Territory Mapper Terminology

The following terms are used in Territory Mapper and throughout this Tutorial. It is important to be familiar with these basic terms to effectively use the product. A more complete listing of terms and their definitions is available in the main Territory Mapper Help system glossary.

Please take a minute to familiarize yourself with the meaning of these terms by clicking on the links below.

Note: In an effort to be consistent in the discussion of the various levels of the sales hierarchy, we will use the term Territory to refer to the lowest hierarchy level, District for the second level, Region for the third level and Area for the fourth level. Note that these terms are not fixed and can be changed in Territory Mapper preferences (Edit/Preferences/Document) to reflect the terms used within your business.

• Align

  The process of assigning map objects (States, Counties, ZIP Codes, etc.) to elements of a sales hierarchy (for example, territories, districts, regions and areas).

• Alignment Layer

  The map layer listed at the top of the Layers tab, the Alignment Layer determines the map objects that are used in designing and aligning territories. Although you can change your alignment layer, you can only have one map layer set as your alignment layer at any time.

• Destination

  The currently selected hierarchy folder (e.g. territory, district or region) to which map objects are assigned during alignment.

• Territory Mapper Document

  A set of files containing all of the information required to open or restore a particular Territory Mapper session. Technically, all the required information to restore a document is contained in several files, however, the main files required to open a Territory Mapper document are the .ATR which includes links to each of the required files and various program settings and the .ALN which contains all alignment history changes.

• Folder

  A term used in Territory Mapper to refer to items in the sales hierarchy. The term is used interchangeably with the hierarchy names Territory, District, Region and Area (TDRA). Territory Mapper folders are managed within the Hierarchy tab and are represented with the graphic .

• Hierarchy

  The organizational structure of a field force into two or more levels where the lowest levels group together to form higher levels. In Territory Mapper, folders are managed in the Hierarchy tab.

• Map Layer

  A map file used to display various types of geographical information.

• Map Objects

  Geographic items displayed in an Territory Mapper view are referred to as Map Objects. Map objects can be polygons (ZIP Codes, counties, states, etc.), lines (highways), or points (cities) in your document. Also referred to as Map Units.

• TDRA

  An acronym referring to the common sales hierarchy, Territory, District, Region, Area.

• View

  Also called a map view, a subset of map objects based on the current selection of hierarchy items or folders from the Hierarchy tab. A View's contents can range from a single territory all the way up to the entire country.

Next, Command Conventions...