Scoilnet Maps Help Contents Introduction Map Canvas Mapping Widgets Navigation Searching for Addresses Layer Control and Legend Popup Windows Export to PDF Printing Draw Widget Bookmarks Widget Swipe/Spotlight Widget Elevation Profile Widget Street View Widget Troubleshooting Flash Plugin Introduction Welcome to Scoilnet Maps, an interactive online mapping tool that provides teachers and students in Irish schools with access to Ordnance Survey Ireland maps for the Republic of Ireland as well as detailed World maps. Scoilnet Maps also provides users with the option of viewing a range of additional datasets, as layers, over the basemaps, e.g, boundaries, census data, the location of schools, etc. Problems encountered with the functionality of this application should be notified to the following email address: maps@scoilnet.ie. Please note: In order to fully use the features in Scoilnet Maps it is necessary to allow popup windows in your browser. If you click on an item (e.g. help documentation or a link in a popup window) and your browser displays a message that popups are blocked, follow the links to 'always allow popups from this site'. The map windows will reset when you do this, but once it is done you should not need to do it again and all links will operate normally. Please see the notice at the bottom of this document regarding the Flash plugin for your browser, which is necessary for Scoilnet Maps to work. Map Canvas The map canvas is the main interactive workspace on Scoilnet Maps. If viewing Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) maps, everytime you visit the map canvas will display the map of Ireland and this is the full extent of the mapping available for the OSi data. If viewing world mapping, everytime you visit the full extent of the map canvas will display a world map. All the maps contain detail of roads, towns, infrastructure and terrain that increases in detail as you zoom in. Mapping When viewing the Ordnance Survey Ireland maps, Scoilnet Maps provides users with six different options. All maps are provided under licence by Ordnance Survey Ireland utilising their MapGenie web service. This ensures Scoilnet Maps users get instant updates when the OSi supply database is updated. You can switch between these different mapping options by clicking the "Maps" link at the top right of the map Page 1
canvas: You can then choose one of the map types by clicking on it: It is also possible to click and drag the slider tool at the bottom of the map chooser to transition between the maps gradually. OSi Street Mapping ('OSi Mapping') This is the default background mapping - it provides detailed mapping of streets, locations, waterways and other natural and man made features. Users can zoom into large-scale maps for the Republic of Ireland. OSi Aerial Photography ('OSi Aerial Photography') This provides up-to-date aerial photography, which can be viewed at scales up to 1:1,000. Approx one-third of the Irish Republic is covered by the most up-to-date 2010 imagery whilst other areas remain covered by OSi's 2005 imagery. Page 2
OSi 1:50,000 Discovery Mapping ('Discovery') At a scale of 1:50,000, this is a digital version of the Discovery mapping series, originally designed for tourist and leisure activities. It provides feature-rich maps which show detailed landscape information, like rivers, lakes, contours and townland names. In 2012 the maps were improved to include a significant amount of forestry, trails, waymarked walks and summit information (including third party contributions) in order to enhance the value of the Discovery Series to the outdoor and GI community. Zooming in beyond 1:10,000 with this dataset will result in a blank canvas. Please note that the maximum zoom scale is set by OSi and cannot be changed. Note: It is not possible to view the Discovery maps when zoomed in closer than 1:10,000. Beyond this scale the mapping disappears and a blank screen is presented. OSi 1:50,000 Discovery with Relief Shading ('Discovery Relief Shade') As above but with shading included on the maps to illustrate areas of elevation. OSi Cassini 6-inch Mapping ('Cassini 6inch') Revised editions of the six-inch maps were produced in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. While these are often identified as third edition (1911-1912) those displayed on the site do contain fourth edition data (1935-1938), usually in urban areas, as well as some data from the first edition (1842). Note: The 'Cassini 6inch' mapping is only viewable when zoomed in to 1:10,000 or closer. A generic historical map is presented at smaller scales. Page 3
OSi Historic 6 inch Mapping ('Historic 6inch') The first edition Ordnance Survey maps were surveyed between 1829 and 1842 at a scale of six inches to one mile (1:10560). The maps used a Cassini projection and were produced on a county by county basis which showed no detail from neighbouring counties. Note: The 'Historic 6inch' mapping is only viewable when zoomed in to 1:10,000 or closer. A generic historical map is presented at smaller scales. Widgets A "widget" is a term used to describe any one of the tools that you see available on the map canvas. These tools or "widgets" allow users to perform tasks in Scoilnet Maps, e.g., navigate, find a place, print, etc. The navigation widget resides on the left side of the map canvas and several more widgets reside in the top toolbar and are represented by icons. Here are the widgets available in the Scoilnet Maps toolbar: Clicking on one of these icons will open a separate popup window specific to that widget. Watch a video tutorial explaining the Scoilnet Maps widgets. Moving the Widget popups around A small tray of arrows appears at the very bottom of the map canvas once you open a widget. These arrows allow you to move the popups left or right, so that you can see underneath the widget, or to minimise it. Page 4
