GIS Map Gallery Geographic Information System GIS Menu Tools Help

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Legend/Layer List Zoom In Zoom to Full Extent Back to Last Extent  Identify Identify All Find Set Units Select by Rectangle Clear Selection Scale bar Search Visible Layer

Active Layer Overview Map Zoom Out Zoom to Active Layer Pan Query Measure Buffer Select by Line/Polygon Print Extract Data Hyperlinks

Explanation and Tips on the Tools and Windows in the GIS Internet Map Server

Legend/Layer List:

Use this button to toggle between the layer list mode, where you set the visibility and active status of layers and the Legend mode, where the symbols and colors are displayed.

Using the legend

• All layers in a map are listed to the left of the map in the legend. The layer list shows the layer name and current status of the layers.
   
• The check box next to each layer titled "Visible" () indicates whether it is currently turned on or off in the map, that is, whether it is currently drawn on the map or not.
   
• The circle button or radio button, next to each layer titled "Active" () sets the layers status for operations to be performed on it.
   
• Tools that require the setting of an "Active Layer" are "Identify", "Query", "Find", "Buffer", "Select by Rectangle", "Select by Line/Polygon" and "Clear Selection" tool buttons.
   
• The order in which the layers are listed in the legend is also important.
   
• The layers at the top of the legend are drawn on top of those below it.
   
• Layers that form the background of your map are listed at the bottom of the legend.

Tip: Click the check box to the left of each layer's name to have the layer visible or invisible. After selecting the layers to be on or off hit the button to redraw the map with the new settings.

Make a layer active by clicking on the radio button in the legend. Many operations work only on active layers. When a layer is active a black dot (radio button) appears in the center of the circle. You may only have one layer active at a time.

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Zoom In:

This button lets you zoom in on the location you click or the box you define on the map. By clicking and holding the mouse button down in the upper left corner and dragging a red box over to the bottom right and releasing the mouse button the map will be redrawn in the area you outlined with the red box.

Tip: Zooming in to an area will display more details in the map. Zooming in too much will not display any more detail and could result in a blank map.

Zoom to Full Extent:

This button zooms the display to the full extent of the map area.

Tip: If you are unsure of you location use this button to zoom back out to the full map extent and start over.

Back to Last Extent:

This button redraws the map at the previous map extent.

Identify:

This button will retrieve the attribute information of the chosen feature on an active layer.

How to identify features:

1. Click the "Active radio button" for the desired layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Identify button.
    
3. Click a feature on the active layer that you wish to view the attributes of.
    
4. The results of the Identify request are shown in the Identify Results dialog in the lower pane.
    
5. If more than one feature is found, the features are listed in the Identify Results dialog.

Identify All:

This button will retrieve the attribute information of all available layers.

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Find:

This button allows a layer's feature attributes to be globally questioned using all attribute fields of the active layer. Text values using this tool are case sensitive.

Finding features:
You can use the Find tool to locate particular features in the layers in your map. Find works by searching the layer you make active for features with the value you specified. Only fields that have been defined as text strings, as opposed to numeric values, are searched.

To search for features based on a numeric value, use the Query Builder tool.

How to find features:

1. Click a layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Find button.
    
3. Type any part of a word you want to find. (Do not use quotes around the search string.)
    
4. Click the layer or layers you would like to search.
    
5. Click to execute the search.
    
6. The results appear in the lower panel.
    
7. Click the hyperlink number in the left hand "REC" field to zoom to the selected feature on the map.

Tip: Very important! The find tool requires all values to be case sensitive. Asterisks (*) should be used before or after for partial text string queries. to find all values containing the known text (i.e.) "*MAN" would return these results: SUPERMAN and MILKMAN and "SUPER*" would return SUPERMAN and SUPERWOMAN.

Set Units:

This button sets the display and map units. Use the Set Units button to specify a measurement unit. You can measure distances on your map in metres (m), kilometres (km), feet (ft), or miles (mi).

The map units must be set appropriately in order to get accurate measurements. The map units are in metres, which is the base mapping unit used by Science, Technology, Energy and Mines in their digital data. This setting should not be changed.

Select by Rectangle:

This button is used to select various features from an active layer and displaying their attributes.

