For a record to appear on a map it must be geocoded — its address must have been resolved to a set of geographic coordinates (a latitude and longitude). Records that are not geocoded will never plot on the map, even when they match your List Builder criteria.
What geocoding is
Geocoding is the process of converting a postal address into geographic coordinates. SwiftFox does this automatically for addresses saved against a record. Only records with a valid set of coordinates can be placed on the map.
Why a record might not be geocoded
- The record has no address recorded at all. This is the most common reason.
- The address is incomplete or malformed and could not be resolved to coordinates.
- The address could not be matched to a known location.
How to check a record's geocode status
- Open the People or Organisation profile.
- Go to the Contacts and Roles tab.
- Find the address under Addresses on the contact card.
- Look at the icons to the right of the address.
Reading the address icons
A crosshair (target) icon appears beside an address that has been geocoded. That record will plot on the map.
Be careful not to read the wrong icon: the globe icon on the same row appears against every contact method on the card — email addresses and phone numbers as well as addresses — so it tells you nothing about geocoding. The crosshair is the one to look for, and it only ever appears on an address row.
If a record has no Addresses section at all, there is no address to geocode and the record will not plot.
Seeing one record's location
A profile also has its own Map tab. Open it, choose an address from Map view, and the map shows a pin at that location. It is a quick way to confirm that a single record's address resolves to the place you expect.
Checking how many records will plot before adding a layer
When you build List Builder criteria for a layer, a live count at the bottom of the panel shows how many records have geographic coordinates for the current criteria — for example, 264 record(s) have geographic coordinates. That count includes only geocoded records, so it tells you in advance exactly how many markers the layer will produce. If it is lower than you expected, some matching records are missing an address or usable coordinates.
Related User Guides
- Maps — Overview
- Configuring a data layer (name, record type, point colour, criteria, coordinate count)
- Interacting with the map (markers, clusters, zoom, profile drill-through)
- Maps — Limitations & best practice