What are Shape Operations?
Binary Operations are performed to evaluate multiple scenarios in Territory Management. A typical binary operation is executed to explore records that lay inside and outside of the unions and intersections of two shapes. This implies combining two elements in order to produce the third one.
Shape operations is a unique feature of Maplytics that helps users to perform Binary operations on the shapes drawn on the map. These operations can only be performed under the Search option of ‘By Drawing’ in the Plot card and within the Territory Management section.
Users can open the ‘by drawing’ search option and right-click on the shapes and can choose the option of ‘Shape operations’. Let us explore the five-shape operations-
Difference
This highlights the shape(s) obtained by subtracting the overlapped ones from the selected shape
Consider a sales manager, Joey, trying to plot shapes on a map to check the number of records falling within them. Following are the two free, intersecting shapes A, and B drawn by him. Joey wants to check the records falling exclusively within shape B. Hence, to remove the area of intersection, Joey uses the difference operation. Thus, the exclusive part of shape B gets highlighted.
Intersection
This highlights the shape(s) where the selected shape and other shapes overlap. Now, let us say, Joey wants to check the records that are common to shapes A and B. Using the Intersection operation, he will be able to achieve the desired view.
Union
This adds all the shapes overlapped on the selected shape. The next stop for Joey is to check out all the records of Shape A and Shape B together to quantify them. Union operation makes it possible.
Union Aggregate
This performs union operation on all the shapes that are drawn on the map. If a shape does not overlap with any other shapes, it highlights such shapes and the union of the rest of the overlapping shapes.
Joey drew some more shapes in his instance apart from shapes A and B. He wanted to highlight all the shapes and put them to use. Using the Union Aggregate, Joey was able to highlight shapes A, B, C, and D together. He can study the records in all the shapes now.
Disjunctive union
This highlights the shapes that are not overlapped and lie in the selected shape & the shapes that are linked with the selected shape.
To check the distinct records in both shapes A and B which do not coincide with each other, Joey performs the Disjunctive Union Operation.
Shape Operations allow errors to be redefined and reset
Undo – While performing operations, the users can use the option of ‘Undo’ to go only one step back into the binary operations performed
Reset – Using the option of reset, the users can remove all the operations that are performed on the shapes drawn on the map
Shape Operations in Territory Management
Users can perform Binary operations on the shapes, regions, and also territories plotted on the map. They can select the territories on which they want to perform operations and right-click on them to select the same 5 Binary operations in the same manner. Joey can use them while working on pre-established territories.
What are the Benefits of Shape Operations?
- Easy visualization of records in distinct shapes
- Customized views for smart presentations
- Value adds for sales decision making
- Planning of effective Marketing Strategy
This is great but is there more?
Apart from Shape Operations, Maplytics has been able to develop notable features like proximity search, Territory Management, Optimized Routing with turn-by-turn navigation and along-the-route, Appointment Planning, Truck Routing, Tracking Field reps with Real-Time Tracking, performance analysis of complex data with Heat Maps, Census Data and shapefile overlays amongst others.
You can write to us at crm@inogic.com for your mapping queries, to explore the product further, a free trial of 15 days, or a personalized demo within Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM / Dataverse.
For more on Maplytics, do visit our Website or Microsoft AppSource. For further details, you can hop on to our Blogs, Client Testimonials, and Video Library.
Until then,
Happy Shaping!