How to select features:

1. Click a layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Select by Rectangle tool and draw a box around the features you wish to select by clicking and holding the mouse button down in the upper left corner and dragging a red box over to the bottom right and releasing the mouse button to execute the selection.
    
3. The results appear in the lower panel.
    
4. Click the hyperlink number in the left hand "REC" field to zoom to the selected feature on the map.

Tip: Selected features stay selected even if a new layer is activated. For example, multiple features may be selected across multiple layers.

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Clear Selection:

This button is for UN-selecting features on the active layer.

Working with the scale bar:
Each time you zoom in, zoom out, or resize the map, the scale changes. These changes are reported on the scale bar. The scale bar consists of a distance measure set by the "Set Units" tool.

Map coordinates and scale factor information can be found at the bottom of your browser window's information bar. The scale bar consists of a representative fraction (RF) (1:24,000). The fraction (RF scale) is a common way to present scale in cartography and can be read as "one meter on the screen is equal to 24,000 metres on the ground.

Tip: You can use the "Clear Selection" tool to reset the "Measure" tool's "Total" distance field.

Search Tool:

This button allows a layer's feature attributes to be questioned using a stored query Using a stored query you are only required to provide a value. Text values using this tool are case sensitive.

Searching for features: You can use the Search tool to locate particular features in the layers in your map. Search works by searching the layer you make active for features with the value you've specified.

How to search for features:

1. Click a layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Search button.
    
3. Select the desired stored query from the list and enter the value you wish to search for. (Do not use quotes around the search string.)
    
4. Click "Execute" Button to begin the search.

The results appear in the lower panel. All features found will be highlighted in the map window.

Click the hyperlink number in the left hand "REC" field in the lower pane to zoom to the selected feature on the map.

Tip:  Very important! The Search tool requires all values to be case sensitive.

 Overview Map:

This button lets you toggle the overview map on or off. The overview map displays the full extent of the map with a red box outlining the current extent of the zoomed area.

Tip: Zooming in very close to a feature will result in an overview map that may not have a red outline.

Zoom Out:

This button lets you zoom out from the position you click or the box you define on the map. By clicking and holding the mouse button down in the upper left corner and dragging a red box over to the bottom right and releasing the mouse button the map will be redrawn in a factor out based on the area defined.

Tip: Defining a large zoom out box area will zoom the map out by only a small amount. Defining a small zoom out box area will zoom the map out by a greater amount.

Zoom to Active Layer:

This button zooms the display to the extent of the active layer selected in the layer list.

Tip: You can use this button to zoom to the limits of the active layer or features you are interested in.

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Pan:

This button lets you move the map area by clicking on an area, the map will be redrawn with the center of the map located where you clicked the mouse. You can also pan to a new area on the map by clicking and holding the mouse button down, dragging the map view to a new area and releasing the mouse button. The map will be redrawn in the new area without affecting the zoom factor.

Tip: You can pan to a new location by clicking an any area on the Overview map.

Query:

This button allows for a layer's feature attributes to be selectively questioned. Text values using this tool are case sensitive.

Building a query expression:
A query expression is a precise definition of what you want to select. Building a query expression is a powerful way to select features because an expression can include multiple attributes, operators and calculations.

How to build a query expression:

1. Click a layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Query Builder button.
    
3. Click a field to query.
    
4. Click an operator to be used in the expression.
    
5. Click a sample value or type a value for the expression.
    
6. Verify that the query expression is correct.
    
7. Click the
    
8. Click to perform the query.
    
9. The results appear in the lower panel.
    
10. Click the hyperlink number in the left hand "REC" field to zoom to the selected feature on the map.

Tip: Very important! The query tool requires all values to be case sensitive. Remember to include single quotes around values in your expression that are text strings.

Asterisks (*) should be used before or after for partial text string queries. to find all values containing the known text (i.e.) "*MAN" would return these results: SUPERMAN and MILKMAN and "SUPER*" would return SUPERMAN and SUPERWOMAN.

If you choose a value from the Values box, the single quotes are added for you.

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Measure:

This button is for determining measured ground distance in the units specified by the "Set Units" button.

