How-To Guide: Getting Started with GIS Maps

Topic:
Enterprise GIS
Tags:
Documentation,
GIS Maps,
How-To,
FAQ,
Getting Started

This guide provides descriptions of every tool, how to use GIS Maps, and some frequently asked questions.

How It Works

The GIS Maps application allows you to explore the Ohio State Campus map, download data, share maps, and find information about buildings on campus.

The GIS Maps application is divided into three main regions:

  1. The Application banner at the top provides links to the Ohio State website.
  2. The Map area displays the map of campus and includes a handful of tools in the top-right corner.
  3. The tools panel on the left side provides you with additional functionality to interact with the map and the data behind it.
An overview image of the GIS Maps interface. Pop-out of Hayes Hall is visible.

Navigating the Map

There are a few ways to zoom and pan the map.

  • If you have a wheel mouse, zoom in on the map by moving the mouse cursor over the map and scrolling the wheel forward a few times. To zoom out using the scroll wheel, simply scroll backward.
  • If you have a keyboard, hold the shift key while dragging a rectangle on the map to zoom to a specific area of the map.
  • If you are using a touch screen, using the pinch gesture to zoom to a specific area of the map.
  • Click on the + or - sign on the map to zoom in (+) or out (-).
  • To pan around the map, click on it then drag away from the location you want to see.

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Tools

This section provides detailed information about each tool included in this web application. Availability of specific tools will depend on your permission levels. All users have access to basic tools (such as Toggle Panel, Login, and Layers) while other specialized tools (such as Space Data and Assessment) will be limited to specific user groups.

Toggle Tool Panel

  • This tool toggles the visibility of the active toolbox.

Login Tool

  • Click on this tool to login and have access to additional layers and tools.
  • Once you have clicked on the login button, you will be presented with a login page where you can enter your OSU Username and Password.

Layers Tool

  • By default, only certain data layers are shown on the map. This tool lets you change what information you see on the map. This data is organized into the following groupings:
    • BaseMap: the BaseMap group includes basic layers such as buildings, pavement and landscaping.
    • Infrastructure: the Infrastructure group includes utilities, such as gas, water, electric, storm and sanitary lines.
    • Transportation: the Transportation group includes bus lines and stops, car rentals, parking, and bike-related features.
    • Public Safety: the Public Safety group includes blue light phones, surveillance cameras, service areas, etc.
  • To expand a group, simply click on its name. To make a layer or layer grouping visible, check its checkbox. To turn it off, uncheck the checkbox.
  • It is also possible to change the transparency of a group of layers. You can do so by dragging the red slider. If the slider is all the way to the right, that set of layers will not be transparent. If the slider is all the way to the left, that set of layers will be completely transparent.
  • Availability of data layers will depend on your permission levels. All users have access to Base Map and Transportation layers while Infrastructure and Public Safety layers are limited to specific user groups.

Search Tool

  • The Search Tool lets you find a building or another location on the map (such as a bus stop). There are several ways to use this tool.
  • Building Search
    • You can search for buildings by Organization, Department, or College. You can also search for a building by name. As you type letters in the textbox, a list of matching values will be displayed. You can click on one of these values and then click on the “Zoom To” button to zoom to those buildings, which are now highlighted on the map.
    • The “Clear” button clears the selection on the map and entries in the textboxes.
  • Data Layer Search
    • You can search for GIS data on the map by selecting the appropriate layer from the Layer drop-down list, then entering the search value in the Search Value textbox. Once you place your cursor in the Search Value textbox, possible values will be shown for easy
    • As soon as you select a specific location in the Search Value textbox, locations matching that value will be selected on the map. To zoom to the selected location(s), click on the “Zoom to” button.
  • The “Clear” button clears the selection on the map and the Search Value textbox.
  • Availability of data layers you can search will be dependent on your specific permission levels.

Map Bookmarks Tool

  • The Map Bookmarks tool lists a number of campus areas, including:
    • Columbus, Newark, Mansfield, Marion, Lima, Wooster, OSU Airport, OSU Golf Course, and University Hospital East
  • After clicking on one of the campus names, the map will zoom to the extent of that campus.

Print Tool

  • The Print tool creates a PDF map of the current map view. A map title and subtitle can be specified and a layout selected. Upon clicking the “Get Map PDF” button, a PDF map will be generated and made available for download. Please note that the creation of the PDF may take a few moments. You can continue using the site and get back to the Print Tool at a later time to download the PDF.

Share Tool

  • The Share tool allows you to share a map with others. There are two options:
    1. Clicking on the “Click here to share the map via email” button: this will open your default email program with a new email message with a preset title and message, including the web address of the map.
    2. Copying the web address from the textbox.
      • If you make changes to the map, like panning or zooming, and want to obtain an updated web address, simply click on the “Update” button.
      • The resulting web address will load the map at the same extent and with the same visible layers.

Draw Tool

  • The Draw tool includes tools to places points, lines, polygons, and text on the map. The drawing options for each tool vary:
    • Point: you can set the point size and color.
    • Line: you can set the line thickness and color.
    • Polygon: you can set the color of both the outline of the polygon and the interior, as well as its opacity. Heavy opacity means the feature is not transparent while a light opacity results in a mostly transparent feature.
  • When drawing lines or polygons, click once on the map to add a vertex or corner. Click twice to indicate you are done drawing.
  • To remove the graphics from the map, click on the “Clear Map” button.

Walking Directions Tool

  • This tool provides walking directions to go from one location to another on campus. To use it, specify the starting and ending location, then clicking on the “Route” button.
  • There are three options available to set the starting location:
    1. Use your current location as detected by your browser by clicking on the “Use your location as start” button.
    2. Click on the green pin and then click on the location on the map.
    3. Type in building number, name or address in the textbox to search for the buildings.
  • There are two options available for specifying the ending location: using the red pin or specifying a location in the textbox.
    1. Clicking on the blue double arrows will reverse the directions and clicking on the “Clear” button will clear the route from the map.
    2. Please note that this tool is in beta and may not always provide accurate results.

