Working with PowerPoint Based Maps

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US Counties Map for PowerPoint

This question and answer pertains to the US County Map available for download at DigitalMapz.com.

Editing colors in the USA county map is easy using the editing tools provided in PowerPoint. Each county is an individual shape that can be customized using the shape fill.   Here are step by step instructions for changing a county color.

1. Because each county shape is quite small in the slide, we recommend first, using the zoom feature to make the view of the map size larger and the individual counties easier to work with.  Of course, you will not be able to see the entire USA in a single screen unless you have a large monitor.  So you will need to use the vertical and/or horizontal scroll to position to the area you want to work with.
2. Once you have the state you want to work in zoomed in, click on the state. This will put a bounding box on the state.  Once you see the state group selected, click again to select the county you want to edit.
3. Once you have selected the county(ies) you wish to edit, use the shape fill and shape outline to meet your needs.  These are found in the drawing tools in PowerPoint. In the newer versions of PowerPoint, this is located on the “Home” tab. In older versions of PowerPoint, the drawing tools show up along the bottom of the PowerPoint window.

Tips:

1. To change the color of the entire state, select the state by clicking once.  When you see the bounding box around the state, you know it’s selected.  Then click on the fill color you want color the counties in the state.
2. To change the color on multiple counties within a state at one time, simply select the state. Then, hold down the “shift” key while selecting the counties you want to color. Then use the shape fill as described above.   To select multiple states, hold down the “shift” key while selecting states
3. As with any PowerPoint map, it’s easier to edit when you zoom in on the map, increasing the size of the shapes.

Buy the US County Map here!