Measuring distances:
Use the Measure button to measure distances on your map. Use the "Set Units button to specify a measurement unit. You can measure distances on your map in metres (m), kilometres (km), feet (ft), or miles (mi).

The map units must be set appropriately in order to get accurate measure results. The map units are in metres. This is the base mapping unit used by Science, Technology, Energy and Mines digital data. This setting should not be adjusted.

How to measure a distance:

1. Click the Measure button.
    
2. Click and move the cursor defining the distance you would like to measure.
    
3. The segment and total measures appear in the upper left corner of the map.
    
4. Clicking again clears the Segment Field to zero but continues to add the complete distance to the Total Field.

Tip: If the measure results seem incorrect, verify that the map units are set appropriately. This tool needs time to react from the Internet, a slight delay is normal.

You can use the "Clear Selection" tool to reset the "Measure" tool's "Total" distance field.

Buffer:

This button performs a spatial analysis creating a measured zone around a selected feature(s) and can be used to select features on a separate layer.

Buffering features:
You can create a buffer around selected features. Once a buffer has been applied, you can use the buffer to select features from another layer. Selecting features of one layer with the features of another layer's buffer can be applied to solve many problems. A query to determine distance from road access for mining claims may involve buffering the road features and then selecting features from the mining claims layer that fall inside a specified distance from the roads buffer.

Prerequisites for creating a buffer are:

1. The map units must be set in order to create a buffer.
    
2. An active layer must be set.
    
3. The active layer must have at least one feature selected in order to create a buffer around that feature(s).

How to buffer features:

1. Click the Buffer button.
    
2. Choose a layer to select features from based on the resulting buffer or choose "no Layer" to NOT select additional features that fall within the buffered zone.
    
3. Type a distance for buffering the feature.
    
4. Check the "display attributes" if you want the selected features that fall within the buffered zone to show their attributes.
    
5. Click to see the buffer on the map.
    
6. The results if you chose to select features from another layer appear in the lower panel.

Tip: If the buffer is generating unexpected results, verify that the map units are set appropriately. The smallest buffer distance that can be specified is .007. You can view attributes for any layer on your map, including the one you've selected features from with your buffer. To do this, make the layer active in the legend.

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Select by Line/Polygon:

This button is for selecting features from an active layer and displaying their attributes.

How to select features:

1. Click a layer in the legend to make it active.
    
2. Click the Select by line/Polygon tool and draw a shape either on or around the features you wish to select by clicking line segments to create a series of lines.
    
3. Click either the or to execute the selection.
    
4. The results appear in the lower panel.
    
5. Click the hyperlink number in the left hand "REC" field to zoom to the selected feature on the map. Click Zoom To to zoom the view to the selected feature.

Tip: Selected features are maintained even when a new active layer is chosen. Multiple features can be selected across multiple layers.

Print:

This button is for generating a presentation style output including selected and buffered features, legend and scale bar. The Printable page of the current map view is generated in a new browser window. When the new browser window appears, use the "File, Print" command in you browser to send the map to your printer.

How to print a map:

1. Zoom to the area of interest.
    
2. Turn off or on the layers you wish to have displayed.
    
3. Execute any selections or buffers you wish to display.
    
4. Click the Print tool and type in a title for your map in the lower panel.
    
5. Click .
    
6. A new browser window will appear with a map formatted for printing.
    
7. Use the "File" menu and go to the "Print" command in your browser to send the map to your printer.

Extract Data:

To use this tool, zoom to the area of interest, select the features of interest, then click this tool. This tool lets you download a zipped shape file containing visible layers in your selection (with the exception of raster images). Visible non-active layers will be downloaded for the entire area shown on the screen - but for the active data layer, only the portions selected (using query, find, or another selection mechanism) will be included in the shapefile.

Hyperlinks:

This button will allow you to click on a feature on the active layer that has an internet hyperlink assigned to it. The map server will inform you if there are no hyperlinks on the active layer you chose. If you use the Identify tool to list that feature's attributes and the features have hyperlink information, the link will be displayed in the "Identify Results" dialog.

Tip: Using the Hyperlink tool is equivalent to clicking on hypertext links in a normal web page.

The Hyperlink tool is used to direct you to a new web page or a file download associated with the feature you clicked on.

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