Welcome to Boundless Exchange Documentation!¶

View an existing group¶

1. Select the About link on the Exchange toolbar, and click Groups in the drop-down menu. A list of all existing groups within Exchange will display.
2. Click on the name of a group to see the contact information, a list of members, and any additional details provided by the group managers.

Create a group¶

1. Select the About link on the Exchange toolbar, and click Groups in the drop-down menu. A list of all existing groups within Exchange will display.
2. Click the Create a New Group button, and fill out as much information about your group as possible. Once you have added the group name, contact information, and a brief description of the group, click the Create button at the bottom of the page.

3. You will be returned to your group’s information page. To add other group members, select the Manage Group Members link. Type the name of a registered Exchange user in the User identifiers textbox, and select their role as either a Member or Manager.

You can add more than one new member at a time, as long as they are going to have the same role.

4. Click the Add Group Members button when you have finished.

You can view all of the managers or members of the group by clicking on their respective tabs.

Note: Groups can only be deleted from Exchange by an administrator. If you have a group you no longer need, please contact your Exchange administrator.

Configure time attributes¶

A feature can currently support one or two time attributes. If a single attribute is used, the feature is considered relevant at that single point in time (start date). If two attributes are used, the second attribute represents the end of a valid time period for the feature.

A time attribute can be:

• A date - 02/15/2016 11:23 AM
• Text that can be converted to a timestamp - Wednesday December 7, 2016 9:47 AM
• A number representing a year - 2016, 1978

You will select the attribute you want to use from the drop down list. Exchange can handle the following formats:

The most common formatting flags are:

• y - year
• M - month
• d - day of month
• h - hour of the day (0 - 23)
• k - hour of the day (1-24)
• m - minute in an hour
• s - seconds in a minute

Exchange will also handle date and optional time variants of ISO-8601. In terms of the formatting flags noted above, these are:

yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm:ss.SSS’Z’

yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm:sss’Z’

yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm:ss’Z’

yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm’Z’

yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH’Z’

yyyy-MM-dd

yyyy-MM

yyyy

Note: Single quotes represent a literal character.

To remove ambiguity, repeat a code to represent the maximum number of digits. For example, yyyy or MM instead of yy or M.

5. Select a time attribute option for your layer.

   

   Yes - If your layer has an attribute for time configuration, and you’d like to enable the playback feature, select Yes. Configure the time attribute by selecting which data field is the Start Date. Selecting an end date is optional.

   

   No - Select No if your data does not include temporal information.

   Click the Continue button.

Enable version history¶

6. Select whether or not you’d like to enable version history.

Exchange uses GeoGig repositories to maintain version control of your vector data. By enabling version history, you can see the history of changes and who made them. Please reference the Editing and Version Management section for further information. Establishing permissions for your layers allows you to see edits made to the information through version history. Please see the below section on Setting Permissions for more information.

Note: Attempting to enable version history for a raster file will cause an error, notifying you to verify your configuration before you can proceed with the import.

Select Yes or No, followed by the Continue button.

7. Click the Create my layer button to begin the import. You will be notified that the importer has successfully finished. Select the hyperlink to view your layer, or click the Close button to continue importing data.

   

Selecting View the layer will take you to the layer’s information page, where you can create permissions for viewing and editing your data.

Using the map features¶

Within the Map Information page, there are some map features that will help you view the layer more in depth.

Zoom - Select the Zoom In or Zoom Out button to zoom to a specific location. Depending on the basemap, you may be able to zoom in as close as 1:10 meters.

Zoom to the Initial Extent - Return to the original extent of the map.

Switch to Globe (3D) - Select this button to view this map as 3D.

Print Map - Select Print Map to print a copy of the layer.

Layers - Select the Layers button to turn any of your layers off or on.

Click the Basemap button to select a different basemap style.

Layer detail tabs¶

There are five tabs with information pertaining to the particular layer: Info, Attributes, Ratings, Comments, and GeoGig.

The Info tab is the default display, and contains basic information about the layer, such as the title, who created it, and when it was published.

The Attributes tab displays the layer attribute table. Layer attribute statistics will only display if the value is a numeric attribute, otherwise, no statistics will be calculated.

The Ratings tab displays all ratings given to a layer by other users. Click on a star to rate the layer (one to five stars). Click the Cancel this rating icon to delete your rating.

The Comments tab allows you to see what others are saying about this layer, as well as leave your own comment. Click the Add Comment button to leave a comment about the layer. When you’ve finished, click the Submit Comment button.

The GeoGig tab shows you the history of edits that have been made to the layer, when they were made, and by whom.

Edit metadata¶

Metadata is information about the layer, such as the owner, title, purpose or restrictions on a layer. You can include as much information about the layer as you feel is important; the more you can tell other users about your layer, the better. If you have questions about what to put in a field, hover your mouse over the area. An information balloon will explain what is required.

1. Click the Edit Layer button, and select the Edit button under Metadata. The Edit Metadata page will display.

2. Edit the information fields to include anything pertinent to the layer. Note: Once you begin to edit the metadata, the Category field becomes mandatory, and you must select at least one.
3. Click the Update button at either the top or bottom of the page to save your changes.

Create a custom thumbnail¶

Custom images related to your map can be created, and will display next to the map on the Explore Maps page.

