Observability

Understanding Worldwide Map Widget vs Manage World Map Behavior in the SolarWinds Platform

Customers may notice that changes made to the Worldwide Map widget on a dashboard do not reflect under Settings > All Settings > Manage World Map. Additionally, the Worldwide Map widget may auto-populate with locations even when no nodes or filters are explicitly selected. This behavior is expected and is due to the separation between widget-level configuration and global map management.

First published date

3/2/2026 7:36 PM

Last published date

3/2/2026 7:36 PM

Overview

The Worldwide Map widget and the Manage World Map settings serve different purposes within the SolarWinds Platform. Widget-level edits affect only the specific dashboard instance, while global map settings control the centralized worldwide map configuration. Understanding this distinction helps avoid confusion when applying filters, managing node placement, and configuring map views.

Product section

Hybrid Cloud Observability

Resolution

Expected Behavior Clarification

  • The Worldwide Map widget on a dashboard operates independently from the global map settings found under Settings > All Settings > Manage World Map.

  • Any filters, grouping, or view changes applied directly within the widget affect only that widget instance.

  • Changes made at the widget level do not synchronize with the global map configuration.

  • This design is expected behavior and not a product defect.

Why the Map Auto-Populates

  • When no explicit filters are applied, the Worldwide Map widget automatically displays nodes that have location data available (manual placement or latitude/longitude custom properties).

  • As a result, the map may appear populated even if no nodes or groups were manually selected.

Restricting the View to Specific Nodes

To start with a clean and controlled map view:

Option 1: Filtering in Manage World Map

  • Navigate to Settings > All Settings > Manage World Map.

  • Use the Groups and/or Nodes filter fields.

  • Apply SWQL (SolarWinds Query Language) filters to limit displayed nodes.

  • This helps focus the global map on a specific subset of the environment.

  • Reference: Widget configuration examples in the SolarWinds Platform

Option 2: Widget-Level Filtering

  • Edit the Worldwide Map widget directly on the dashboard.

  • Apply filters or SQL queries specific to that widget.

  • Note: These settings remain local to the widget only.

Bulk Node Management

  • Manual drag-and-drop is supported but inefficient for large environments.

  • Use Place nodes on the map manually, then leverage grouping and search tools to bulk-add nodes.

  • For bulk removals, remove all nodes from a location or delete the location entirely.
    Reference: Display the Worldwide Map in the SolarWinds Platform 

Automatic Node Placement Using Custom Properties

  • Populate the built-in Latitude (World Map) and Longitude (World Map) custom properties for nodes.

  • Nodes with valid coordinates are automatically placed on the map.

  • For efficiency:

    • Export existing custom property values.

    • Update coordinates in a CSV file.

    • Import the updated CSV back into the platform.

  • The map updates automatically based on these values.

  • Reference: Place objects into the Worldwide Map using custom properties in the SolarWinds Platform