Navigation The Navigation widget features tools used to zoom in, zoom out and pan around a map. It allows you to see the map from its full extent (e.g., whole of Ireland) right down to street level scale. Zooming in and out There are four ways to change the scale of the map viewer (zoom in and out): 1. Rolling the wheel on your mouse forward or back. 2. Clicking on the + or - buttons: at the top and bottom of the scale slider of the navigation widget which is placed on the left side of the map canvas. This will move the scale slider up (zooming the map in) or down (zooming the map out). Clicking on the slider scale button gives the map scale at each zoom level. 3. To zoom in or out to a specific extent, choose the + or - magnifying glass buttons that are located at the bottom of the navigation widget: These icons require you to draw a box on the map canvas to delineate the area you wish to zoom in to or out from. Do this by holding down the left button on the mouse and dragging the cursor diagonally across the map canvas. You will see a selection box appearing once you start this action. Just let go the mouse button to complete the selection area. 4. Place the cursor over the point on the map that you wish to zoom into and double click. This centres the point on the screen and zooms in on it. You can do this repeatedly until you have zoomed into the desired scale. Panning the map There are two ways to pan the map (move the view of the map sideways so that it is centred on a different area): 1. Click on the pan icon and then click anywhere on the map canvas and hold the button down while you drag it in the desired direction. 2. Click on the 'Pan Up', 'Pan Down', 'Pan Left' or 'Pan Right' buttons: at the top of the navigation widget Navigating between views To go back to the previous view, click the 'Previous Extent' button on the navigation tool bar. This is the left pointing arrow:: Having done this, you can step forward to subsequent views using the 'Next Extent' button, which is the arrow pointing right. Page 5
Return to full extent To return to the maximum extent of the mapping data being viewed, press the 'Full Extent' button. This is the globe button at the centre of the the navigation toolbar:. Re-centre map Use this tool to re-centre the current map. Click the icon, and then double-click a point of interest on the map. The map will move to the new centre point and zoom in. You can also click and hold down the cursor to drag the map. When you do this, the map will retain its scale. Overview map This tool sits in the bottom right corner of the map canvas and can be used to view an overview map of the current view. When clicked, a larger window will appear and this window will have a larger scale view of the map view. A red box will represent your current view. By clicking and holding down the cursor on the red box, you can drag the box around the window changing the extent of the main map. To minimise it again, click on the arrow. Searching for Addresses Find an address To search for an address, use the 'Find an address' widget on the top bar. When clicked, this opens a single text box, where you can type all or part of an address, including street number, street name, town and country. Then click on the 'Locate' button to start the search. Page 6
Choose the correct address from the list of results and click on it to zoom the map to the address you have chosen. You can also find a location by its latitude and longitude coordinates. This can be done by clicking on the icon within the 'Find an address' widget. You can close the address search box at any time by clicking on the 'x' at the top right of the widget box, or minimise it by clicking on the adjacent '-' sign. To reopen the 'Find an address' widget, click again on the icon in the widget bar. It's also possible to minimise or move the widget box around the map canvas by clicking on the arrows just below it. Layer Control and Legend To view Layers click on the button at the top right of the map canvas. Watch a video tutorial explaining the layers viewable in Scoilnet Maps. Layer control When the Layer List first opens, the list of available layers is displayed: The layers are grouped so that they are easier for the user to view and manage. You can expand a group by clicking on the arrow sign to the left of the group name (e.g. 'Boundaries' or 'OPW Flood Mapping'). You can turn on and off a whole group by clicking in the tick box next to the group name (e.g. 'Census Population Data'), or turn on and off an individual layer by clicking in the tick box next to the layer name when expanded (e.g. 'Population Change by County'). Both the layer and the group need to be ticked in order for the layer to be visible on the map. If more than one layer is ticked, the top or uppermost layer is the one that is seen on screen. If a layer in this list is showing up as pale grey, italicised text, this means it's not viewable at the current map scale. You must zoom out or in for that layer to actually show up on the basemap. The OPW flood mapping layer is not viewable beyond a scale of 1:50,000 so if you are zoomed in beyond this scale, nothing will be displayed on the maps. Similarly, the National Inventory of Archictectural Heritage data is not viewable beyond 1:25,000 scale. If you're zoomed in closer than this, again nothing will display on the map for that layer. Page 7
Layer Transparency You can adjust the transparency of a layer by clicking on the downward arrow to the right of the layer name and selecting 'Transparency'. Legend The Legend widget sits in the top widget bar. It should be used when layers have been activated on the map canvas. By clicking and opening the Legend widget an explanatory legend for each of the colours in use on the layer is presented. Both the layer and the group need to be ticked in order for the legend to be visible in the Legend widget on the map canvas. Popup Windows A number of the layers available in the the viewer are configured to support popup information windows, which provide more detail about individual areas or features. To view additional information about these layers, click on the area of interest on the map. A popup window will appear displaying descriptions, additional attributes, and hyperlinks. If you have more than one layer turned on, the popup will display for the top most layer. Popup windows are currently in use for these data layers: Boundaries Schools Census Population Data OPW Flood Mapping National Inventory of Architectural Heritage National Monuments Service Designated Areas Export to PDF You open the 'Export to PDF' widget by clicking on the Page 8