1. From the layer’s info page, click the Edit Layer button.

2. Click the Set from file button to browse to the image.

3. Browse to the image you’d like to use. Once added, the new image will display.

Set permissions¶

The social design of Exchange allows users to coordinate on projects by sharing access to the same layers and maps; however, there may be instances when you want to limit who has what access to your layers. In Exchange, you can establish permissions for who can view, edit, and manage layers. Permissions can also be set for editing styles and metadata.

By default, when a layer is uploaded, the permissions are set so that only the person who uploaded the layer has access to it. If you want other people to view, download, or edit the layer, you must change the permissions to allow it. Without changing permissions, other registered users will not see it listed as an available layer.

1. Click the Change Layer Permissions button.

2. Under the Who can view and Who can download sections, add the name(s) of registered users or groups. This will ensure anonymous view access is disabled, and only those users specified are able to see your layers. You can also leave the checkbox checked to allow all users access to the layer.

3. You can make the same changes for who can edit, change metadata, styles and who can manage the data. Add the names of users or groups who have permission to edit the layer. Click the Apply Changes button when you are finished.

Manage styles¶

Layers can have multiple associated styles. The Styles section tells you which style(s) is currently associated to the layer.

1. Click the Edit Layer button, and then Manage under Styles

2. Click the name of a style in the left-hand list to select it, and move it to the right-hand list.

3. Click a style in the right-hand list, and click the arrows between the lists to remove a style.
4. Click the Update available Styles button to save changes.

Replace a layer¶

Replacing a layer allows you to upload a new layer, taking the place of the current layer.

1. Click the Edit Layer button, and select the Replace button.

2. Follow the instructions to upload a new layer.

Remove a layer¶

Removing a layer will delete it completely from Boundless Exchange.

1. Click the Edit Layer button, and select Remove.
2. Verify your selection by clicking the Yes, I am sure button.

Download data¶

1. Click the Download Layer button.
2. Select the format in which you’d like the data to be downloaded. Exchange currently offers the following formats for use in multiple geospatial platforms:

3. Save the file to your computer when the Save As dialog box opens.

Download metadata¶

1. Click the Download Metadata button.
2. Select the format in which you’d like to download the metadata.

3. Save the file to your computer when prompted.

Create a new map¶

1. Select the Maps link on the Boundless Exchange toolbar.
2. Click Create Map in the drop-down menu.

A new map environment will open, and you can begin working.

Create a new map from a single layer¶

Maps can be created in the Explore Layers section, or from one or more layers in Explore Maps.

1. Select the Data link on the Boundless Exchange toolbar, and click Layers in the drop-down menu.

2. Select the Create a Map link under the layer you’d like to add to the map. A new map will open with the layer as part of the map.

Create a new map from multiple layers¶

1. Click the Shopping Cart icon next to the layers you’d like to add to your map. They will display in your cart until you are ready to build your map.

2. Click the Create a map button to add all of the layers to a new map.

   

Remove a layer from the cart by clicking the X next to its name.

A new map will open with all of the layers displayed.

Change layer order¶

Layers on a map are drawn from bottom to top. The top layer in your list will display on top of any layers below it. Each layer will appear in the order it is displayed in your list. Sometimes a layer may need to be reordered so it can be more clearly displayed.

1. Click on the name of the layer you want to reorder.
2. Drag the layer up or down to the desired position.

Toggle layer visibility¶

Toggle Visibility allows you to turn a layer’s display off and on without having to remove the layer form the map completely.

1. Click the Toggle Visibility button to turn a layer off.
2. Click the Toggle Visibility button again to turn a layer back on.

Zoom to data¶

The Zoom to data button allows you to center the map quickly on a particular layer. It is particularly convenient when you need to quickly return to the extent of the data for that layer.

1. Click a layer in the layer list.
2. Click the Zoom to data button. The map will zoom in and center on that particular layer’s extent.

Show layer info¶

Information about a layer is available in the map by clicking the Show Layer Info button. Show Layer Info will include server information, basic metadata, and the projection (SRS).

1. Click on a layer name in the layer list to expand the layer options.
2. Click the Show Layer Info button.

The Layer Info window will display.

Remove a layer from the map¶

1. To remove a layer from the map, click the name of the layer you’d like to remove, and click the Remove layer button in the layer tools.

   

2. Click the Yes button to confirm.

   

Get feature information¶

To get information in a vector layer, simply click a feature on the map. Once you click the feature, the information window will display. The point of the information window will touch the feature you clicked.

Change attribute visibility¶

Individual attribute visibility can be turned off and on in a feature window. This can make managing large numbers of attribute fields in a layer easier.

1. In the layers list on the map, select on the layer whose attribute visibility you’d like to change. The layer’s additional options will display.

2. Click the Show Attribute Visibility button to open the list of attributes for the layer.

3. Click on the Toggle Visibility button for an attribute to turn it off and on.

4. Select a feature on the map from that layer. The attribute will no longer appear in the feature information window, as it has been toggled off. Repeat these steps to toggle it back on.

Search for locations¶

FFind a specific location on the map simply by typing the name of a place, zip code, address or lat/long (DMS or DD) in the Search Locations text box. Click the search button to return a list of possible matches. Scroll through the list, and select one of the matches. The map will recenter on that location. This is a simple search, and does not allow wildcards.

Using the legend¶

A legend displayed the symbols used for vector layers in a map. It can be toggled off and on to maximize screen space when necessary.

Click the Toggle Legend button to toggle the legend off and on.

Additional map features¶

There are additional features which allow you to change your coordinate display, your full screen extent, and your map scale.

