Using the IMS

Browser Buttons vs. Map Project Buttons

Although this project is run via your web browser, it is independent of your browser's toolbar buttons. The only ones that work in conjunction with the project are the browser Stop and Refresh buttons. These will stop any requests being made and will take the map back to its initial opening frame. (Using Ctrl+F5 on PCs/Internet Explorer is preferable to clear site's cache than the Refresh button.)

Note: Do not use the Back, Forward, or Search browser buttons to work with the project.

GIS Layers

The list of GIS layers are in a fixed order, i.e. they are not able to be moved above or below each other in the list.

Next to the layers you will notice a column of square buttons and another column of round buttons. If a square button is checked, that layer will be "visible" on the map. You can check as many visible buttons as you like.

If the round button is checked, that layer is "active" and available to be engaged by certain tools such as Zoom to Active Layer, Hyperlink, Identify, Query, Find Buffer, Select by Rectangle, Select by Line/Poly, and Clear Selection.

Note: Only one layer is able to be active at a time.

The Toolbar

The toolbar is composed of a variety of tools used to view, manipulate, and analyze the data. Hovering the mouse over the tool brings up a label with the name of the tool. Click on the tool to activate it.

Zoom In - Zooms in to more detail on the map. Hold your mouse down and drag a rectangle over the area of interest to zoom into a specific area, or click once over the map to zoom in to a general section.

Zoom Out - Zooms back out.

Zoom Lat/Long - Enter Latitude and Longitude coordinates to zoom into a specific area of the map.

Back to Last Extent - Brings the map back to the range last seen before a pan, zoom, or extent was used.

Zoom to Full Extent - Brings the map out to the range of all available GIS data.

Zoom to Active Layer - Takes the map to the range of the layer with the Active button clicked on.

Pan - Drags the map around where ever you hold and move your mouse.

Identify - Drag a small box around map features of interest and a new window is opened with the data tables for those particular features. Note that the smaller the area of interest, the faster the results will appear.

Bookmark - This tool returns you to a previously identified map extent. Enter a title for the bookmark and click "Save". Select a bookmark from the drop-down list and click "Apply Selected" to return to that extent. Enter as many bookmarks as you like. Use the "Remove Selected" button to manage your bookmarks.

Hot Link - Certain layers have URL hyperlinks within their data table. Using the Hyperlink tool to click on one of their polygons will open that polygon's URL in a new window. (Alternatively, use the Identify, Find, or Query tools to open their data table and click on the hyperlink there.)

Set Units - Set the units (kilometer, mile, feet, meter) to display the scale bar and distances on the map.

Select by Line/Poly - A more selective method to select multiple features at once. Create you own line or polygon segments around one or more features. Opens up a data table of results in a new window.

Select by Rectangle - An easy way to select multiple features from an active layer at once by dragging a rectangle over the desired features. Opens up a data table of results in a new window.

Measure - Drag a line across the map to measure the distance.

Buffer - Select one or more features from an active layer, then create a buffer zone around them based on the display units you map using.

Extract Data - Clicking this button allows you to download visible data in GIS shapefile format. Once complete, a zip file containing one shapefile for each layer with visible features within the map extent will be available for download.

Clear Selection - Clears the results of the last tool used.

Find - An easy way to search for a word or string of words in the active layer's data table. Opens a new window of results with a hyperlink to each feature. Do not need to use quotes or wildcard characters (*). Is case sensitive.

Ex. Entering the string "Los" will yield a table with "Los Angeles", "Los Altos", "East Los Angeles", etc.

Print - Customize the print layout of your current map view showing the legend, scale bar, north arrow, and desired title.

Patience!

Much like a regular Web site, the information must be transmitted back and forth over the Internet from your browser, to our server, and back. As such, the map will not react as quickly to informational requests as you may be used to with software on your personal computer. Please exercise some degree of patience when using the tools and waiting for results. Processing time is often determined by a combination of your computer's processor speed, Internet connection speed, and browser type. If the map seems hung up, click on the browser's Stop button and hit Ctrl+F5 (on PCs) to refresh the site.

top