This widget allows you to save a map to a.pdf file to either print or save for later. You can add text notes on your PDF if you wish and you can overlay a grid on your selected map view by ticking the 'Show Grid?' tickbox. Follow the instructions on screen to save your PDF and once it has been saved, a confirmation message will appear indicating that the PDF has been exported successfully to that location. This message will disappear after 10 seconds or so. Printing You open the print widget by clicking on the The print widget dialog has two text boxes which allow you to enter a title and subtitle for your printout if you wish. When you click the 'print' button your browser's print dialog will open. You can choose the page size and orientation using this dialog. The map window is scaled to fit the printed page, regardless of its shape. Therefore, if you are viewing the map maximised on a normal screen, the map window will have an approximate landscape page shape. If you print this using a portrait page orientation the printed map will only take up the top half of the page. To cover all of the page, either print the map as a landscape page, or resize the browser window containing the map viewer to the desired shape before printing. Draw Widget To open the Draw widget click on the This widget allows you do draw symbols on the map. You can also show measurements by clicking the 'Show Measurements' check box once any of these tools are activated. You can change the color/style of the drawing using the different options available. Note: The measurements tool only works on shapes drawn after it was turned on. Any pre-existing shapes on the map canvas will not show their measurements. Bookmarks Widget To open the Bookmarks widget click on the This widget simply allows you to bookmark your current view of the map for future reference. Page 9
Swipe and Spotlight Widget To open the 'Swipe and Spotlight' widget click on the The swipe tool allows you to compare two layers side-by-side, by selectively masking the topmost of the two layers. The spotlight tool allows you to see through a circular "cut out" of one map layer onto any layers below. Watch a Swipe + Spotlight video tutorial. To use the Swipe or Spotlight tool, you must select a layer to be "active" over your basemap layer. For example, you might have OSi mapping selected as your basemap in the main map canvas area. You would then open the 'Swipe and Spotlight' widget and choose the OSi Aerial Photography to be active over the OSI mapping. To swipe the aerial photograph, hold down the left mouse button and drag to reveal the layer beneath the swiped layer, in this example, the OSi mapping layer. Elevation Profile Widget This widget allows you to create a profile of the elevation height along a route between two or more points. To open the 'Elevation Profile' widget click on the Then select one of the 3 tools provided in the widget to draw a line across your map: The elevation profile will be returned and displayed in a panel that sits over the map: Page 10
Taking a closer look at the axes of the profile we can see elevation (in metres) along the Y axis, and distance (in km) along the X axis. As you move the cursor across the profile you ll see a red + displayed on the line drawn on your map, indicating the corresponding location on the map for the location in your profile. It also shows the altitude in metres and the distance from your starting point. Use of the Elevation Profile widget on the World maps would also be very useful for any classwork involving the study of continental shelves, etc. Street View Widget The Street View Widget is available within the World maps viewer for Scoilnet Maps. You can use it to view an area at street level using Google Maps. Open the widget by clicking on the 1. Within the widget popup, click on the icon. 2. Click on the area on the map you wish to view (It is important to click on a road as there is no street data if you click on a building/field etc.). This means you need to be well zoomed in. 3. The map should now appear in the bottom third of the screen and you can use the Street View functionality. Troubleshooting Here are some tips that may be useful in the unlikely event you experience difficulty with Scoilnet Maps. Page 11
Adobe Flash Player In order to view Scoilnet Maps you need to have at least version 10 of Adobe Flash Player. The link below will take you to the download site. http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ Map Viewing Issues Try refreshing your browser if the map freezes (by hitting F5 or the reload button on your browser toolbar). If you are seeing a grey screen, try zooming out a step. Some of the Historic and Cassini mapping data can be slow to respond as you move the map around. Be patient with these datasets. Wrong location in 'Find an Address' Tool If the location you typed in is not where you thought it should be, check to see if the 'Score' next to the location result is high or low. Remember that it is a score from 1 to 100. If the score is low, then the system could not find enough references to make an accurate guess about this location.try adding more information or check your spelling. Flash Plugin Scoilnet Maps uses the Flash plugin made available by Adobe for your browser. Most browsers will have this already installed. If you do not have the plugin installed, your browser will prompt you to install it before you can view the site correctly. The Flash program has its own cache for storing temporary information on your computer. This speeds up map display and searching. On occasion, the cached information may not reflect the most up to date set of data. For this reason, it is good practise to clear the Flash cache occasionally. To clear the flash cache: 1. Click on the following link: http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html 2. Save this location to your favourites if you have not already done so 3. You should see a page that resembles the image below 4. Click on the 'Delete all sites' button 5. Click 'Confirm' to delete the cache for all websites You should then be ready to use the map. Page 12