1. Click the Toggle Full Screen button to maximize your map environment to the full screen.

2. Click the Zoom In (+) / Zoom Out (-) buttons, or click and drag the scroll bar to zoom in and out on the map. Click the Zoom to World button to return to the world view.

3. Click the Switch Coordinate Display button, in the lower left corner of your map, to change the coordinate system. Your available options are DMS, DD (or XY) and MGRS. Click the button additional times to cycle through to your desired display. Your scale bar is located just above the coordinate display.

Measure distance or area¶

You can measure distance or areas on your map using the Measure tool.

1. To measure an area or distance on the map, select the Measure field. The measure tools will open, and you can select whether you want to measure a line distance, or an area.
2. Area - Click the Area button in the Measure tools. Begin drawing by clicking your mouse on your map at your starting point. Click subsequent points around the area you want to measure. To complete your measurement, you will need to ensure you close your polygon by clicking on your starting point.

Line - Click the Length button in the Measure tools. Begin drawing by clicking your mouse at your starting point. Click subsequent points along the route or feature you want to measure.

3. To complete your measurement, click your mouse at the end distance. The line will turn from a bold blue to a thin blue line. The distance will display as meters/kilometers, miles or feet, depending which unit you have selected.
4. Click the Stop Measuring button to clear your map and measurements.

Save a map¶

Saving a map allows you to maintain your preferences for the next use, as well as makes it available for other Exchange users.

1. Click the Save this map button.

2. Add a title and an abstract for your map so it is searchable by others. Click the Save button to save your changes. The name will be reflected in the title, and replace “New Map.”

The Map is now saved in the list of maps on the Maps page.

Create a copy of a map¶

You can use an existing map as a starting point for another map. This allows you to incorporate the work others have done without changing their maps.

1. Click Maps on the Boundless Exchange toolbar, and select Explore Maps in the drop-down menu.

2. Select on the map you would like to copy. This will open the map details page.

Click the Create a New Map button under the Copy this map section.

A new map will open, populated with all of the layers of the map you copied.

3. Click the Save this map button on the toolbar.
4. Add a new title and an abstract, possibly indicating this is a copy of another map.
5. Click the Save Copy button.

Your new map is now saved, and can be accessed from the maps page.

Download data layers¶

Here you can download the contents of a map that is stored in Exchange. It does not download data from other servers, however.

1. Click the Download Map button.
2. Select Download Data Layers.

If multiple layers exist, you will be able to select one or more of the available layers.

3. Select the layer(s) you want to download individually, or the Start downloading this map button to begin downloading.

Download Web Map Context¶

The Web Map Context (WMC) is an open geospatial consortium (OGC) standard for metadata describing a map service.

1. Click the Download Map button.

2. Select Download Web Map Context from the menu.

   

A new tab will open with the XML for the web map context.

Edit map metadata¶

Metadata plays an important role for maps. It describes the map in a way that the legend does not; why it was created, the date it was published, and who created it, for example. When a map is updated, it is important to update the metadata, as well. You can edit the information about the map if you have the proper permissions.

1. Click the Edit Map button

2. Click the Edit button under Metadata on the Edit Map menu.

   

3. In the metadata page, fill in the fields with information about the map. The more information you provide, the better others will understand your map.

4. Click the Update button at the top or bottom of the page to save your changes.

Set map thumbnail¶

By default the thumbnail images for maps will only have the vector layers. In order to include the background map you will need to use the Set Map Thumbnail button.

1. Pan and/or zoom the inset map on the Map Details page so that it’s centered on the view you would like for the map thumbnail.

2. Click the Edit Map button.

3. Click the Set button under Thumbnail on the Edit Map menu.

   

This will set the map thumbnail with the base map and layers included.

Old Thumbnail

New Thumbnail

Create a custom thumbnail¶

Custom images related to your map can be created, and will display next to the map on the Explore Maps page.

1. From the map’s info page, click the Edit Map button.

2. Click the Set from File button to browse to the image. Select the image you want to use, and verify it displays in the thumbnail section.

Edit map permissions¶

The map permissions determine which users can view or edit a map. The permissions can be set to establish:

• Who can view it?
• Who can download it?
• Who can change metadata for it?
• Who can manage it (update, delete, change permissions, publish/edit)?

1. Click the Change Permissions of this Map button in the Permissions section.

   

2. Establish the permissions for viewing, editing, and managing according to your needs.

   

3. Click the Apply Changes button to save changes.

Remove a map¶

You are able to remove a map from Exchange. It is important to note that this will remove the map for all users.

1. Click the Edit Map button.

   

2. Click the red Remove button under Map in the Edit Map menu.

3. Click the Yes button to confirm.

Add a point feature to a layer¶

A layer that is able to be edited will have the Add Feature button available.

1. Click the Add Feature button. The Drawing Geometry dialog will appear at the top of the map.
2. Click on the map to add your point feature.
3. Click the Accept Feature button to keep the geometry. Click the Cancel Feature button to remove the added feature.
4. After the feature is accepted, the Edit Attributes window will open. Fill out the fields, or select values from the dropdowns to add attribute values.
5. Click the Save button at the bottom of the form to save the feature to the layer.

Note: To delete a feature, click on the feature to be removed, and select the Delete Feature button. Select Yes to confirm.

Add a line to a layer¶

A line layer consists of lines that represent features such as roads, powerlines, waterways, etc.

