The Map Viewer

The map viewer at https://secims.example/map/ shows SEC-IMS datasets in their geographic context. It is intended as an orientation tool — to see where data sits, to compare layers, and to deep-link to a particular view of a dataset. Heavy analysis is better done in desktop GIS software connected to SEC-IMS through its OGC APIs (see Chapter 7).

This chapter covers the map at orientation level. In-app tooltips and shortcuts cover individual controls in detail.

The interface

The map viewer presents three regions:

  • The map canvas in the centre, showing the basemap and any active layers.
  • The layer panel on the left, listing every layer you can add and the layers you have already added.
  • The navigation controls in the corners — zoom, scale, attribution, and a sign-in entry point.
NoteScreenshot needed

map-overview — The map viewer in its default state, with a few representative SEC-IMS layers enabled (one vector, one raster, one tile-based) so the legend, the layer panel, and basemap attribution are all visible.

Adding and removing layers

Layers are organised under the categories defined in the catalogue (resource type, theme, custodian). To add a layer:

  1. Open the Layers panel from the left edge of the map.
  2. Expand a category to see the layers it contains.
  3. Toggle a layer’s checkbox to add it to the map.
  4. Drag layers in the active list to reorder them; layers higher in the list draw above layers lower in the list.
  5. Click the slider next to an active layer to adjust its opacity.

To remove a layer, untick its checkbox. The list of active layers is remembered in the URL while you stay on the page (see Deep-linking below).

NoteScreenshot needed

map-layer-panel — The expanded Layers panel with three categories visible, one layer enabled in each, and the active-layer list showing drag handles and opacity sliders.

Legend

Each active layer contributes an entry to the Legend strip along the bottom of the map canvas. The legend shows the symbology applied to that layer — colours for vector classifications, colour ramps for rasters, icons for point features.

The symbology for each layer is supplied by an SLD (Styled Layer Descriptor) document that travels with the dataset, so the legend always reflects what the data custodian intended.

NoteScreenshot needed

map-legend — Close-up of the legend strip with at least two layers active, one showing a categorical vector classification and one showing a continuous raster colour ramp. Annotate the legend region with a callout.

Basemap

The basemap (the background map of roads, terrain, and place names) can be switched from the Basemap control in the bottom-right corner. Available basemaps depend on the deployment — typically a light/grey cartographic basemap for reference work and a satellite-style basemap for orientation.

Deep-linking and sharing a view

The URL in your browser updates as you pan, zoom, change basemap, or toggle layers. Copy the URL and share it to send a colleague to exactly the same map view — same active layers, same zoom, same centre point.

URLs that come from clicking a dataset’s View on map button include the dataset identifier as a query parameter; opening such a URL adds the layer, zooms to its extent, and opens the corresponding entry in the layer panel.

NoteScreenshot needed

map-deep-link — Browser address bar showing a deep-link URL after opening a layer from the catalogue. Highlight the relevant URL parameter that identifies the dataset.

Signing in

The map viewer is fully usable without an account. The Sign in button in the navigation strip is for registered contributors who want to upload or edit data (see Chapter 6). Signing in does not change the layers you see — it only unlocks the upload and edit interfaces.