---
title: "Glossary"
description: "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](/docs/managing-team/concepts-users-and-groups), [How to create an access group](/docs/managing-team/create-an-access-group), and [How to share a map with groups](/docs/map-access/share-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](/docs/getting-started/create-an-account) and [Account roles reference](/docs/account-roles/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](/docs/subscription-and-billing/upgrade-from-trial-to-paid) and [Subscription & billing reference](/docs/subscription-and-billing/subscription-and-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](/docs/formatting-attributes/concepts-attribute-formatting) and [Attribute format controls](/docs/formatting-attributes/attribute-format-reference).

## Basemap

The background map layer beneath your data layers. Viewers can switch basemaps with the [Basemap chooser](/docs/map-extensions/enable-the-basemap-chooser) when the map owner enables it. See [How to set the default basemap](/docs/managing-layers/set-default-basemap) and [Available basemaps](/docs/managing-layers/available-basemaps-reference).

## 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](/docs/styling-layers/concepts-choosing-classification-method), [Classification methods for by-quantity styling](/docs/styling-layers/classification-methods-reference), and [How to style features by quantity](/docs/styling-layers/style-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](/docs/customisation/connect-a-custom-domain) and [A custom domain is not connecting](/docs/customisation/troubleshoot-custom-domain-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](/docs/importing-data/concepts-datasets-and-layers) and [How importing data works in MangoMap](/docs/importing-data/concepts-importing-data).

## 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](/docs/dataset-view/concepts-dataset-view) and [Dataset view reference](/docs/dataset-view/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](/docs/data-updates/set-up-dropbox-sync) and [How data updates work in MangoMap](/docs/data-updates/concepts-data-updates).

## Embed

A published map placed inside another website with an `iframe`. See [How to embed a map in another website](/docs/map-access/embed-a-map) and [Choose how to share a map](/docs/map-access/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](/docs/configuring-popups/concepts-popups) and [How feature editing works in MangoMap](/docs/editing-features/concepts-feature-editing).

## 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](/docs/styling-layers/show-feature-labels) and [Label settings](/docs/styling-layers/label-settings-reference).

## 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](/docs/map-access/use-feature-permalinks).

## Folder

A group of related layers inside the layer panel. See [How to organise layers into folders](/docs/managing-layers/organise-layers-into-folders) and [Layer panel controls](/docs/managing-layers/layer-panel-reference).

## 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](/docs/styling-layers/make-a-heatmap) and [Heatmap style controls](/docs/styling-layers/heatmap-style-reference).

## 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](/docs/importing-data/concepts-datasets-and-layers) and [How the layer panel works in MangoMap](/docs/managing-layers/concepts-layer-panel).

## 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](/docs/managing-layers/concepts-layer-panel), [How to set up layers on a new map](/docs/managing-layers/set-up-layers-on-a-new-map), and [Layer panel controls](/docs/managing-layers/layer-panel-reference).

## 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](/docs/map-extensions/set-up-the-legend) and [How to customise category and class break symbology](/docs/styling-layers/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](/docs/portals/create-a-map) and [How the map settings page works in MangoMap](/docs/map-settings/concepts-map-settings).

## 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](/docs/map-extensions/concepts-map-extensions) and [Extensions page reference](/docs/map-extensions/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](/docs/subscription-and-billing/subscription-and-billing-reference) and [How to upgrade from trial to paid](/docs/subscription-and-billing/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](/docs/configuring-popups/concepts-popups), [How to use the default popup](/docs/configuring-popups/use-default-popup), and [Popup tab controls](/docs/configuring-popups/popup-reference).

## 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](/docs/portals/concepts-portals) and [How to configure the portal](/docs/customisation/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](/docs/map-access/concepts-map-access), [Choose how to share a map](/docs/map-access/choose-how-to-share-a-map), and [How to configure map access](/docs/map-access/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](/docs/styling-layers/concepts-layer-styling) and [Planning a thematic map in MangoMap](/docs/styling-layers/concepts-planning-a-thematic-map).

## 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](/docs/subscription-and-billing/upgrade-from-trial-to-paid), [How to create an account](/docs/getting-started/create-an-account), and [The trial expired or the account is closed](/docs/subscription-and-billing/troubleshoot-trial-expired).

## 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](#access-group).

- `Viewer` — view maps and datasets shared with them.
- `Editor` — edit dataset content where their group has `Edit` access.
- `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](/docs/account-roles/account-roles-reference), [How team management and account roles work in MangoMap](/docs/managing-team/concepts-team-and-roles), and [How to invite a user](/docs/managing-team/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](/docs/importing-data/connect-a-wms-service) and [WMS connection failed](/docs/importing-data/troubleshoot-wms-connection).

## 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](/docs/styling-layers/vary-marker-size-by-zoom) and [How to change marker colour by zoom level](/docs/styling-layers/colour-markers-by-zoom).