1. Click the Add Feature button. The Drawing Geometry dialog will appear at the top of the screen.
2. Click on the map to begin drawing the linear feature. Click additional points to add all of the vertices. Double-click the last vertex to finish drawing the line.
3. Click the Accept Feature button to add the geometries to the layer.
4. After accepting the feature, populate the attributes in the Edit Attributes window with any required information.
5. Click the Save button to save your changes.

Note: To add a multi-line feature, select the Add Geometry button.

Add a polygon feature to a layer¶

Polygons can be used to represent many different features, including buildings, bodies of water, hazardous areas, etc. A simple polygon layer has a single polygon per feature.

1. Click the Add Feature button. The Drawing Geometry dialog will appear at the top of the screen.
2. Click on the map to begin adding the polygon. Continue to click to add all of the vertices. To finalize the polygon, close the geometry by clicking on the first vertex again.
3. Click the Right Angles button to create right angle corners on your polygon.
4. Click the Accept Feature button to add the geometries to the layer.
5. After accepting the feature, populate the attributes in the Edit Attributes window with any required information.
6. Click the Save button to save your changes.

Note: To add a multi-line feature, select the Add Geometry button.

Edit attributes¶

If a layer is able to be edited, Exchange allows you to make attribute changes directly from the map.

1. Select a feature on the map. The feature info box will appear.
2. Click the Edit Attributes button to open the Edit Attributes window.
3. Add attribute information as necessary.
4. Click the Save button to save your changes.

Edit point geometries on the map¶

Point layers can be either simple point or multi-points layers. For simple point layer, there is one point per feature. Multi-point layers will have more than one point per feature.

1. Select a point feature on the map to open the feature info box.
2. Click the Edit Geometry button. This will open the Drawing Geometry dialog at the top of the screen. Your selected feature will be highlighted in blue.
3. Click and drag the feature to a new location.
4. Click the Accept Feature button to save the new feature location. Click the Cancel button to cancel your edit.

Edit point geometry manually¶

Coordinates for point geometries can also be edited manually. This is useful when you have the coordinates from another source (such as a report or agency).

1. Select a point feature on the map to open the feature info box.
2. Click the Edit Attributes button. The Edit Attributes window will open.
3. Click the Location field to edit the point’s coordinates. Add the new location.
4. Click the Save button to save your changes.

Edit line or polygon geometries¶

Any existing feature in a layer can be modified, if you have permission to edit the layer. A layer that has been saved to GeoGig will maintain a history of all of the edits to ensure the provenance of the data.

1. Select a feature on the map to be edited. This will open the feature info box.
2. Click the Edit Geometry button. The Editing Geometry dialog will open.
3. Mouse over the geometry to highlight the vertex to edit. Click and drag the vertex to a new location. Repeat to edit any additional vertices.

GeoGig tab in Boundless Exchange¶

GeoGig layers in Boundless Exchange will have a GeoGig tab in addition to the other tabs on the Layer information page. The history is a list of commits that have been made to the layer.

In the layer information page, click on the GeoGig tab to see the chronological list of commits. The number of commits, and the total number of contributors will display.

Commit history within the GeoGig tab

Notifications¶

Because Exchange is a real time collaboration tool, it is important for users to be able to see what changes other team members are making to a project. When users upload layers, they are given the option to import the layer(s) into GeoGig, which will show who has made what changes (for more on GeoGig, please reference the Working with Layers Management section). If another user has made modifications to a layer currently on the map, a number will appear next to the Notifications indicating how many unread notifications you have. The more notifications, the more changes that have been made to your map layers.

1. Click on the number of unread notifications to open the Notifications list in the layers menu. This will show you all of the changes that have been made to your layer. If there have been multiple changes, they may be grouped into sections based on when the changes occurred. Click on the grouping you would like to view.

Multiple changes were made to this layer, and have been grouped by time.

2. From here you can either select View on Map or Show Changes to see what has been modified. View on Map will show you where the changes have been made on the map.

3. Click the Show Changes button. Select Yes to acknowledge changes have been made to a feature, and compare the two versions.

You will see a detailed side-by-side comparison of the features that have been edited.

4. Changes made to the feature attributes will be highlighted in red, green or yellow, depending on whether the change was a deletion, addition or edit. Click the Show Authors button and hover your mouse over the highlighted area to open a detailed description of the individual edit.

5. If you do not approve of the changes, or feel they were made in error, you are able to select the Undo Changes button at the bottom of the details window to revert to the original feature.

View layer history¶

You can view all of the changes made to an entire layer from the map.

1. Select the name of the layer you want to view. The menu will expand to show additional layer options.

2. Click on the Show History button. The history will expand.

   

3. Hover your mouse over a commit to view details about the changes. The color bar next to the commit indicates the type of edits that were made. Green indicates a new feature was added. Yellow indicates a feature was modified. Red indicates a feature was deleted. A commit can have multiple types of edits. In such cases, the bar will have colors representative of the types of edits that were made.

   

   History detail for a commit

4. Click on a commit, and its history will update to show the individual edits within that commit. MapLoom will make one commit per edit.

   

5. Click the Show Changes button to bring up a new window, displaying the specific changes that were made. The changes will be highlighted with the same color coding as the commits. Green means something was added. Yellow means the feature was changed. Red means the feature was deleted. In the image below, the feature was added, and so the feature on the map is highlighted in green.

   

View feature history¶

In addition to viewing the history of edits on a GeoGig layer, you can also view the history of a feature.

