Map Viewer On-line Help

SFPUC Base Map Viewer

Table of Contents

- The Map Tools
- Map Layers
- The Legend
- Locate a Geographic Extent
- Select Features
- Print the map
- Contact Us

The Map Tools

The following is a list of the map tools found on the Base Map Viewer's interface, and a description of how each one is used.

The Zoom In tool is used to zoom in on a specific point on the map. To use the tool, select the zoom in icon from the tool bar, then click, or drag a box on the map. To draw the zoom-in box, click the left mouse button, and, while holding it down, drag the cursor to the other corner of the area you want to magnify, releasing the button. The specified area will be enlarged. If you click the map, the point on which you click becomes the center of magnification, and, subsequently, the center of the new map.

The Zoom Out is used to zoom out from the map to view a larger area. To use the tool, select the zoom out icon from the map tool panel, then click, or drag a box on the map. To draw the zoom-out box, click the left mouse button, and, while holding it down, drag the cursor to the other corner of the area you want to reduce, releasing the button. The specified area will be reduced and a larger area of the map is displayed. As a rule, the smaller the box, the larger the area displayed. If you click the map, the point on which you click becomes the center of magnification, and, subsequently, the center of the new map.

Panning is a useful function that allows you to move around the map without changing the scale. Think of it as shifting a paper map across a desktop in order to view a different portion of it. To use the pan tool, select the pan icon from the tool bar, then click and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the map in the direction you want to pan, releasing the mouse button when you are done.

The Zoom Last button allows you to quickly zoom back to the last map view. Simply click the Zoom Last button once to zoom back to your previous map view.

The Full Extent tool allows you to quickly zoom out to the map's maximum extent (full view). To use the full extent function, simply click on the full extent icon. The full map area will be displayed in the map panel.

The Get Info tool allows you to retrieve attribute information from features on the map. Using this tool is a two-step process: first you must make a map layer "active" for the Get Info tool, then, on the map, either drag a box around, or click on the feature(s) you are interested in. The Map Viewer will then retrieve the data for the feature(s) and display the results in a new browser window.

Layers that are available for the Get Info tool are indicated in the Layer List with the icon. To "activate" a layer click on this icon. When a layer is active it is indicated with the icon. At certain map scales you will see the icon next to some layers. This icon indicates that the layer is not visible at the current map scale, and cannot be activated for the Get Info tool until it is back within scale-range.

The Pictometry tool allows you to find Pictometry imagery in the City and County of San Francisco. To find Pictometry, simply select this tool and then click anywhere on the map within the boundaries of San Francisco. A new browser window will open up, displaying thumbnails of the imagery available at that location. Click on a thumbnail to enlarge it.
Note: you must have the LizardTech plug-in installed on your computer in order to view these images.

The Media tool allows you to search for video and audio files, photos, and scanned documents. To find media files start by looking at the map layer list - layers marked with a small media icon (

) have media files associated with them. Select the media tool and then click on any of the features from these layers to search for media files. A new browser window will open up displaying the results of your search.

The Measure tool allows you to measure distances on the map. It is a simple, two-click operation - click once on the map where you want to start your measurement, then click a second time to complete the measurement. The map will be refreshed and will return with your measurement segment displayed and the length of the segment. To measure multiple segments repeat this process - each segment you draw will be added to your total distance measured. To clear your measurements click on the

button in the toolbar.

The Clear tool clears all graphics from the map. Graphics include:

Measurement segments
Stars that indicate the location of an address you searched for
Buffers

The Select Features tool allows you to select features from the "active" layer (see the Get Info tool for more information about making a layer "active") to create a selected set. To make a selection, click on the Select Features icon, then click on, or drag a rectangle around features you wish to select for your selected set. Once you have features selected you can:

Retrieve information about the selected features
Use the selected set to find adjacent features from other layers (see the section on the Select Tab for further details)
Add additional features to your selected set, or remove some

The Add to Selected Set tool is a useful function that allows you to add more features to your existing selected set. To use this tool, click on Add to Selected Set icon, then click on, or drag a box around the feature(s) you wish to add to your selected set.

The Subtract from Selected Set tool is a useful function that allows you to remove selected features from your existing selected set. To use this tool, click on Substract from Selected Set icon, then click on, or drag a box around the feature(s) you wish to remove from your selected set.

The Zoom To Selection tool allows you to zoom the map in to your selected set. Click once on the tool to zoom the map.

