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Visual Overlays for Map Markers
Quick Answer
Visual overlays let you add halos, tags, text labels, and 3D bar graphs around your map markers. Each site type (Existing, Proposed, Layer, Search) has independent overlay settings with options for static colors or data-driven gradients.
Where to Find Overlay Controls
- Click the store icon in the chat bar to open the Sites tab
- On desktop, click Overlays in the Filters | Overlays switcher above the left panel
- On mobile, tap Overlays in the tab row at the top of the panel
- Click a site type row to open its overlay options, or expand it to click an individual category row
The Layers tab no longer hosts a per-category overlay panel — the Sites tab's Overlays pane is the only place to configure halos, tags, text labels, and bar graphs.
Saving and Reverting Overlay Edits
While you edit overlays, your changes preview live on the map immediately, but they are not written to the project's default overlay configuration until you confirm them. Whenever you have unsaved overlay edits, an Unsaved overlay changes bar appears at the bottom of the overlay panel with two actions:
- Save — persists your edits as the project's default overlays and shows a confirmation toast.
- Revert — discards your unsaved edits and restores the overlays to how they were when you last saved (or when you opened the panel, if you haven't saved yet).
Things worth knowing:
- The bar appears only when there are unsaved overlay edits.
- Closing the overlay panel (or leaving the Sites tab's Overlays pane) without clicking Save discards your unsaved edits, the same as Revert.
- Other map settings (themes, labels, layer visibility, and so on) still save automatically as you change them. Changing one of them while the overlay panel has unsaved edits may save those edits too, so click Save or Revert first.
- If a save fails, your unsaved edits are kept so you can retry.
- Switching to a different project discards any unsaved overlay edits and closes the overlay panel.
Overlay Types
Zeus.ai supports four types of visual overlays per site type:
| Overlay | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Halo | Colored ring or glow around the marker |
| Tags | Small shape indicators at marker corners (up to 4 per marker) |
| Text Label | Data value or custom text displayed near the marker |
| Bar Graph | 3D vertical bar extending from the marker (requires 3D mode) |
Overlay Slots
- Halo: One per site type (on/off)
- Tags: Up to 4 per site type, one in each corner (top-right, top-left, bottom-right, bottom-left)
- Text: One per site type (on/off)
- Bar Graph: One per site type (on/off, requires 3D mode enabled)
All overlay slots start empty (opt-in). Add overlays only for what you need.
Halo Overlay
Color Modes
| Mode | Description | Site Types |
|---|---|---|
| Static | Single color for all markers of that site type | All |
| Data Source | Color varies based on a data value (revenue or attribute) | All |
| Color by Grade | Each pin colored by its A-F grade from the layer's metric config | Layer (SOI) only |
Halo Settings
| Setting | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Opacity | 0 - 100% | How transparent the halo is |
| Radius | 10 - 100 | Size of the halo around the marker |
| Border | On/Off | Optional border ring (Advanced settings) |
| Border Width | 1 - 10 px | Thickness of the border ring |
Gradient Presets
When using Data Source color mode, choose a gradient preset:
| Preset | Colors | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| SiteZeus | Brand gradient | Default, general-purpose use |
| Sonar | Preset gradient | Matches Site Sonar styling |
| Radar | Preset gradient | High-visibility scanning look |
| Heat | Blue to Yellow to Red | Revenue performance |
| Cool | Cool-toned gradient | Neutral data visualization |
| Earth | Earth-toned gradient | Geographic data |
| Electric | Vibrant gradient | High-contrast visualization |
| Thermal | Preset gradient | Heat-map-style visualization |
| Plasma | Preset gradient | High-contrast scientific look |
| Viridis | Preset gradient | Colorblind-friendly gradient |
| Inferno | Preset gradient | High-contrast scientific look |
| Ocean | Preset gradient | Cool blue-toned data |
| Sunset | Preset gradient | Warm-toned data |
| Berry | Preset gradient | Brand-adjacent styling |
| Custom | Pick your own 3 colors | Brand-specific styling |
Data Sources
Overlays can be driven by:
- Total Revenue - Uses the location's predicted revenue (Existing, Proposed, and Search site types)
- Site Attributes - Uses any numeric attribute attached to the site
For Layer (SOI) site types, the "Total Revenue" entry is renamed to match the layer's configured metric label. For example, a layer whose metric is set to "Foot Traffic" shows Foot Traffic in the dropdown instead of "Total Revenue". If the layer has no saved metric configuration, the entry falls back to "Total Revenue" (the default label). When the overlay panel spans the entire Layer category rather than a single layer, the entry appears as Total Metric because each individual layer may carry a different metric.
The metric label is configured in the Revenue Grades tab (Locate -> Revenue Grades -> [layer name] -> Metric -> Label). See Configuring Grades for a Sites of Interest Layer.