1. Select a feature on the map. The feature details will appear.

2. Click the Show History button. The history list will expand with the commits that contain changes for that feature.

   

3. Click the specific commit whose history you’d like to view. The history will update to show the edits made to the feature for that commit. Information about the feature will display as you hover your mouse over the changes.

   

4. Click the Show Changes button to bring up a new window, displaying the specific changes that were made.

   

The changes will be highlighted with the same color coding as the commits. Green means something was added. Yellow means the feature was changed. Red means the feature was deleted. In the image below, the feature was added, and so the feature on the map and its attributes are highlighted in green.

1. Click the Show Authors button to see the names and dates for every attribute in the feature. Note that through the lifetime of a feature, there can be several authors. This is a good way to see who has contributed to a feature’s current state.

   

Summarize history¶

You can visualize a summary of all of the edits within a date range for a layer.

1. Click the Show History button for layer you want to summarize.

   

2. Click the History Summary button.

   

3. Enter the date range for the history to summarize.

   

4. Click the Summarize button. The edited features will be highlighted, and will be listed under the Summary of Changes field.

   

5. Click the Show Changes button for one of the edits in the list to see a detailed view.

Export history¶

You can export a summary of all of the edits within a date range for a layer.

1. Click the Show History button for layer you want to summarize.

   

2. Click on the History Summary button

   

3. Enter the date range for the history to summarize.

   

4. Click the Export CSV button.

5. When prompted to save the file, browse to the location where you want to save it, and click Ok.

All of the feature change history will be added to the spreadsheet.

Create chapters¶

Like a book, map stories are comprised of chapters. You can have one chapter, or multiple chapters to tell your story.

1. Click the 1 button to begin working on your first chapter.

2. Click the Chapter Info button. Give your chapter a title, and provide a brief summary explaining what the data is showing. You can select a base map appropriate to your data, if you’ve got multiple maps available.

Note: Talk to your Exchange administrator for additional basemap services.

3. Click the Save Chapter Info button to create your chapter.
4. Click the Back button to return, and continue creating your chapter.

Add Story Layers¶

1. Click the StoryLayers button, and select Add a New StoryLayer.

2. Select layers from the Explore Layers window to add to your story. You can search for specific layers, browser through all of the layers, just yours, or those you’ve saved as favorites. Click the View button to preview the layer in the map viewer, or select Use to add this layer to your story.

You can edit the settings of your individual layers by clicking on the title of the layer. This will open settings that allow you to edit the layer’s style, view the attribute table, turn off/on individual attribute visibility, or remove the layer.

3. Once you have added all of the layers to your story, select the Save button to save your draft, and click the Back to Selected Chapter button.

Create Story Boxes¶

A StoryBox creates a sort of visual boundary for your story. This tells the viewer that all of the events in this chapter take place within this particular area.

1. Click the StoryBoxes button, and select Add a New StoryBox.
2. Give your StoryBox a title and brief description. Your StoryBox will appear in the timeline.
3. Pan and zoom on the map, and select Update Map Bounds to create a border area for your map.
4. Create a Time Frame for your story.

Every StoryBox needs a start and end time. Select start and end times that correspond to the times listed with your features.

5. Click the Save StoryBox button to save your changes, and click the Back to StoryBoxes List to continue your story. Your StoryBox will display.
6. Click the Save button to save your draft, and select Back to Selected Chapter to return to your chapter and continue your story.

Add a StoryPin¶

1. Click the StoryPins button, and select Add a New StoryPin.
2. Fill in a title and a brief description of the content of your StoryPin.

3. Copy and paste the URL of your StoryPin in the StoryPin Media textbox. This can be from YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, Vine, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
4. Click the Add Story Pin to the Map button to add a location where your media will display. You’ll want to add a start and end time to ensure it displays at the proper point of your story. Leaving this blank will display your story point throughout the duration of the chapter.
5. Once you have selected the location for your pin, click the Accept Feature button. This will be where your pin displays.
6. Select the corresponding checkboxes to display your pin on the map, timeline, or both.

7. Once you have filled in all of the necessary information, select the Save button to save your draft, and the Save StoryPin button, followed by the Back to Selected Chapter to continue your Story.

Account creation¶

1. To create an Exchange user account, select the Add link next to Accounts.
2. Click the green plus (+) button next to the User list to add another user.

3. Create a username and password that will be remembered by the user. Confirm the password and select the Save button.
4. Select the timezone and primary language for the user from the drop down menus.
5. Click the Save button to save the account.

Modify an existing account¶

Changing a user’s password, setting permissions, and editing their email address can all be completed in the Account section.

Signup codes¶

As an administrator, you are able to invite individuals to try Exchange. When you do this, a signup code is generated. This signup code is used to track trial users in Exchange. From this site, you can modify when the signup code expires, the number of times it can be used, or delete the code itself.

Create an announcement¶

1. Click the green plus (+) Add button next to Announcements.

2. Provide a title for your message, and select the level of importance for your message from the Level list. Your options are General, Warning and Critical, and should be determined by the nature of the announcement.
3. Type your full message in the Content textbox.
4. Select the checkboxes to determine whether or not you’d like your announcement to be seen site-wide, and/or for Exchange members only.

5. Use the publish start and end options to create a display time limit for your message, and select a dismissal option from the menu.

6. Click the Save button to create your announcement. To verify your announcement is correct, click the View on site button in the upper right corner.

