Glossary
Look up MangoMap terms such as access group, account, and add-on. Each definition links to the guides and references that cover the term.
Use this page when a MangoMap term is new to you. Each entry links to the most relevant guides, most useful first.
Access group
A named collection of users that you grant View or Edit access to specific maps and datasets. See How users and groups work in Mango, How to create an access group, and How to share a map with groups.
Account
A workspace in MangoMap that holds your maps, datasets, users, branding, and subscription. Each account has an Owner who manages account-wide settings and billing. See How to create an account and Account roles reference.
Add-on
An optional extra attached to a paid subscription — additional admins, editors, maps, or storage above what the base plan includes. Add-ons are available on Enterprise and Agency; Business does not support them. See How to upgrade from trial to paid and Subscription & billing reference.
Attribute
A named field on a dataset — for example, name, population, or category. Attributes are the columns in imported data; their values can appear in popups and drive styling and search. See How attribute formatting works in MangoMap and Attribute format controls.
Basemap
The background map layer beneath your data layers. Viewers can switch basemaps with the Basemap chooser when the map owner enables it. See How to set the default basemap and Available basemaps.
Classification method
How MangoMap splits a numeric field’s values into class breaks when styling by quantity — Equal Interval, Quantile, Natural Breaks (Jenks), or the head/tail method. The same data produces visibly different maps under each method. See Choosing a classification method for choropleth maps, Classification methods for by-quantity styling, and How to style features by quantity.
Custom domain
A domain you own, such as maps.acme.com, connected to your MangoMap account so your portal and published maps use your URL. See How to connect a custom domain and A custom domain is not connecting.
Dataset
The data stored in your account’s data library. A dataset can be added to multiple maps as separate layers. See Datasets and layers in MangoMap and How importing data works in MangoMap.
Dataset view
A read-only page for inspecting a dataset — an interactive map preview plus a sortable data table — opened from the Data portal. It never changes the data. See How the dataset view works in MangoMap and Dataset view reference.
Dropbox sync
A connection that updates a dataset automatically when selected files change in your Dropbox. CSV, GeoJSON, KML, Shapefile, and MapInfo TAB datasets support it; GeoTIFF and WMS do not. See How to set up Dropbox sync and How data updates work in MangoMap.
Embed
A published map placed inside another website with an iframe. See How to embed a map in another website and Choose how to share a map.
Feature
A single point, line, or area drawn on a map, representing one record from a dataset. Selecting a feature can open a popup. See How popups work in MangoMap and How feature editing works in MangoMap.
Feature label
Text drawn on each feature of a layer, showing the value of one field — for example, a city name beside each point. Set it in the layer’s Labels tab. It is separate from the legend labels set in the Style tab. See How to show labels on map features and Label settings.
Feature permalink
A stable map URL that opens the map with a specific feature selected, built from a unique value in that feature’s data. See How to use feature permalinks.
Folder
A group of related layers inside the layer panel. See How to organise layers into folders and Layer panel controls.
Heatmap
A point marker type that replaces individual markers with a smoothed density gradient, showing where points cluster. See How to make a heatmap from a point layer and Heatmap style controls.
Layer
A dataset rendered on a map with its own style, popup, and visibility settings. The dataset is the shared source; the layer is its map-specific instance. See Datasets and layers in MangoMap and How the layer panel works in MangoMap.
Layer panel
The panel where you add, reorder, group, and configure the layers on a map, opened from Manage Layers. See How the layer panel works in MangoMap, How to set up layers on a new map, and Layer panel controls.
Legend
The key that names each layer and its symbols. MangoMap has two: the legend rows made from each layer’s category or class break symbology, which you can customise per layer, and the Legend map tool that shows them to viewers, on by default. See How to set up the Legend on a map and How to customise category and class break symbology.
Map
A web page that shows geographic data layers on a basemap. It may include tools such as search, measure, and print. See How to create a map and How the map settings page works in MangoMap.
Map extension
A built-in tool enabled for a map, such as Legend, Search, Measure, Print, Geolocation, or Map Help. See How the Extensions page works in MangoMap and Extensions page reference.
Plan
The tier of your paid subscription: Business, Enterprise, or Agency. A plan sets base limits and which features and add-ons are available. Trials use the Enterprise feature set by default. See Subscription & billing reference and How to upgrade from trial to paid.
Popup
A panel that opens when a viewer selects a feature and shows that feature’s attribute values. See How popups work in MangoMap, How to use the default popup, and Popup tab controls.
Portal
The public landing page for an account, with a Maps page listing published maps and a Data page listing public datasets. See How portals work in MangoMap and How to configure the portal.
Publishing mode
How outside viewers reach a map once Allow public access is on: Public (anyone with the link, listable in the public portal), Link-only (a private link, unlisted), or Password (the public link plus a password). See How map access works in MangoMap, Choose how to share a map, and How to configure map access.
Style
How a layer’s features look, set in the layer’s Style tab. Colour is uniform or driven by a field. A text field colours features by category. A numeric field colours them by quantity using class breaks, or by category when Style as is set to Categories. Point layers can also size markers by a numeric field, change circle markers by zoom level, or draw as a heatmap. See How layer styling works in MangoMap and Planning a thematic map in MangoMap.
Trial
The 30-day free period that begins when an account is created. No card is required, and the trial uses the Enterprise feature set with no add-ons. When the trial expires, the owner must complete paid checkout to restore account access. See How to upgrade from trial to paid, How to create an account, and The trial expired or the account is closed.
User and roles
A user is a member of an account. The account role controls what they can do account-wide; map and dataset access can also depend on access groups.
Viewer— view maps and datasets shared with them.Editor— edit dataset content where their group hasEditaccess.Admin— create maps and datasets, configure maps, import data, and manage map and dataset access.Owner— manage users, roles, groups, account settings, and subscription and billing.
See Account roles reference, How team management and account roles work in MangoMap, and How to invite a user.
WMS
A live map service connected to your account as a dataset instead of an uploaded file. The data stays on the provider’s server and refreshes when viewers open the map. See How to connect a WMS service and WMS connection failed.
Zoom stop
A zoom level paired with the marker size, size scale, or colour that a circle marker has at that zoom. Between two stops, MangoMap changes the marker gradually; outside the first and last stop, the marker keeps that stop’s style. Each zoom size or zoom colour setting uses 2–6 stops. See How to vary marker size by zoom level and How to change marker colour by zoom level.