Directly below the top information bar you will find two windows. On the left-hand side is the first window comprising four parts. In this window, you can:

1. Learn more about the data set you have selected by clicking on the bar entitled ‘About dataset’
2. Learn more about the specific subject you have selected from within the dataset in question by clicking on the bar entitled ‘About subject’
3. Select one or more countries/regions/groups (such as developed/developing countries) to study by clicking on the bar entitled ‘Add a country, region or group to the chart’. If you have already selected a dataset and subject, then as soon as you choose a particular country/region or grouping, a line graph is plotted in the map window to the right. Each time you add a new country, an addition line chart is plotted for the new country. The colours appearing on the map of the world in the right-hand side window correspond to the data intervals associated with a particular type of data. For example, in the case of population, the data intervals are:
   1. 200 million or more
   2. 25-200 million
   3. 5-24 million
   4. 1-4 million
   5. Less than 1 million
   6. No data
4. Finally, there is a menu bar at the bottom of this right-hand window where you can:
5. Reset the map
6. Click for ‘help’ – somewhat limited at this stage and does not always provide information
7. Choose to open Data Mapper in your full screen – very useful (clicking on ‘Esc’ closes the full screen view).
8. Choose to export the data to an excel spreadsheet or capture the chart as an image.