In this tutorial we are going to show you how to plot a spreadsheet of addresses on a Google Map.

So we’ll show how to take a spreadsheet with location data like this:

... And turn it into a map like this:

Step 1. Sign Up for Atlist

Atlist is our app that lets you map addresses on a custom Google Map.

You can sign up for the free trial (no credit card required).

Step 2. Create a New Map

Next, let's create a new map:

Step 3. Format Our Spreadsheet

First we need to format our spreadsheet so that it has these six columns:

A couple notes:

• The only required field is Address.
• Latitude and Longitude, Name, Notes and Groups are not required.
• You can download a sample CSV here.

Step 4. Export Your Spreadsheet as a CSV

Once our spreadsheet is formatted correctly, we’ll want to save this spreadsheet as a CSV.

CSV’s are a universal spreadsheet format and can be created with any spreadsheet app:

Microsoft Excel
File -> Save As -> CSV

Google Sheets
File -> Download -> CSV

Apple Numbers
File -> Export To -> CSV

Step 5. Upload CSV to Atlist

Next up we’re going to upload our CSV to our Atlist map:

From here, Atlist will magically populate our addresses on a Google Map using a process called Geocoding.

Geocoding takes location data such as a physical address and translates it into latitude or longitude data that can be used as map coordinates.

Step 6: Customize Your Map (Optional)

Now for the the fun part!

Now that your dataset has been uploaded to Atlist you can start to customize the style of your map.

Marker Style

You can customize the marker color, shape, size, border, shadow and more.

This is great for matching your map style to your website template.

Let's make our markers black and add a sledding icon:

Map Style

Customize the map layer by choosing a custom map style. Atlist includes several templates but you can also choose between thousands more at Snazzy Maps.

Here's the map style we choose:

Photo Galleries and Notes

Markers have modals that open when they are clicked — these modals can contain notes and photos that are specific to that marker.

Get Directions Button

Add a directions button for routing on the Publish tab:

Organize Markers into Groups

Markers can be organized into groups — and these groups can have their own custom styles.

Let's make two groups based on the sledding hill difficulty:

Step 7: Publish Your Map

There are three ways to publish your Atlist map: Save as Image, Embed on a Webpage or share the Public URL.

Go to the Publish tab to find these options:

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