Delete an announcement¶

1. When you are ready to delete your announcement, click Announcements under the Announcements menu on the Django Site administration page.
2. Check the box next to the announcement(s) you’d like to delete, and select Delete Selected Announcements in the Action menu, followed by the Go button.

3. Click the Yes, I’m sure button to verify your selection. You will be notified that your announcement was successfully deleted.

Add a new avatar¶

1. Click the green (+) Add button in the Avatar menu on the Django administration page.

2. Select a user from the list, and determine if this will be the main image for the account by clicking the Primary checkbox.
3. Browse to the avatar image by selecting the Choose File button. Once the file name displays, click the Save button. You will be notified that the avatar was added successfully.

Change an existing avatar¶

1. Select Avatars from the Avatar menu on the Django administration page, and click the name of the account whose avatar will change.
2. Click the Choose File button to select a new avatar image, followed by the Save button. You will be notified that the avatar was successfully changed.

Delete an avatar¶

1. Select Avatars from the Avatar menu on the Django administration page, and click the checkbox next to the name of the avatar to be deleted.
2. Select Delete Selected Avatar from the Action menu, and click the Go button.

3. Verify your selection by clicking the Yes, I’m sure button.

You will be notified that the avatar was successfully deleted.

Add a document¶

1. Click the Add link next to Documents on the Django Administration site Documents menu.

2. Complete as much of the Add document form as possible; all of the fields on the form in bold are required.

You will see this form throughout the Django admin site. Additional fields are used in the Maps, Layers, CSW Records and StoryScapes forms.

Uuid - This field is required, and is only auto-generated through the Exchange User Interface. You can find UUID generators online to help you create one for use here.

Owner - Type or select your user name from the list.

Title - Provide a title for your document.

Date/Time - The date and time will automatically populate with the document upload date. It is the reference date for the document, and does not need to correlate to the time period of the data (which will be configured later).

Date type - This will indicate whether the date/time from above is related to the document’s creation, publication or revision.

Edition - If there have been revisions to your document, you can let users know by adding a version number here.

Abstract - Let others know what the document is about with a brief narrative summary.

Purpose - Provide a short description of why the document was created.

Maintenance frequency - From the pull down, select how often modifications and deletions are made to the data after it is first published.

Keywords region - Select a region/country from the list which best fits the data. Hold down Control, or Command on a Mac, to select more than one.

Restrictions - Select from a list of limitations which can be placed on the access or use of the data. Provide a description of “Other Restrictions” in the textbox.

License - Select data licensing requirements from the list. Not all data has licensing requirements.

Language - Select the language used within the dataset.

Category - Data is divided into categories, which assists in the grouping and search of available geographic datasets. These categories correspond to those on the Exchange homepage.

Spatial representation type - This explains the method used to represent geographic information in the dataset.

Temporal extent start / end - Set the time period covered by the content of the dataset.

Supplemental information - Include any other descriptive information about the dataset.

Data quality statement - Provide a general description of the validity and legitimacy of the dataset. Explain any changes in the data over time.

Bounding boxes - There are four boxes to enter the coordinates for your bounding boxes. Enter the points for all of the X,Y coordinates.

Important

The following fields are automatically populated by Exchange, and should not be changed. Making edits to these fields could result in data loss.

• Srid
• CSW typename
• CSW schema
• CSW source
• CSW type
• CSW anytext
• CSW WKT geometry
• Metadata xml
• Object ID

Metadata - Click the checkboxes to ensure the metadata is uploaded and preserved. The Metadata XML will automatically generate once the document is saved.

Counts - Popular count and Share count will update as the document is viewed and shared.

Featured - Click the checkbox to feature this document on the homepage under the Featured Content section.

Is Published - This allows others to find your document when it is completed. It will make it searchable through the Exchange search.

Thumbnail URL - Enter the URL for the thumbnail for your document. This will be what users see when searching for your document in Exchange.

Detail URL - This is the number assigned to your document, and is added to the end of the Exchange URL. This can make accessing your document easier in the future; just enter the Exchange URL, followed by /document/<document number>. The detail URL is created after saving your document.

Rating - Once your document is published, others can provide a rating to let you know what they think of it.

Content type - This does not necessarily correspond to the file’s extension type, but rather the type of data in the file.

File - Click the Choose File button to browse to and change the file.

Extension - The following file types can be uploaded: .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .ods, .odt, .pdf, .png, .ppt, .pptx, .rar, .sid, .tif, .tiff, .txt, .xls, .xlsx, .xml, .zip, .gz, .qml.

Doc type - Is the file an image, document, presentation, etc.?

URL - The URL of the document if it is external.

Keywords - Enter words or phrases, separated by commas, used to describe the subject, and can be search by other users.

3. Once you have completed the form, click the Save button to add your document to Exchange.

Edit existing documents¶

1. To edit an existing document, click the Change link in the Documents menu.
2. Find the document you’d like to edit. You can do this multiple ways:

• Type all or part of the document name in the search field at the top of the page.
• Select a filter term on the right side of the page to minimize document results
• Scroll through the list of results.

3. Click on the ID number of the document you’d like to edit. The Change document page will open, and you can begin editing the metadata.
4. Click the Save button once you have made all of your edits.

Delete a document¶

If you no longer need a document, and would like to remove it from Exchange, it can be quickly and easily deleted from the system.

1. Click Change in the Documents menu to open the list of all documents.
2. Click the checkbox next to the document you’d like to delete.
3. Select Delete selected documents from the Action menu, and click the Go button.

