# Building your first map

Create a saved map, choose which records appear, and preview how customers will see it.

Maps let you share a live, interactive view of your records with customers and prospects. Each saved map is a named, shareable snapshot that you can customize with filters, colors, and visibility settings.

## Create your first map

![The Maps dashboard listing your saved maps](/help/img/maps-list.png)

1. In the dashboard sidebar, click **Maps**.
2. In the top-right corner, click **+ New**. A dialog titled "New saved map" opens.
3. Enter a **Name** for your map (required). For example: "Completed jobs 2024".
4. Choose a **Data source** from the dropdown. Usually this is one of your record types (such as your roofing jobs), which determines which records appear as pins. If you've [connected an external data source](/help/external-data-maps), it appears in the same list and the map's pins come from there instead.
5. Optionally add a **Description** to remind yourself what the map is for.
6. Click **Create map**. The dialog closes and your new map appears in the list.

> **Tip:** Every account starts with a default map (marked with a ★). Your public profile page always links to the default map. You can promote any map to default by selecting it and clicking **Make default** in the bulk action bar.

## What appears on the map

Every published record of the chosen record type that has a valid address shows up as a pin. The map reads your records in real time. When you publish a new job, it appears on the map automatically. Unpublished (draft) records are never shown.

If you want to narrow down which records appear, you can apply filters after creation. See [Customizing your map](/help/customizing-your-map) for details.

## Open a saved map

Click any map row in the **Maps** list to open its overview. The sidebar shows four things at a glance:

- An **Overview** section with a record count, lead count, regions covered, and last activity time.
- A **Configuration** section listing the current settings for Visibility, Theme, Map style, Brand color, Pins, Filters, Splash screen, and Lead collection. Click any row to jump directly to that setting.

![A saved map open in the dashboard, showing the overview sidebar and the live map](/help/img/map-editor.png)

The map canvas fills the rest of the screen, rendering each published record as a pin.

## Preview how a record looks

When you open an individual record from the **Records** section, you will see a **Preview** button next to the record. Clicking it loads that record's public detail page inside the map preview panel, so you can see exactly what a visitor sees before sharing the link.

## Share your map

When you are ready to share, each row in the Maps list has two quick-action buttons: a copy icon to copy the public share link, and an external-link icon to open the public map in a new tab. For more control over who can view the map, see [Sharing your map](/help/sharing-your-map).