By David Crowther
WebGIS applications, such as DynamicMaps MapThat, are a great way to provide GIS content and functionality to non-GIS users. However users can sometimes feel that they have little control over the map content being delivered via a webGIS. This then leads to increased support calls into the GIS Team,..for example ‘Paul’ (Education Dept) asking for the Schools to be coloured green instead of blue and ‘Sarah’ (Highways Team) asking for the Adopted Highways to be positioned above the Street Polygons. This can lead to increased frustration in the user community and time wasted for the GIS Team answering calls regarding map styling and zoom options.
In MapThat v1.0.11 (and onwards) we introduced the new ‘Control Layers’ tool into the MapThat interface. This tool now gives users increased control over map layers so that they can undertake their analysis far easier and also print maps which are more relevant for them. The Control Layers tool allows users to override default style, visibility and layer ordering options, as well as quickly zoom to the geographic extents of any data layer.
Using the Control Layers tool ‘Style Override’ Paul can now choose to override the current blue style of the Schools to now be green.
... and Sarah can now use the ‘Display Order’ tool to move the Adopted Highways above the Street Polygons so she can see them more easily.
We think the Control Layers tool is a great enhancement for our DynamicMaps MapThat solution and will both increase the users experience while reduce the daily support calls your GIS Team will receive.
Why not try the Control Layers tool using our TryMapThat website: