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
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 Self-Paced Courses: Introduction to Data Visualization Part 1 - Theory and Critique (No Tableau, but Data Viz Theory) & Introduction to Data Visualization Part 2 - Practice with Tableau
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to Data Visualization Using Tableau Desktop (Nov. 24, 2021): Recording - 56:27 & Setup Instructions
- Map & Data Library Tableau Tutorials
- Tableau Starter Kits
- Tableau Live Training
- Tableau Training Videos
- VizJockey (Blog with How-To articles and Tips for Tableau)
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Data-Driven Documents (D3.js)
- 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), especially this 2-part tutorial: part 1 & part 2
- 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 StoryMaps
- GIS Cloud (Free to get started...)
- Mapbox (Free to get started...)
Desktop Applications
- ArcGIS Pro (Contact the Map & Data Library to ask about a license. More info here)
- Map & Data Library Tutorials (on various Data & GIS topics), especially these modules.
- 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, free/light and paid versions)
Online Applications
- Lucidchart (free and paid versions)
- Diagrams.net (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
- Cytoscape User Manual
- A set of Cytoscape tutorials for my students (Miriam Posner)
- Gephi
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to Network Analysis and Visualization Using Gephi (Nov. 2, 2021): Recording - 1:45:54 & Workshop Files
- Visualizing a Network Dataset Using Gephi (Map & Data Library Tutorial based on the workshop activities)
- 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
- VOS Viewer
Statistical Visualization Tools
Desktop Applications
- Stata (Can purchase a license through UofT here)
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to Stata: Recording - 1:19:00
- A visual guide to Stata graphics by Michael N. Mitchell
- Intro to Data Visualization: Stata
- Introduction to Graphs in Stata
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
- Map & Data Library Self-Paced Course: Introduction to R
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to R: Recording - 43:53
- ggplot2 reference
- Quick-R - Graphs
- Cookbook R - Graphs
- R using ggvis
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to R: Recording - 43:53
- ggvis basics
Temporal Visualization Tools
Online Applications
Textual Visualization Tools
Online Applications
- Voyant
- EdWordle
- Text and Data Mining tools often have visualization tools built in
Desktop Applications
- NVivo (Plus)
- Request a licence from the Map & Data Library
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to NVivo 12 (Windows Version) (March 15, 2022): Recording - 1:41:15 & Setup Instructions
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to NVivo 12 (Mac Version) (March 17, 2022): Recording - 1:49:58 & Setup Instructions
- Getting Started with NVivo 12 for Windows
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
General Best Practices
- Introduction to Infographics (Nov. 16, 2021 - Health Critique Example): Recording - 51:21
- Introduction to Infographics (Feb. 3, 2022 - Social Science Critique Example): Recording - 50:21
Online Applications
- Canva (Free to get started...)
- Easel.ly (Free to get started...)
- Infogram (Free to get started...)
- Piktochart (Free to get started...)
- 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
- NodeXL (Basic & Pro )
- NVivo (Plus)
- Request a licence from the Map & Data Library
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to NVivo 12 (Windows Version) (March 15, 2022): Recording - 1:41:15 & Setup Instructions
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to NVivo 12 (Mac Version) (March 17, 2022): Recording - 1:49:58 & Setup Instructions
- Import from Twitter
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)
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to R: Recording - 43:53
- NYU Politics Data Lab Workshop:
Scraping Twitter and Web Data Using R
Cleaning/Preparation of Data Tools
Desktop Applications
- Microsoft Excel (Faculty/staff can purchase a license through UofT here)
- OpenRefine
- Map & Data Library Self-Paced Course: Working with Messy Data in OpenRefine
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Working with Messy Data in OpenRefine (Oct. 28, 2021): Recording - 51:56 & Setup Instructions
- Map & Data Library Tutorials on OpenRefine
- OpenRefine Documentation
- Using OpenRefine by Ruben Verborgh & Max De Wilde
- Tableau Prep (Comes with Tableau Desktop - see General Purpose Visualization Tools)
- Trifacta Wrangler
Javascript Libraries/Programming Languages
- Python (Try Anaconda to work with Python)
- R (Try R Studio or Anaconda to work with R)
- Map & Data Library Self-Paced Course: Introduction to R
- Map & Data Library Workshop: Introduction to R: Recording - 43:53
- An introduction to data cleaning with R
Colour Tools
Online Applications
Icon images:
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