Heatmap question output includes several visually striking and informative view modes, clustering, word clouds, and the ability to create, save, and analyze custom pin clusters — allowing you to see what respondents reacted to in a flexible visual output.
We apply the industry-standard Kernel Density model to the data, with aytm-specific tuning parameters designed to facilitate quick and easy referencing.
Selecting View Modes
- Click the View mode: dropdown to choose from Heatmap by pins, Coldmap by pins, Overlay by pins, Spotlight by pins, Heatmap by clusters, Overlay by clusters, Pins, and Original.
- Heatmap by pins — heatmap data for all placed pins is displayed over the original picture.
- Coldmap by pins — same data as heatmap view in a more neutral color palette.
- Overlay by pins — displays heatmap data on a grayscale image, allowing a clearer view of the original picture under the heatmap layer.
- Spotlight by pins — yellow in areas of high click-density, dark blue for the rest of the image.
- Heatmap by clusters — heatmap data for all clusters is displayed over the original picture.
- Overlay by clusters — displays heatmap cluster data over a grayscale image for a clearer view of the original.
- Pins — displays the exact placement of all pins, where the dot color matches the pin color.
- Original — displays the original picture without pins.
⚠️ Note: The default view is a heatmap overlay showing the density of all placed pins — it does not distinguish between different pin types. The heatmap colors indicate overall pin density and do not reflect the colors of the pins used in the survey. Use Filter by pin types or select Pins as the View mode to view the heatmap for a specific pin type. At least 20 pins are required for data to be processed and displayed correctly.
Filtering by Pin Type
- Click the Filter by pin types: dropdown and deselect pin types to isolate whatever pin types you'd like to visualize.
Showing Clusters
- Check or uncheck the box next to Show Clusters to show or hide the boundaries of any programmed clusters.
- Click the dropdown to select individual clusters to show or hide.
- Check the box next to Mask to selected to show only the pins dropped within your selected clusters. Updating this selection will recalculate both the heatmap and the chart below.
Adding Clusters
- Click the Auto button.
- If you did not run auto clusters, make a selection from the dropdown and click Run. If you previously ran auto clusters on the Survey Editor page, make a new selection and click Rerun — any clusters previously removed will be recalled.
- Click the Custom button to activate the polygon tool to create a custom cluster.
- Outline the area where you want to create a custom cluster on your image, making sure to connect the starting and ending points. Click and hold any anchor point to adjust the shape.
- Give your cluster a name and click Save.
⚠️ Note: When Pins Only mode has been selected from the Survey Editor, clusters will be reset on the Results page. You must click Auto Run to recall them, but any changes made to clusters on the Survey Editor will not be retained. The color of custom cluster shapes is randomly assigned and is not editable.
As a cluster is being created, you can see how many pins, comments, and respondents are within it. If a filter is applied to the data set, the shape of the custom cluster won't change, but its data will reflect the filter. For example, a shape may include 17 pins total, but if filtered to females only, it will show 10 pins.
Pin Statistics vs. Cluster Statistics
Below the image, click the Pin Statistics dropdown to toggle between the two views:
- Pin Statistics — displays actual numbers, percentages, and open-ended responses organized by pin type.
- Cluster Statistics — displays actual numbers, percentages, and open-ended responses organized by clusters.
With Cluster Statistics selected, click the second dropdown to choose which clusters are reflected in both the table and the image:
- Clusters selected above — shows clusters selected in the Show Clusters dropdown.
- Custom Clusters — shows only custom clusters you've created.
- Paragraph clusters — shows only paragraph clusters.
- Word Clusters — shows only word clusters.
- Object clusters — shows only object clusters.
- Editor-defined clusters — shows all clusters programmed on the Survey Editor page.
⚠️ Note: Responses (total) indicates the number of pins dropped, not the number of respondents who dropped pins.
Viewing Open Ended Responses
If you added a mandatory or optional open-ended (OE) response to a pin (or pins), you can view and analyze these responses in a few different ways:
- View Mode: Pins — Click on any pin with a white dot to see an OE response. To view OE comments within the image, uncheck the Show clusters checkbox, then hover over a pin to see a pop-up with the open-ended comment text.
- Word Cloud — Any pin with an open-ended option can generate a word cloud. Click Load Word Cloud below the image to populate and access the settings.
- OE Interface — Click on any OE icon when viewing clusters or individual pins to bring up the OE interface. Clicking the OE icon directly from the Heatmap filters to only the specific Heatmap question you are analyzing.
Search Functions and Tags
- Pins: Clicking the OE icon from a pin loads that one respondent, creating a tag with the Response ID.
- Clusters: Clicking the OE icon from a cluster loads only those specific comments, creating a search tag that matches the cluster name.
- Advanced Search: Once in the OE interface, you can search for additional clusters or keywords. Placing your cursor in the search bar will auto-suggest any created clusters, or you can add additional search criteria. Click the magnifying glass to search.
- Search Filters & Custom Reports: Create a filter based on a search by clicking the three-dot menu on the right, then Create filter. This populates the custom filter under the advanced filter icon. Click Click here to apply filters to reload the page before saving as a custom report.
Export
You can export the X & Y coordinates and open-ended comments in any of the Excel exports. Pin coordinates in exports are based on the original image's size in pixels.