The Get Attribute Data button is used to retrieve data from the features in your selected set. Click this tool once to get the attribute data for your selected features.

The Clear Selection tool un-selects all of the selected features on the map, clearing your selected set.

The Overview Map icon allows you to view the current map extent on a map of the SFPUC system area. Simply click on the icon to toggle the overview map on/off.

The map scale display beneath the main map shows you the current map scale and allows you to zoom the map in/out by entering in a map scale value (e.g., 100, 200, 1100, 24,000, 100,000). Click on the "Go" button or just hit your "enter" key to zoom the map to the new scale.

Tab: The Map Layers

Sub Tab: The Layer List
The Layer List is used to control which layers are visible on the map, and which layers is the active layer for the Get Info tool (see Map Tools section for more about the Get Info tool). The Layer List is displayed by clicking on the "Map Layers" tab and then the "Layer List" sub-tab.

The map layers in the Map Viewer have been grouped by theme. For example, in the image shown at right there are 7 groupings starting with the "Water Transmission System" group and ending with the "Base Layers" group. Within each grouping there are one or more map layers. Groups can be expanded/collapsed by clicking the plus/minus signs or the group name.

Next to each layer name in the list there is a check box. The check box is used to control whether a layer is visible/invisible on the map. If the check box beside a layer is checked it indicates that the layer is currently visible on the map. When a layer name and it's check box are grayed-out it indicates that the layer is not available at the current map scale. Zoom in/out on the map to make these layers available.

If a map layer has a icon beside it's name it means that information can be retrieved from features in that map layer using the Get Info tool. To make a layer active for the Get Info tool simply click the icon next to the layer name. The icon will change
() to indicate that it is active. At certain map scales you will see the icon next to some layers. This icon indicates that the layer is not visible at the current map scale, and cannot be activated for the Get Info tool until it is back within scale-range.

Lastly, if a layer has a icon next to it (as the layer CSO/Outfalls does in the image above) it indicates that the layer has media files associated with it. Media files can be video or audio files, photos, or scanned documents. Use the Media Tool to search for the media files associated with map features.

Sub Tab: The Legend

The Legend is displayed by clicking on the "Legend" tab. The Legend displays the symbology for all of the visible layers on the map.

Sub Tab: An Area
The "Locate an Area" tool allow you to jump to an area by selecting a system extent, a hydrologic watershed, SFPUC Facilities (currently not available), a county, or by entering a ZIP Code. Simply choose a location from one of the drop down lists or enter a valid ZIP Code. Note that you can only choose one area to jump to from the drop down lists.

Tab: Locate

Sub Tab: An Address
The "Locate an Address" tool allows you to zoom the map to an address or a street intersection. To use this tool, enter the address number and street name separated by a space. Click on the Search icon. You can also find a location by entering a street name in the street text box and a cross street name in the cross street text box. Then click on the Search icon. Note that you can search by an address or by an intersection, but not an address and an intersection. Entering a zip code will refine your location search since it is possible to have the same address in different cities. If an address is found it will be displayed in a table showing the address and a score - a number between 60-100. A score of 100 indicates a exact match was found for the address entered. If multiple candidates were found, all of the candidates will be displayed along with the city/town they reside in and their score. To zoom the map to an address simply click on the address that most closely matches your search (see image below).

Tab: Select

Sub Tab: Find Adjacent Features
This tool allows you to find features from other map layers that are located within a specified distance of the selected features from the active layer. To find features that are adjacent to your selected features:

1.	Enter a distance from your selected features to search within (Buffer Distance).
2.	Select a "target" layer - features from this layer that are within the buffer distance you specified will be selected.
3.	Indicate whether you want to display attribute data for the target layer features that fall within your buffer distance (check/uncheck the "Return attribute data" checkbox).
4.	Click on the Draw Buffer button.

Print the Map

To print a map:
1. Enter the title for your map.
2. Select paper size and orientation.
3. Check the overview map and/or legend for inclusion onyour map.
4. Click on the print preview icon.
6. Go to the File menu, select Print, then your printer.
Click on the Layout tab. Select the page size and orientation that is appropriate for your map.

To save a map to your local drive:
1. Right-click with your mouse on the map
2. Choose "Save Picture As..." from the resulting menu
3. Use the "Save Picture" dialog to save the JPEG to your computer

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this application or need assistance please Email us at ldryden@sfwater.org or call us at 415.551.4363. You can also reach us at jlum@sfwater.org or call us at 415.551.4365.