Exploring Data

Once your data is imported, TimeTiles presents it as an interactive map with timeline controls, filters, and shareable URLs.

Map

Events appear as markers on an interactive map powered by MapLibre GL JS. When zoomed out, nearby events are clustered into numbered circles — click a cluster to zoom in.

Click any individual marker to see the full event details: title, date, location, description, and all metadata fields from your data.

Pan, zoom, and rotate the map freely. The URL stores the map center and zoom level — bookmark it to return to that area.

Timeline

For datasets with dates, a histogram shows event density over time. Each bar represents a time period — taller bars mean more events. Time controls are hidden when none of the visible datasets has temporal data.

Drag the handles to narrow the time range. Only events within the selected range appear on the map. This lets you watch how patterns shift over time — useful for spotting escalation, seasonal trends, or quiet periods.

Filters

Sidebar filters are generated automatically from your data schema:

Data source — filter by dataset when a catalog contains multiple
Category fields — select values from dropdowns with checkboxes
Numeric ranges — restrict numeric fields to a range
Date range — restrict temporal data to a specific time window

Category and numeric range filters appear only when exactly one dataset is selected and suitable fields are available.

Combine multiple filters to drill down. All active filters are reflected in the URL.

Filters, map center, zoom level, time range, and selected datasets are encoded in the URL. Sharing the link preserves these settings; it does not grant access to private data.

You can also export all your data as a ZIP archive from Account Settings — includes catalogs, datasets, events, and import history.

Tips

Use the timeline to tell a story — narrow the range to a specific period and share the URL
Combine filters — category + time range reveals patterns that aren’t visible in the full dataset
Bookmark views — return to the same filters, map center, and zoom level
Click clusters — zoom into dense areas to see individual events