Color by Grade (SOI Layers)
For Layer site types (Sites of Interest), an additional toggle — Color by Grade — appears below the color mode selector. When enabled, each pin's halo color is determined by the A-F grade assigned to that site under the layer's metric configuration, rather than by a raw gradient.
The grade color scale is:
| Grade | Color |
|---|---|
| A | Teal/Cyan |
| B | Emerald green |
| C | Yellow |
| D | Orange |
| F | Red |
Because each SOI layer has its own metric and grade thresholds (configured in the Revenue Grades tab under Locate), the grade colors remain meaningful even when two layers carry completely different data types (for example, one layer using visit counts and another using a revenue figure).
To enable Color by Grade:
- Open the Overlays pane in the Sites tab (see Where to Find Overlay Controls).
- Find the Layer site type category.
- Click the category row to open the overlay options panel.
- Toggle Color by Grade on.
Enabling Color by Grade takes precedence over the gradient or static color setting and disables the data-source selector while active. Toggle it off to return to the previous color mode.
Prerequisite: The layer must have metric and grade thresholds saved in the Revenue Grades tab. If no config is saved, grades fall back to auto-percentile defaults against the layer's revenue values. See Configuring Grades for a Sites of Interest Layer.
Tag Overlays
Tags are small shape indicators placed at the corners of markers.
Tag Shapes
| Shape | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Round | Default shape |
| Square | Box | Category indicator |
| Diamond | Rotated | Priority marker |
| Triangle | Arrow | Directional indicator |
| Star | Star | Highlight/favorite |
Shape Modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Static | Same shape for all markers of this type |
| Data-Driven | Shape changes based on numeric thresholds or categories |
Data-Driven Shapes
Numeric mapping: Set thresholds that assign different shapes based on a data value. For example, revenue below $500K shows a triangle, $500K-$1M shows a circle, above $1M shows a star.
Categorical mapping: Map specific category values to specific shapes. Each category (attribute value) gets its own shape assignment.
Tag Color
Tags support the same color modes as halos: Static color or Data Source gradient.
Text Overlay
Display a data value or custom text near each marker.
Display Modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Value | Shows the raw data value |
| Abbreviation | Shows a shortened version (e.g., $1.2M) |
| Custom | Shows your own custom text |
Text Settings
- Text Color: Pick any color
- Text Size: Adjustable font size
- Background Opacity: Control readability against the map
Per-Site-Type Configuration
Each of the four site types has completely independent overlay settings:
| Site Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Existing | Your operating locations |
| Proposed | Planned/consideration locations |
| Layer | Competitor and POI locations |
| Search | Temporary search result pins |
Category Overrides
Within a site type, you can override overlay settings for specific subcategories (e.g., show different halos for "Mature" vs "New" existing sites). Category overrides inherit from the parent site type by default but can be customized independently.
Adding an Overlay
- Open the Overlays pane in the Sites tab (see Where to Find Overlay Controls)
- Find the site type you want to customize
- Click the site type row to open its overlay options panel (or expand the type and click a category row)
- Choose an overlay type to add (Halo, Tag, Text, or Bar Graph)
- Configure the settings (color, data source, size, etc.)
- The map previews your overlay immediately. Click Save in the Unsaved overlay changes bar to keep it as the project default, or Revert to discard it (see Saving and Reverting Overlay Edits).
Removing an Overlay
- Open the overlay settings for the site type (Sites tab Overlays pane)
- Toggle the overlay off or remove it
- The overlay disappears from the map preview immediately; click Save to persist the change or Revert to restore it
Tips
Performance
- Overlays with gradients require slightly more rendering
- Use overlays selectively rather than enabling all types at once
- Bar graphs require 3D mode and have higher GPU impact
Effective Use
- Use halos to visualize revenue performance at a glance
- Use tags to flag locations with specific attributes
- Use text labels for quick reference without clicking markers
- Combine 2-3 overlay types for rich but readable visualization
Data-Driven Gradients
- Heat gradient (blue-yellow-red) is intuitive for revenue
- Ensure your data source has meaningful variation across sites
- Adjust thresholds to match your data distribution
Troubleshooting
Overlay Not Visible
- Check that the overlay is enabled (toggled on)
- Ensure the site type layer is visible
- Zoom in if overlays are too small at current zoom level
Gradient Colors Not Changing
- Verify the data source has values for your locations
- Check that you selected "Data Source" mode, not "Static"
Bar Graph Not Showing
- Enable 3D mode by choosing a 3D-capable theme in the Base Map tab first
- Bar graphs only render in 3D view
Overlays in Reports
Site-type visual overlays (halos, tags, and text labels) are baked into frozen report maps at capture time. Bar-graph overlays are not included in reports (they require 3D rendering).
When the map block's Sites of interest dataset is enabled in the report builder, the frozen map renders each site pin alongside its configured overlay treatments. If the Sites source is set to a saved sites view, the overlays from that view's snapshot are used instead of the live map state. See Generating Reports -- Map Block for full details on map block settings.