4. Click the Yes, I’m sure button to verify your selection. You will be notified that the document was successfully deleted.

Your document will no longer be available in Exchange.

Create a group¶

1. Click the Add link next to Group profiles on the Django Administration site Groups menu to open the Add group profile page.
2. Provide a unique title for your group. This will also be what is used for the Slug field. The Slug is a unique identifier for your group. If your group title is comprised of multiple words, you will need to use a hyphen or an underscore to replace the spaces.

A slug is the URL friendly version of the title. For example, with the group We Love Maps, the slug would be either We-Love-Maps or We_Love_Maps. When the URL for the group is created, it becomes something like this:

http:// www.exchange.com/groups/groups/We-Love-Maps.

3. Browse to an image you want to use as a logo for the group.
4. Provide a brief description of the group. Explain briefly why the group was created, who the members are, or what service the group provides.
5. Add an email address. This can be an email used to contact one or all of the group members, such as a mailing list, shared email, or an exchange group.
6. Select the type of access you’d like users to have to the group from the Access menu. The group can be Public, Public (invite-only), or Private.

7. Add any keywords that may be helpful for users to find your group, or determine if the organization is relevant to their work.
8. Add members to the group by selecting Exchange users from the pull down list, and select either Manager or Member from the Role menu. If adding more than three members, to a group, select the Add another Group member link. This will add another row for an additional member.

9. Once all of the group members have been added, click the Save button to create the group. This will direct you to the list of existing groups. A notice will display, indicating the group profile was added successfully.

Manage groups¶

Update existing group profiles and modify group members through the Django site.

1. Click Group profiles in the Groups menu on the Django administration site Groups menu to open the list of existing groups.
2. Open the Change group profile page for a specific group by selecting on the name of the group you’d like to modify.

From here, you are able to to change the group information, add or remove group members, and change member roles.

To delete a user from a group, click the checkbox under the delete column next to their name.

3. Click the Save button when you are finished to save your changes.

Delete a group¶

1. Click Group profiles in the Groups menu on the Django administration site Groups menu to open the list of existing groups.
2. Click the checkbox next to the name of the group to be deleted, and select Delete selected group profiles in the Action menu, followed by the Go button.

3. Click the Yes, I’m sure button to verify your selection. You will be notified that you have Successfully deleted 1 group profile.

Edit attribute fields for a layer¶

1. Click the Layers link in the Layers menu on the Django administration page. This will open a list of all layers available on your site.

2. Find the layer whose attributes you’d like to edit. You can do this multiple ways:

• Type all or part of the layer name in the search field at the top of the page.
• Select a filter term on the right side of the page to minimize layer results.
• Scroll through the list of results.

3. Once you have found the layer you’d like to edit, click on the ID number. This will open the Change Layer page. Scroll to the Attributes section at the bottom of the page.

4. Type the new attribute label and description in the text box. To turn visibility off/on for an attribute, click the visibility check box. Click the save button at the bottom of the page when you are finished.

View Uploaded data¶

1. Click the Upload data link under the Osgeo_Importer menu on the Django Administration site Osgeo-Importer menu.

Data that has been uploaded into Exchange will be listed on the page. Information is listed for the name of the data file, the user who uploaded it, the state of the file (typically will display UPLOADED), and the size of the file. A green checkmark will display, indicating the data upload was completed successfully.

Uploaded data can be filtered by selecting one of the filter options. Available options allow you to filter by user, by state and by complete. Select on one of the links to narrow the results displayed to fit your filter criteria.

2. Click on a file name to view the individual file information.

Note: These fields were populated at the time the file was imported, and should not be changed. This section should be thought of as for informational purposes only to view the status, size or file type for a file.

3. Click the browser’s back arrow to return to the previous page.

View Uploaded files and Uploaded layers¶

1. Click either the Upload files or Upload layers link under the Osgeo_Importer menu on the Django Administration site Osgeo-Importer menu.

The Upload files page will display the directory link for the file.

List of uploaded files

Clicking on the file link will open the Change file upload page, where you can change the uploaded file or view the file type. It is not recommended that this information is changed, as it could lead to loss of data. This is intended for reference only.

Selecting Upload layers will display the list of layers by name and feature count. The task ID will be the unique ID assigned to the layer upon upload.

List of uploaded layers

Delete uploaded data/files/layers¶

Users with administrator privileges are able to delete uploaded content from within the Django Administration site quickly, and easily.

1. From the list of uploaded content, click the checkbox next to the name of the data/files/layers you’d like to delete.
2. Select the delete option from the Action drop down menu, and click the Go button.

3. Verify your selection by clicking the Yes, I’m sure button.

Add an individual record to CSW¶

Exchange users with administrator privileges are able to add CSW records through their Exchange webpage.

1. Click on your user name in the toolbar. Select Registry from the drop-down menu to open the record form.

2. A list of all items registered in Exchange will open, displaying their status as Complete, Unknown, Pending, or Error. Click the Register a new Record button in the top right corner to add a new record.

Click the Register a new Record button in the top right corner to add a new record.

3. Complete the form with all of the necessary information.

Service URL - This is the URL address for the endpoint you are trying to add.

Geoserver Example:

https://mapstory.org/geoserver/geonode/wms

ESRI MapServer Example:

https://ngamaps.geointapps.org/arcgis/rest/services/Hurricane_Matthew/Bahamas_Latest_Damage_Assessments/MapServer

Note: Entering a MapServer url will auto-populate the available services such as WMSServer, WFSServer, FeatureServer.

