: Analytics

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September 25, 2008

Did You Know… (Save, Print, & Email)

Posted under: Did you know... Series,Support — Tags: , , , , , by Phil V. @ 1:24 pm

Welcome to our series on helpful tips for PolicyMap. With over 4,000 indicators of data and many features, we hope our weekly tips can help users better utilize PolicyMap. For a complete training, please join a free online session here: Click Here

Did you know you can share your work by emailing a link with the data and points on your map or printing a JPG or PDF to attach to a presentation. All Saved and Printed maps can be accessed by going to My PolicyMap. You must be logged in to be able to save, print, or email any map.

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