How to Highlight Countries and Regions on an Animated Map
Highlighting a country or region shows your audience where the story happens, whether you are showing a sales territory, a travel region or a delivery zone. In Mapimator the Region tool lets you click a country on the map or pick one from a list.
4 min read · Updated October 2, 2026
Watch the walkthrough
What you'll learn
- Click any country on the map to highlight it
- Pick US states and other sub-national regions
- Set fill color, opacity and outline for each region
- Choose how a region appears, or dim the rest of the map
- Add countries, continents and groups from the Region list
Step-by-step guide
- 1
Frame the area
Zoom and drag the map so the country you want is on screen, and make sure a slide is selected in the Storyboard, because the highlight is added to the selected slide. Zoom also decides what you can pick on the map. Zoomed out to about the size of a continent it selects whole countries. Zoomed in closer it selects states and provinces where the map has them, such as US states.
- 2
Start picking on the map
Click Region in the toolbar above the map, then Click on the map at the top of the Highlight Region window. The window closes, the Region button turns purple and reads Done picking, and a small purple label follows your pointer. Picking on the map is a Pro feature. On a free account the option shows a lock and opens the upgrade prompt instead.
- 3
Hover to preview
Move the pointer over a country. It fills with translucent purple and a dashed white outline, and the label beside the pointer changes to Select and the country's name, such as Select Germany. Nothing is added yet.
- 4
Click to add it
Click the country. A small Add Region menu opens next to the pointer showing what you clicked, for example Germany and Country Level. Click that entry to add the region to the selected slide. Picking switches itself off after each region, so choose Click on the map again to add another. Press Esc or click Done picking to stop without adding one.
- 5
Style the region
A small bar opens beside the new region with a few effect choices and a color; click More, or click the region, to open its settings on the right. On the Style tab, under Fill, choose a color and drag Opacity, which starts at 35%. Open Texture for Hatch (stripes or dots), Upload Pattern (your own image) or Choose Flag (a country's flag). Border sets the outline's color, opacity and width.
- 6
Choose how it appears
Open the Timing tab and find Animation. Effect offers Fade, Draw, Glow and Spread. Draw has four styles: Outline, From a point, Comet and Marching dashes, and Glow has Breathing and Pulse. Regions you click on the map start on Draw, which traces the border. Duration and Delay set the timing, and the effect starts when the video reaches the slide the region was added on. Back on the Style tab, open Spotlight and turn on Dim the rest of the map to dim everything outside the region.
- 7
Pick states and provinces
To highlight a US state, a Canadian province or a similar region, zoom in a little further, start picking on the map and hover. The label now names the smaller region, such as Select Texas. When you click, the Add Region menu lists that region (Texas, State Level) above the whole country (United States, Country Level). Choose the one you want.
- 8
Or pick from a list
If you would rather not look for a country on the map, click Region in the toolbar and use the list. The Highlight Region window lists Groups such as the European Union, then Continents, then Countries in alphabetical order. Type in the search box to filter the list, then click a name. The highlight is added to the selected slide in blue and the map does not move, so frame the area first. Upload GeoJSON in the same window is a Pro option for your own boundaries.
Pro tips
- Combine a region highlight with a matching pin for a polished location callout.
- Highlighting several regions? Use one hue at different lightness levels so they read as a set.
- The Dark map style with bright region colors gives a high-contrast look that works well in presentations.
- A highlight stays on screen for every slide after the one it was added on. To end it, select the region and, on the Timing tab, under On screen, set Disappears at to a later slide, and Seconds after for an exact moment. In the Timeline you can also drag the handle at the end of its line.