Filter Overview: Spatial Overlap Filter

This guide demonstrates how to add and filter overlapping datasets on a map to uncover valuable insights and opportunities within specific geographical areas.

Vlada Cernega
27 steps
3 minutes

Spotzi

Start by creating a dashboard with the locations you would like to filter. The layer you start with in this dashboard is your **base layer**. You may add additional layers to your dashboard in the dashboard's layer options. Layers containing polygons (like city boundaries or drive-time areas) can be used to spatially filter your **base layer.**

Navigate to the "Spatial Overlap" filter and click "Edit".

Click "Add overlap"

Select the layer you would like to use as your filter.

Click "Done"

Click "Apply"

Only the locations that fall within the boundary of your selected layer will remain on the map. Your dashboard widgets will update accordingly.

Removing your spatial filter will return all locations to your map.

If your additional layer contains multiple polygons (such as a postal code boundary layer) you may combine the **Spatial Overlap filter** with the **Layer Filter**. This will allow you to select the specific polygons (postal codes, city boundaries, or drive-time polygons) you would like to use in your filter.

First, navigate to the "Layer Data" filter and click "Edit".

Click "Add filter"

Click the layer dropdown to select the layer you would like to use as a spatial filter.

Select the column you would like to filter this layer by. This will allow you to select only certain polygons from your polygon layer. In this case, let's filter our postal code layer to select only the postal codes within one or more target municipalities.

Select the values you would like to filter by.

Click "Done"

Click "Apply"

Your polygon layer will now be filtered, and only the polygons that align with your selected layer filter will appear on the map. Our base layer remains unaffected when we add a layer filter to another layer. We can continue by adding a spatial overlap filter. This will allow us to filter our base layer for only the locations that overlap with our newly filtered polygon layer. Navigate to the "**Spatial Overlap**" filter and click "Edit".

Click "Add overlap"

Choose your filtered polygon layer.

Click "Done"

Click "Apply"

You will now only see the locations that overlap with the filtered polygons on your second layer.

If you'd like to change your layer filter and select new polygons, you can navigate back to the "Layer Data" filter and click "Edit".

Choose a new column for filtering, or select new values in your previously added filter column. In this case, let's de-select "Berlin" and select Hamburg instead.

Click "Done" when you're happy with your new selection.

Click "Apply"

Your base layer will now update to display the locations that overlap with the new polygons you selected.