Extract Data Tool

  • This tool lets you download the data behind the map in a GIS (file geodatabase or shapefile) or CAD (DWG) format. To do so, click on the “Draw” tool to draw an extent of the area on the map for which you would like data to be extracted. After specifying the extent, select the layer(s) of interest, then scroll down, if necessary, to click on the “Extract Data” button.

Measurement Tool

  • The Measurement tool provides three measurement options:
    1. Area: lets you measure an area in both metric (square meters, square kilometers, and hectares) and imperial units (square feet, square yards, square miles, and acres).
    2. Distance: lets you measure distances in both metric (meters, kilometers) and imperial units (feet, yards, miles, and nautical miles).
    3. Location: provides the latitude and longitude of a location in both decimal degrees and degrees/minutes/seconds.
  • After selecting the right measurement tool and measurement units, you should draw on the map. When drawing lines or polygons, click once on the map to add a vertex or corner. Click twice to indicate you are done drawing. After placing a point or drawing a line or polygon, you can change the measurement units from the dropdown list.

Suggest an Edit Tool

  • This tool allows you to draw an area on the map and type in a comment associated with that area. The information provided will be reviewed by the appropriate staff and data updates made as necessary.
  • To hide all of the redline areas, click on the “Turn off” button. To see the redline areas again, click on the “Turn on” button.
  • Clicking on an existing redline shows the comment and author associated with that redline.

Space Data and Assessment Tool

  • This tool shows information about buildings on campus. It allows you to color code the buildings using a specific theme and then use the identify pop-up window to examine detailed information about the selected building or floor in the building. To start, select a theme Category from the drop- down list. Upon selection of a category, the Type dropdown list will be populated, buildings will be colored, and the legend will be updated. By default, the “Predominant” type will be selected. This can be changed to a specific type if desired.
  • To zoom to a specific building on the map, type in the building number, name, or address in the Building text box and select a building form the list of suggested values.
  • To view interior data (floor plans) select the desired floor from the dropdown list. The floor plan will be displayed on the map along with the room numbers. If the theme is selected, the floors will be color-coded according to the selected theme.
  • Clicking on a building or floor shows detailed information about the building or floor. If a “FCI” category was selected, the FCI scores for the buildings will be included in the information window.
  • Upon selection of one of the three FCI categories, you will notice a new “Filter” section available in this tool. By default, all buildings will be displayed. To reduce the number of buildings, you can specify a specific organization, department of college of interest. You can also specify a FCI score filter. Once you have filtered the data, you can download it as a CSV file. There are two options. The first, “Download conditions csv file”, will download all buildings. The second, “Generate filtered conditions csv file”, will download only those buildings that match your filter.

Identify Pop-up window

  • On the right-hand side of the website, you can find the Identify tool. This tool allows you to click on a GIS feature on the map and view information about that feature.
  • If the tool shows an “i”, it is currently active. If it is empty, it is not currently the active tool. To activate it, simply click on the tool. It is on by default.
  • With the tool active, click on a feature of interest to view its information. For example, when clicking on a building, you can see a picture of that building, its name, number, address, and obtain walking directions. You can also view energy consumption and amenities and building’s FCI score or other space data if you have appropriate permissions.

Help Tool

  • The help tool provides a link to this document when clicking on the “Click here for help” button.
  • Additionally, when clicking on the “Click here to send feedback” button, your default email program will open with a new email message with a preset recipient email address and subject.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common issues and questions.

How do I log in?

  • To log in, click on the login button in the upper left-hand corner.
  • Once you have clicked on the login button, you will be presented with a login page where you should enter your Ohio State Username and Password.

I logged in. Why do I not see any new tools or data?

  • Having a university login does not mean you automatically have access to new tools and layers, such as Space Data and Assessment, Infrastructure, or Public Safety. You will need to request access by sending an email to gismaps@osu.edu.

I used the Identify tool. Why is it not showing me the right information?

  • There may be multiple features located at the location where you clicked. In the title bar of the Identify window, you will see arrows to go to the next and previous features. Click on the arrows to cycle through all of the features.

Can I adjust the transparency of a layer?

  • Yes, you can adjust the transparency of a set of layers in the Table of Contents by dragging the slider. If the slider is all the way to the right, that set of layers will not be transparent. If the slider is all the way to the left, that set of layers will be completely transparent.

How do I turn off the Space Data and Assessment coloring and features?

  • To reset the coloring and features, click on the Refresh button in the top-right portion of the tool.

Where can I find the Building Assessments (FCI)?

  • The Building Assessments can be found under the Space Data and Assessment tool. There are three FCI options in the Category dropdown: “FCI Composite”, “FCI Architectural”, and “FCI MEP”.
  • With one of those categories selected, you can click on a building to view that building’s FCI scores (you may need to scroll down to view the scores).
  • Upon selection of one of the three FCI categories, you will notice a new “Filter” section available in this tool. By default, all buildings will be displayed. To reduce the number of buildings, you can specify a specific organization, department of college of interest. You can also specify a FCI score filter. Once you have filtered the data, you can download it as a CSV file. There are two options. The first, “Download conditions csv file”, will download all buildings. The second, “Generate filtered conditions csv file”, will download only those buildings that match your filter.
  • In the Space Data and Assessment tool, you can also filter the buildings based on their FCI score.

Where can I find Floor Plans and Space Data?

  • Floor plans and Space Data can be found under the Space Data and Assessment tool.

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