Thematic Maps show the geographic distribution of survey data, displayed as color-coded areas on a map.

Your preferences menu setting determines which map will be used. If the United States was selected, the 50 states and the District of Columbia will be displayed. If Canada was pre-selected, the Canadian provinces and territories will be displayed. If Europe was pre-selected, the 38 European countries will be displayed.

Thematic map questions automatically add the related text choices when entering questions and clicking the add button. Your preferences menu setting determines which set of text choices will be automatically added. If the United States was selected, the 50 states and the District of Columbia will be added. If Canada was pre-selected, the Canadian provinces and territories will be added. If Europe was pre-selected, the 38 European countries will be added.

If marked, the maximum and minimum values for (17) Numeric Entry, (9,13) Numeric Group, (10) 3-Column Numeric, and (23,30) 5-Column Numeric question types are displayed in the legend. If appropriate, the average value is also displayed with the legend text. When a foreign language is selected with Preferences, these terms are translated to the foreign language.

Numeric question types can have the legend display either the numerical distributions or percentages used for each color. If marked, percentages for (17) Numeric Entry, (9,13) Numeric Group, (10) 3-Column Numeric, and (23,30) 5-Column Numeric question types are displayed in the legend.

If marked, the State (U.S.), province (Canada), country (Europe) and county (State) names are displayed with each map.

Numeric ranges are used with (17) Numeric Entry, (9,13) Numeric Group, (10) 3-Column Numeric, and (23,30) 5-Column Numeric question types. Up to ten numeric ranges can be selected by selecting a number on the spinner. The minimum and maximum values values are found which determines the total range. Then the total range is divided into the number selected on the spinner to display how the values are distributed. These ranges are used for the column headings.

If the Automatic Calculation check box is marked, and the selected questions are valid, the calculation will be performed before this screen is displayed.

If checked, an extra column will be added to the reports to indicate the number of respondents that did not answer the question. The No Response totals would also be included in the percentage calculations.

The analysis and HTML reports can include the letter choice identifier (A., B., C., etc.) next to the text choice.

If checked the column headings will use a bold font on the analysis reports.

If checked, the color selected on the Preferences Menu will be used. If unchecked the HTML background will be white.

If checked, the HTML headings are shaded gray, and alternate rows of data are shaded with light yellow and white on a light yellow background. If this is unchecked the HTML pages are displayed with a white background, and no shading. The reports will also include a 10% gray shading if checked.

Horizontal and vertical lines can be included on the reports, to make it easier to view text choices and columns of data. If checked the main lines are included in the display and printed reports. See Show All Grid Lines to reveal hidden lines used to change column widths.

The width of the data columns can be varied. The left column is usually the question choice text. The remaining data columns occupy the rest of the report width.

Sometimes changing the number of columns displayed in a table, makes a better presentation. If checked the number of columns in each table will be changed. This is usually effective when a large number of choices requires multiple tables to display the analysis.

The number displayed next to the spinner determines the number of decimal places (up to 4) displayed for the column and row percentages.

Numeric ranges are used with (17) Numeric Entry, (9,13) Numeric Group, (10) 3-Column Numeric, and (23,30) 5-Column Numeric question types. Up to ten numeric ranges can be selected by selecting a number on the spinner. The minimum and maximum values values are found to determine the total range. Then the total range is divided into the number selected on the spinner to display how the values are distributed.

The currently selected question text, topic phrase, and text choices are displayed. The title caption and legend phrases usually include the topic phrase and text choices. A new topic phrase can be substituted for the original topic phrase which was entered on the Options/Values tab. The column to the right of the Text Choices is for shorter text choices. Chart text is used for labels on thematic maps and charts, and displayed when selecting question parts. If left blank, the text choice from the first column is always used. For example, the text for a question choice could be 'Willingness of manager to provide positive recognition'. That long choice on a chart would not be an appropriate label. The choice topic 'Positive Recognition' would fit better. Chart text is also used in some report column headings. Revised text must be saved before the displayed map is revised.

When applicable, your chart preferences (background, legend, and captions, etc.) are used for the default map settings. Settings can be changed for individual maps. When a new map is created, the default settings are reused. Complete descriptions of these options (Background, Headings, Legend) have been consolidated in the Survey Charts chapter of this manual.

Clicking the icon copies the displayed map to the Windows clipboard. Many software programs can paste images from the clipboard for their content.

When the icon is clicked, a new dialog is displayed. The displayed map can be saved as a BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, or PDF file. A default file name based on the survey question number is suggested, but you can change the file name to whatever you want.

Maps saved with the JPG format use the JPG Quality setting from the Background Chart Settings tab. JPG file size can be reduced by compressing the image. which results in some of the image information being lost. As JPG image compression is increased (thereby reducing the file size), gradients, text, lines, and sharp images become increasingly blurred. JPGs can handle color depth much better than the very limited GIF format. Most photographs, which do not have distinct changes between objects, are saved as JPG images.

The PNG format is the best choice for saving chart images with small file sizes, because maps are images with text, lines, and distinct changes between objects. The PNG format is the best choice for saving graphics with gradients. Most software and web browsers support the PNG format.

The BMP format results in the largest file size, with no loss of image information. The PNG format is the usually best choice for saving map images with smaller file sizes.

The GIF format usually produces the smallest files, which results in lower quality. Gradients are saved poorly with the GIF format.

Clicking the icon sends the displayed map to print on your default printer. (If you are printing black-white, you may want to change the Monochrome settings on the Chart Preferencs - Background Chart Settings tab.)

The numbers indicate the pixel height and width of the displayed map. You can change the map size by resizing the full WISCO Survey screen. The size of the initial screen is determined by the default size of the main program screen. The highest quality maps are made when other software does not have to resize and resample original graphics.