Configuring the Visual map template

The Visual map template enables you to draw an illustration or a map by using different shapes and symbols. You can add a text box and format it.

The template provides a set of tools that enable you to configure the view page as follows:

• Add standard symbols such as circle, triangle, or select from a set of additional symbols
• Add chart type symbols for data visualization such as pie chart, bar chart
• Add an image or a text box
• Associate a symbol or text box with an entity based on a record in the data mart. Use the data in the record to drill down into a view page and to display its status. 
• Associate a symbol or text box with another view page
• Customize a symbol by changing its color, orientation, and arrangement
• Create a duplicate or clone of a symbol or text box

Before you begin

If you want to associate a symbol with any specific entities, ensure that you have a data mart that contains the required entities. For more information, see Creating a SQL-based data mart for a custom view.

To configure a view using the Visual map template

The following video (7:00) illustrates the process of using the Visual map template in a custom view.

https://youtu.be/_-TGW8jAKR4

1. Open the view page with the Visual map template:

   • For a new view, add a view and select Visual map as the template. For detailed steps, see Adding and managing views.
   • For a new page in an existing view, add a page and select Visual map as the template. For detailed steps, see To add a page to an existing custom view.

2. In the view page, specify the following information:

   1. Title: Type a title for the page.
   2. Data mart: Select a data mart. The values in the Column for node identifier and Column for node names lists, and in the lists on the Edit Symbol page are populated from the selected data mart.
   3. Select a unique record identifier: Select a column that uniquely identifies each record in the data mart. For example, select a column with the system identifier value for a data mart that contains system data.

   4. Select a unique record name: Select a column that can be used for identifying the record name in the data mart.

3. Depending on your requirement, add a symbol or a text box as follows:

   • Insert a symbol:
     In the Symbols panel, click a symbol button to add a symbol to the template page.
     If you do not want to use the standard symbols such as Circle, Square, Triangle, Arrow, click More and select from the list of additional symbols.
     By default, the symbol is colored based on the selected color in the palette.
     

   • Insert an image:
     In the Symbols panel, click Picture and select the image that you want to add to the page. You can add an image with size up to 1 MB.
   • Insert a data visualization symbol:
     In the Data panel,  click Pie or Bar to add a pie chart or bar chart symbol to the page.
   • Insert a text box:
     In the Data panel,  click Text. A text box with default text is added to the page, which you can modify. You can change the formatting of the text by using the options under the Text panel.

4. Customize a symbol or a text box as follows:

   Customization	Description
   Modify the color	a. Select the symbol or text whose color you want to change and then, from the Color panel, select a color. b. To specify a different color or shade, click the selected color box and modify the shade or color.
   Rearrange a symbol or text	Select the symbol or text. b. In the Edit panel, click Arrange and select whether to send the symbol backward or to bring it forward.  You can drag the symbol on the page to change its current position or rotate it according to your requirement.
   Associate a symbol or text with a record in the data mart and with a view page
   	You can associate the symbol or text with a record of the selected data mart. Also, you can use the data in the record to drill down into a view page and to display its status. You must specify the conditions to show the status of the associated record. The symbol is displayed in green, yellow, or red depending on whether and how the value of the column breaches the threshold values. In the case of multiple conditions, the symbol color displays the worst status. For example, you specify two conditions for CPU utilization and memory utilization for a VM. If the CPU utilization for the selected VM is more than the Warn threshold while the memory utilization is less than the Warn threshold, then the color of the symbol is red because of the CPU utilization value condition. Select the symbol or text and click Edit. The Edit Symbol page opens. The options on the Edit Symbol page differ based on the selected symbol or text.
   For a symbol	a. In the Associate a record with the symbol list, select a record to be associated with the symbol. b. In the Select target view page list, select the view page that must open when you click the symbol. The data or value of the selected record in Associate a record with the symbol determines the content of the target view page. For example, if you select dv01 in Associate a record with the symbol, and VM details as the target view page, then on clicking the symbol, the VM details page displays information about dv01. c. To color-code the symbol or text depending on whether and how the value of a column in the data mart breaches the threshold, specify one or more conditions. i. In the Select a column list, select a column whose value you want to select for the condition. ii. In the Good Threshold and Warning Threshold fields, select a column from the list or type a fixed value. iii. For a bar chart symbol only: In the Maximum value field, type the maximum value for the symbol. iv. For a text box only: In the box, type the text that you want to display on the view page. Use the macro ${value} syntax to display the value of the column that you select in the Select a column list. d. Click Apply. The following illustration shows an example of editing a bar chart symbol:

5. To create a copy of a symbol or text box, select it and click Clone. 
6. If you want to remove a symbol or text, select it and then click Delete.
7. Click Save.
   The view page template is configured and saved. 
8. (Optional) Click Settings  and select Export to PDF to save an offline copy of the page.

Examples of a view page with the Visual map template

Example 1:

Example 2: