Downtown
UTM
UTSC
Table of Contents
- General Lists of Tools
- Featured Tools
- General Visualization Tools
- Geographic Visualization Tools
- Diagram Tools
- Network Visualization Tools
- Statistical Visualization Tools
- Temporal Visualization Tools
- Textual Visualization Tools
- 3D Modelling Tools
- Virtual Reality Tools
- Infographic and Vector Graphic Tools
- Social Media Data Gathering Tools
- Cleaning/Preparation of Data Tools
- Colour Tools
General Lists of Tools
These are helpful lists of data visualization tools to check out. Great to learn about what's out there!
- Computer World - 30 Free Tools for Data Visualization and Analysis
- DataVisualization.ch data visualization tools
- InfoVis Wiki Software Links
- Visualizing Data Resources List
- Digital Research Tools (DiRT Directory)
And for help deciding what tool would create what type of chart, check out the new Chartmaker Directory, which includes links to tutorials for different type/tool combinations.
Featured Tools
As you can imagine, there are many different tools you can use to visualize data. This is not an exhaustive list, but features some commonly used tools. The tools are roughly categorized by their speciality, where appropriate. Further down the list are helper tools for selecting colours and cleaning data.
Means the tool costs money
Means it is installed on computers in the Map & Data Library reference area and computer lab
General Visualization Tools
Online Applications
Desktop Applications
- Microsoft Excel (Faculty/staff can purchase a license through UofT here)
- Sci2 (Must register first to download the tool. If you use the tool on a library computer, you agree to "send information to cns-sci2-dev-l@iulist.indiana.edu if any results from this tool are made available to the public, e.g. publications, references or services")
- Tableau Desktop (Free for students and instructors/academic researchers. Detailed instructions.)
- Map & Data Library Tableau Tutorials
- Tableau Starter Kits
- Tableau Live Training
- Tableau Training Videos
- Jumpstart Tableau: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Data Visualization by Arshad Khan (For Tableau 9.x but still helpful)
- VizJockey (Blog with How-To articles and Tips for Tableau)
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Data-Driven Documents (D3.js)
- D3 wiki
- Introductory D3.js Course (Based on an older version of D3, but helps get you started. The site also has tutorials on the newer version)
- Getting your head around d3.js [part1]
- Getting your head around d3.js [part2]
- Google Charts
- Highcharts (Free for non-commercial use)
- Processing
- Processing tutorials
- Visualizing Data by Ben Fry
Geographic Visualization Tools
Online Applications
- ArcGIS Online (Contact the Map & Data Library to ask about a license. More info here)
- Map & Data Library Tutorials (on various Data & GIS topics)
- Esri Virtual Campus (You need to first associate your Esri account with UofT to gain access to the online courses by filling out this form)
- Carto (Free to get started...)
- Esri Story Maps
- Resources (including getting started basics)
- GIS Cloud (Free to get started...)
- Mapbox (Free to get started...)
Desktop Applications
- ArcGIS & ArcGIS Pro (Contact the Map & Data Library to ask about a license. More info here)
- Map & Data Library Tutorials (on various Data & GIS topics)
- Esri Virtual Campus (You need to first associate your Esri account with UofT to gain access to the online courses by filling out this form)
- QGIS
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Leaflet
- Open Layers
- Open Layers Documentation
- OpenLayers 3 Beginner’s Guide by Thomas Gratier, Paul Spencer and Erik Hazzard
Diagram Tools
Desktop Applications
- Microsoft PowerPoint (online application also available)
Note: You can insert SmartArt in other Microsoft Office applications as well, such as Word and Excel - Microsoft Visio (online application also available, paid versions only)
Online Applications
- Lucidchart (free and paid versions)
- draw.io (free)
- Creately (desktop application also available, free and paid versions)
Note: For the free version, all your visualizations are public and can only export to PNG or JPG - Vizzlo (free and paid versions)
Note: For the free version, there is a huge watermark in all your visualizations, so really only good to try it out - Gliffy (free trial and paid version)
Note: For the free version, you are unable to export your visualizations at all - SmartDraw (desktop application also available, free trial and paid version)
Network Visualization Tools
Online Applications
Desktop Applications
- Cytoscape
- Gephi
- Learn how to use Gephi
- Gephi Tutorial Quick Start
- Introduction to Network Visualization with GEPHI (Martin Grandjean) [Note, this tutorial is for an older version of Gephi, but still very useful to cover basic concepts)
- NodeXL (Basic & Pro )
- Social Network Visualizer
Statistical Visualization Tools
Desktop Applications
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Ploty (Note: Ploty provides online graphing and stats tools, as well as scientific graphing libraries for Python, R, MATLAB, Perl, Julia, Arduino, and REST)
- Plotly Help Center
- Plotly Tutorial: Plotly and R (DataCamp)
- R using ggplot2
- R using ggvis
Temporal Visualization Tools
Online Applications
Textual Visualization Tools
Online Applications
Desktop Applications
- NVivo (Plus)
3D Modelling Tools
Desktop Applications
- Blender
- Blender Tutorials
- 3D Scientific Visualization with Blender by Brian R. Kent (Book and Video Tutorials)
- CityEngine (Contact the Map & Data Library to ask about a license. More info here)
- Esri Virtual Campus (You need to first associate your Esri account with UofT to gain access to the online courses by filling out this form)
- SketchUp & Sketchup Pro
Virtual Reality Tools
General lists of tools (hardware and software) to support virtual reality projects: Virtual Reality Pop List & Mashable List.
Online Applications
- HoloBuilder (to annotate 360 photos)
- HoloBuilder Tutorials
- Example of Academic Use - Virtual Field Trips (Dept. of Geography, UBC)
Desktop/Mobile Applications
- Google Streetview App: iTunes & Google Play (to create 360 photos)
- Google Cardboard Camera App: iTunes & Google Play (to create 360 photos with sound)
- OpenSpace3D
Infographic and Vector Graphic Tools
Online Applications
- Canva (Free to get started...)
- How to Design Infographics (Canva blog)
- Canva Tutorials
- Easel.ly (Free to get started...)
- Infogram (Free to get started...)
- Piktochart (Free to get started...)
- Map & Data Library Tutorial - Introduction to Infographic Design Using Piktochart
- A Student’s Guide to Getting Started with Piktochart
- Infographic layout cheat sheet
- Infographic design process
- North Carolina State University (NCSU) Infographics presentation and activity using Piktochart (Google Drive)
- Venngage (Free to get started...)
- Visme (Free to get started...)
Desktop Applications
- Adobe Illustrator (Can purchase a license through UofT here)
- Inkscape
- Microsoft PowerPoint (Faculty/staff can purchase a license through UofT here)
Social Media Data Gathering Tools
Online Applications
Desktop Applications
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Python (Try Anaconda to work with Python)
- Mining Twitter Data with Python
- Documenting the Now (social media tools)
- R (Try R Studio or Anaconda to work with R)
Cleaning/Preparation of Data Tools
Desktop Applications
- Microsoft Excel (Faculty/staff can purchase a license through UofT here)
- OpenRefine
- Map & Data Library Tutorials on OpenRefine
- OpenRefine Documentation
- Using OpenRefine by Ruben Verborgh & Max De Wilde
- Trifacta Wrangler
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
Colour Tools
Online Applications
Icon images:
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computer icon: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antu_computer.svg
