Web Maps

In the simplest terms, Web Maps is a web-browser utility for plotting data on maps:

The Mapper

Web Maps is interactive and dynamic, with data sourced directly out of EMu or, by utilising our Portal, from other web service data providers, such as DiGIR, TAPIR, OAI or any other suitable web service data provider.

Web Maps can be implemented and accessed in two ways:

  1. A web-based client (perhaps integrated into a website) directly sourcing data from an EMu system or some other web data provider. See How to use the Web Maps interface for details.
  2. Directly out of an EMu client. In this case Web Maps is generated by running a special report on data directly in the EMu application: this will open a web browser to display Web Maps.

    Note: See Web Maps for details.

Web Maps comprises various discrete components that display on a web page. Some of the discrete components can be incorporated on their own into other web pages to produce alternative mapping displays. For instance, a page listing search results could include a miniature map of the world overlaid with points that correspond to records displaying on the current page; as the user scrolls through the list the map would update to reflect the distribution of the current record display.

Features of the standard web based Mapping client

Web Maps:

  1. Can display specimen data held within EMu

    -OR-

    Using the Portal from one or more EMu and non-EMu sources that implement interfaces such as DiGIR, TAPIR, OAI, etc.

  2. Automatically generates legends.
  3. Has interactive panning, zooming, selection of spatial layers, etc.
  4. Has automatic scale generation and scale dependent layer display (depending on the scale, layers will automatically turn on / off as appropriate).
  5. Allows map projection to be changed on the fly.

    For example, it is possible interactively to change the display to polar stereographic, mercator, geographic projection, etc.

  6. Can use a multitude of raster and vector data formats for layers, including:
    • TIFF/GeoTIFF, EPPL7, and many others via GDAL.
    • ESRI shapfiles, ESRI ArcSDE, and many others via OGR.
    • Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web specifications WMS.
  7. Allows spatial querying of specimen data against geographic layers.
  8. Has a highly customisable interface.
  9. Can be implemented and accessed as part of a website or can be generated as a web page directly out of the EMu client.
  10. Comprises discrete components that can be used to incorporate maps of varying sophistication or features in other web pages.

    Note: Please note that Web Maps is licensed separately to EMu.