Scenarios for maps based on Australia NationalMap

Your organisation is conducting a feasibility study for an additional solar energy project which has three possible locations. You need a map to support this study.

Create a data text file in the simple comma-separated values (CSV) format. The first line declares the column names. Each other line represents a location, using separate columns for longitude, latitude, and various other details (hint: use the map itself to determine those co-ordinates) ...

  identifier,longitude,latitude,suitability
  1,150.5913,-34.8733,high
  2,150.5918,-34.8727,medium
  3,150.5921,-34.8677,low

Save that data file (e.g. as sites.csv) and share it with your collaborators.

Open the map that we have prepared for you (e.g. map). Now use the "Add data" facility to load that data file. Notice the coloured dots for each location.

To add labels, use rectangles or polygons, a more sophisticated data file format is required (e.g. GeoJSON, or CZML, or KML). You could engage IndexGeo to assist you with that, or you could get started using geojson.io (import your sites.csv data file, enhance it, then export as GeoJSON format). Now back on your NationalMap, delete the CSV layer, and use the "Add data" facility to load your new GeoJSON layer. Now engage IndexGeo to enhance this, and when ready to make the information public, we can host the data file and so add it to your public map for everyone to use.

If your collaborators are all on the same internal network, then IndexGeo can assist you to configure an internal local webserver so that it can be used with NationalMap. We can assist you to create and manage the data-files (which do need to be well-configured). In this way, your people are using the same set of data and so not needing to share individual copies.

You already have information available on a web page and want to represent that as a map, also with a dynamic time-based component.

A good example is the Kangaroo March 2015. Their Itinerary page contains a well-structured table with the details of the camp location and the march route for each day.

IndexGeo has built a program which automatically reads that page to process and extract the tabular data. We generate the map data file using the sophisticated CZML data format which also enables the dynamic time-series information to be presented on the map. It portrays the camp location for each night as a breathing circle, then changes colour to an alarm to rally for this day's march, then a line joining to the next camp location showing the distance.

Another good example is the Repower Shoalhaven map. At the end of each month, IndexGeo records the power output from each site's solar energy monitor. Our program generates the CZML data files, to portray the output using shapes which vary in size and colour depending on the power quantity for each month.