adarvmap

AdarvMap

Interactive epidemiological spot maps for India — no GIS software, no shapefiles, no setup.

AdarvMap turns a spreadsheet of latitude and longitude from the field into a polished, interactive HTML map. You can open the map in any browser, make edits, and download it as a PNG image or PDF. India's state and district boundaries are already built in, so you don't have to search for shapefiles.

• 📍 Spot maps — show the location of individual people or events
• 🔴 Dot-density maps — aggregate nearby points to show clustering of cases
• 🗺️ Built-in state & district boundaries — nothing to download
• 🎨 Recolour and resize markers, toggle place-name labels, export to PNG / PDF
• 🤖 Auto-detects your latitude / longitude / outcome columns

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What will AdarvMap do?

AdarvMap turns your spreadsheet into an interactive map. It automatically places every row as a dot at its location, draws the correct state and district boundaries, and colours the groups (e.g. cases and controls) differently. It then generates a single, self-contained HTML file you can open in any browser to fine-tune your map — and you can download it as a PNG or PDF, or email it to a colleague. You may also aggregate the dots to switch from a spot map to a dot-density map.

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Which guide is for me?

Everyone should also read Preparing your data first.

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Preparing your data

Each row in your spreadsheet should be one person or event, and each row should carry its location (latitude and longitude) in separate columns. You may also include an extra column that splits the data into groups (e.g. case / control) if you want to show both on the same map.

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Guide for non-coders

This guide is for anyone who wants a map but has never written any code. You don't need to install anything on your computer. You'll copy and paste two lines of template code, and then AdarvMap will guide you through the rest with a few plain-English questions.

Step 1 — Open a free notebook

Go to colab.research.google.com and click New notebook. Google Colab is a free service that runs code in your web browser, so there's nothing to install. You'll see an empty box called a cell.

Step 2 — Start AdarvMap

Click inside the cell, paste the two lines below, and press the ▶ (play) button:

!pip install adarvmap
import adarvmap; adarvmap.run()

The first line installs AdarvMap; the second starts the guided wizard. Depending on your internet speed, the install may take a little while.

Step 3 — Answer the questions

AdarvMap asks five questions. Each shows its own best guess — press Enter to accept it, or type the number of the correct choice.

1. Upload your data file

   • In Colab (or Jupyter / VS Code) an Upload button appears — click it and pick your spreadsheet (CSV, Excel .xlsx / .xls, or TSV).
   • AdarvMap prints a quick summary — the number of rows and columns, each column name with an example value, and the first few rows — so you can confirm it read your file.
   • FAQ: Is my data uploaded to a server? On Colab, yes — Colab runs on Google's cloud, so your file is processed on Google's servers (see the privacy note below). If your data must stay private, run AdarvMap locally instead (see Guide for developers) — nothing leaves your computer.

2. Which column has the latitude?

   • Latitude is the north–south number (for example, 28.61 for Delhi).
   • AdarvMap pre-selects the column it thinks is latitude — press Enter to accept, or, if the guess is wrong, check the summary above and type the number of the right column.

3. Which column has the longitude?

   • Longitude is the east–west number (for example, 77.20 for Delhi).
   • AdarvMap pre-selects its best guess — accept it or pick another.
   • Remember: if the points later look misplaced, the most common cause is that latitude and longitude are swapped.

4. Which column is your grouping variable?

   • Choose the column that splits your data into two groups — case / control, affected / not affected, male / female, dead / alive, positive / negative, and so on. The map uses the actual values from your data as the group names automatically — you don't have to type anything.
   • If your data is all cases with no control group, choose the first option: My data is all cases (no control group).

5. Which value is the main group?

   • AdarvMap lists the values found in the column you chose. Tell it which one is the main group (it's the highlighted / clustered group; for example, if you coded 1 = Case, 0 = Control, choose 1).
   • Every other value becomes the other group, shown with its own name.

Step 4 — Get your map

• Your map appears right below the cell and is saved as a file called adarvmap.html.
• Download it and open it in any browser, or email it to a colleague — it's a single self-contained file (an internet connection is needed to load the background map tiles).
• Using the map's sidebar you can: switch between Spot Map and Dot Density, show one group or both, change colours and resize the dots, toggle place-name labels, and save the map as a PNG or PDF.

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Guide for developers

Install

pip install adarvmap

Python 3.9+.

Usage

from adarvmap import AdarvMap

# `data` accepts a CSV path or a pandas DataFrame
AdarvMap("my_data.csv").build().save("map.html")

Or from the command line:

adarvmap my_data.csv -o map.html

Common options

AdarvMap(data, ...) — all options below are keyword arguments:

Full API and CLI reference → DOCUMENTATION.md

🔒 Privacy: running AdarvMap locally keeps your data on your machine — nothing is uploaded. Google Colab is convenient but runs on Google's cloud, so use it only for de-identified or demo data.

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Preparing your data (details)

AdarvMap reads a CSV and auto-detects the columns — you don't have to rename anything. At a minimum it needs location and, optionally, an outcome:

Example:

latitude,longitude,outcome
28.6,77.2,case
19.0,72.8,control
13.0,80.2,case

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What you get

A single, self-contained HTML file you can open in any browser or share. Its sidebar lets anyone switch between Dot Density and Spot Pins, show one group or both, recolour and resize markers, toggle place-name labels, and export to PNG / PDF.

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ADARV Team

AdarvMap is developed by the ADARV team: Muniraj Mallesan (maintainer), Dr. Sharan Murali (team lead), Manikandan K, Shanmuga Sundharam, Yogita Chaudhary, Barath U, Balaji S, and Deepana R.

License

MIT © ADARV