User manual¶

Navigation¶

Using the buttons at the top, one can navigate through the main components of the application. Currently, they are:

• Dashboard: currently a simple introduction of the software and project
• Map: an interactive map to explore all the geographical components
• Measures: a view of for easily accessing the measurements done on different objects on the map
• Admin (this is currently being reworked on)

Using the map¶

The interactive map allows users to navigate on all the elements in the database, organized in layers (see below).

User interface¶

Permalink¶

Using the "Permalink" button (showing a chain-like icon), a URL (ie. link or web address) is generated and put in the clipboard ready to paste. When this URL is used, Gisaf shows directly the view of the map with the same zoom, location, tilt, rotation, base map and selected layers.

Base map¶

The base map is a background that helps users to identify the features of the ground.

Some base maps come from Open Street Map (collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world, in the same manner that Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia).

Other base maps include pre-rendered maps (eg. "Stamen terrain"), or pictures taken from the sky ("Satellite").

Raster vs. vector¶

In the mapping jargon, a "raster" is an image, in the same manner like jpeg images.

A "vector" layer is a next generation way to store and use the maps, in the sense that each items of the map has its coordinates. The result is much nicer visuals that are adapted dynamically, use less bandwidth, etc.

Organization of the layers¶

Gisaf displays a tree of the layers on the left side pane.

Misc section¶

This section is used for legacy and highly customized data.

Specific projects¶

Exceptionally, specific sections can be created as per the requirements.

Other sections¶

These sections are from the surveyed data, and they match the ISO nomenclature of domain based organization of the geographical information.