Amazon QuickSight Enhances Layer Maps with GeoJSON Support for Points and Routes

Amazon QuickSight has expanded its layer map capabilities, now allowing users to visualize specific points and plot routes using GeoJSON files. This enhancement enables businesses to gain deeper insights from location-based data, such as tracking store performance, customer concentration, or logistical pathways.

The Chenab Times has learned that the business intelligence service, part of Amazon Quick, now supports two new geometry types within its GeoJSON workflow: Point and LineString. Previously, layer maps allowed for custom shape layers like sales territories or districts, effectively visualizing regions and boundaries. The addition of points and lines allows for the visualization of discrete locations and the paths connecting them, significantly broadening the application of geospatial analytics.

Dataset Structure and GeoJSON Requirements

To leverage these new features, users must provide a GeoJSON file that defines the geometry and a QuickSight dataset containing the associated metrics. A shared key is crucial for joining these two data sources, linking geometric features to specific data points. The GeoJSON file must be in the .geojson format and can be up to 100 MB in size.

GeoJSON, a JSON-based format, structures geographic features. A ‘FeatureCollection’ encompasses the entire file, containing an array of ‘Features’. Each ‘Feature’ represents a map element with its ‘geometry’ (shape) and ‘properties’ (including the join key). The ‘geometry’ object specifies the ‘type’—such as Point, LineString, or Polygon—and its ‘coordinates’. For a ‘Point’, coordinates consist of a single [longitude, latitude] pair, while a ‘LineString’ uses an ordered list of such pairs to define a path.

Visualizing Routes and Locations

The LineString geometry allows for the visualization of ordered lists of coordinates that form a single path. This is ideal for representing flight paths, delivery routes, shipping lanes, or pipeline segments. Each route is defined as a single feature in the GeoJSON, with its coordinates dictating the sequence of points the map connects. Businesses can use a field from their joined dataset to encode line color, enabling grouping of routes by categories like carrier or status. Customization options for line width and opacity further enhance visual clarity.

For instance, an airline operations team could map daily flights originating from an airport. The GeoJSON would define each route as a LineString, keyed by a route ID that links to a dataset containing origin, destination, and carrier information. This allows for the visualization of complex flight networks directly within QuickSight dashboards.

Similarly, the Point geometry allows for the marking of specific locations. While QuickSight offers a native point map visual that automatically geocodes location names, the layer map’s GeoJSON point support provides more granular control. This new capability requires explicit coordinates in the GeoJSON file, as it does not perform automatic geocoding. However, it offers precise control over the viewport, enabling users to lock the map to a specific geographic region and disable panning and zooming. This is particularly useful for dashboards that require a consistent, fixed view, such as tracking retail store performance within a defined metropolitan area.

Advanced Use Cases and Dynamic Updates

QuickSight’s layer maps also support advanced use cases, including layering multiple geometry types on a single map and dynamically updating GeoJSON files. Users can overlay points on top of polygon boundaries, such as plotting customer locations within regional sales territories. This requires setting the sheet layout to free-form to allow visuals to overlap, using identical bounds and disabling navigation for all stacked layer map visuals to ensure alignment.

While standard QuickSight visuals refresh data through SPICE or Direct Query, layer map geometry updates require manual intervention or programmatic updates to the GeoJSON file. For infrequent changes, users can re-upload the GeoJSON file through the QuickSight console. For automated or on-demand updates, a workflow involving Amazon S3 and the QuickSight APIs is necessary. This involves uploading the updated GeoJSON to an S3 bucket, referencing the new file location in the dashboard definition, and then calling the UpdateDashboard and UpdateDashboardPublishedVersion APIs.

This dynamic update capability is crucial for applications requiring real-time geospatial information, such as embedded dashboards that generate optimal routes between locations or display constantly changing operational data.

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