Feature layers use "shapefiles" to represent features such as countries, rivers, and cities as vector-based polygons, lines, or points. Shapefiles are usually embedded as binary objects in a geocoding table, where they are linked to topological information such as map coordinates. The polygons, lines, and points can be filled with color and behave like markers in a map chart, allowing you to select a state outline, for example.

It is possible to manipulate and create shapefiles using a variety of free and paid software, but more often than not you will use a precompiled geocoded table with the shapes embedded. There are many free online sources for downloading shapefiles. The geocoding tables provided with Spotfire also include shapes in a column called Geometry.

Let's add a feature layer to our weather station map chart, and you'll quickly see how useful they can be. The datasets you need for this example are StationHourlyTemperature.sbdf, stationInventory...