ESRI MapServer WMSserver Example:

https://ngamaps.geointapps.org/arcgis/services/Hurricane_Matthew/Haiti_Latest_Assessments/MapServer/wmsserver

ESRI ImageServer Example:

https://gis.ngdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/bag_hillshades/ImageServer

Title - This field should populate automatically. The title should be related to the data, but should also be unique enough to find when performing a search. You can change the title if you don’t want what auto-filled.

Layer Identifier - For ESRI MapServer Services, this field will be populated automatically; however, for any other service type, the name of the layer is required for this field.

Category - Select a category from the list that best describes your data.

Abstract - The abstract should provide a brief description of the data being added.

Agency - Where did the information come from? This should also auto-populate. If Exchange is unable to detect who the data belongs to from the endpoint, add the creator/agency information.

Contact Email - Please add your email address here.

Contact Phone - Please add a contact phone number here.

Gold - Select this checkbox if the data is NGA-approved content.

This is an example of a completed new record form.

Additional services types (also called references) can be added by selecting the type from the drop down menu, and adding the URL. Service types discovered from the service URL are also listed at the top of the form.

4. Click the Submit Record button to nominate record.

Note: Contact your Exchange administrator if the status does not display as Complete. They will need to take a look at your record via Django administration. Please see step 5 in the record administration section below.

For additional examples of records that have been successfully added in Exchange, please check out the Appendix.

Verify the record¶

Once you submit your record, you will be directed to the Registered Items page. To verify the record status in Registry, you can search for it using the Exchange search field at the top of the page, or use the Add Layer function from your map.

Add a CSW record¶

Records can also be added through the Django administration site. The form there requires you to add all data manually, and does not have an auto-populate function.

1. Click on your user name in the toolbar. Select Admin from the drop-down menu to open the record form.
2. Click Add next to CSW Records from the Core menu on the Django administration site.

3. Complete the form with all of the necessary information. All of the fields on the form in bold are mandatory.

User - Select a user from the list to be the owner of the record.

Classification (optional) - Unless the data resides on a classified system, this will remain blank/UNCLASSIFIED.

Title - The title should be related to the data, but should also be unique enough to find when performing a search for data.

Modified - This field is filled in by default, but can be edited to match what is true for the data.

Agency - Where did the information come from?

Record Type - The type field denotes what kind of data is being added.

For the services listed below, you would use the following information:

• ESRI map server - ESRI:ArcGIS:MapServer
• ESRI image server - ESRI:ArcGIS:ImageServer
• WMS Services - dataset

Alternative - An ESRI service will number each of the layers (starting with zero), and when adding data from a service, the alternative field points to the id individual layer to be pulled from that server. For GeoServer OGC services, the value for the Alternative field can be pulled from the layer name which is a string that does not contain spaces. If you leave the space blank, all of the associated layers will be added.

List of layers with ID’s for the MapServer. The layer ID for Bridge Out is ‘1’ as indicated by the value in the parenthesis.

Geoserver typically follows the format of <workspace>:<name>. The <name> portion is all that’s needed for the Alternative field.

Abstract - The abstract should provide a brief description of the data being added.

Service Endpoint - This is the URL address for the endpoint you are trying to add.

Geoserver Example:

https://mapstory.org/geoserver/geonode/wms

ESRI MapServer Example:

https://ngamaps.geointapps.org/arcgis/rest/services/Hurricane_Matthew/Bahamas_Latest_Damage_Assessments/MapServer

ESRI MapServer WMSserver Example:

https://ngamaps.geointapps.org/arcgis/services/Hurricane_Matthew/Haiti_Latest_Assessments/MapServer/wmsserver

ESRI ImageServer Example:

https://gis.ngdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/bag_hillshades/ImageServer

Relation - This field is not currently used. It is used to associate records to one another

Record Format - This can vary depending on the kind of data being added. When registering a WMS service, format must be set to OGC:WMS.

Bounding Box coordinates: Upper Corner - The bounding box defaults to an area that will cover what is being added. It is recommended to leave the default settings (85.0 180, -85.0 -180) unless you have specific requirements.

Bounding Box: Lower Corner - Same as above.

Contact Email - Please add your email address here.

Contact Phone - Please add a contact phone number here.

Gold - Select this checkbox if the data is NGA-approved content.

Category – Select a category from the drop-down menu.

4. Once you have completed the form, click the Save button. You will be returned to the CSW record page, and notified that your record was added successfully.
5. A record added through the Django administration site will display the status as Unknown. Click the checkbox next to your record, and select Register Selected CSW Record from the Action menu. Click the Go button.

Delete a record¶

1. Select CSW Records from the CORE menu on the Django administration site.
2. Click the checkbox next to the record(s) to be deleted.
3. Select Delete selected CSW Records from the Action menu, and click the :guilabel`Go` button.
4. Click the Yes, I’m sure button to verify your selection.

Create a story¶

Delete a story¶

If a story is no longer needed, it can be quickly removed through the Django administration site.

1. Click the Stories link on the Storyscapes menu to open the list of stories within Exchange.
2. Click the checkbox next to the story you’d like to delete. Select Delete selected stories from the Action menu, and click the Go button.

3. Verify your selection by clicking the Yes, I’m sure button. The story will be removed from Exchange.