Using Maps

Using Visokio Maps

All Visokio applications come with embedded world maps (Mercator projection) and will plot records (rows) according to decimal latitude and longitude coordinates contained in two selected fields (columns) of your data sets. If your data does not yet contain map coordinates, you may be able to add them automatically using a Merge File, or you can populate the fields manually using Visokio maps and the Place Marker process.

This brief tutorial explains how to:

Managing layers Tick or untick the boxes next to any layers you wish to display or hide. For example, at left we've removed the physical layer (which includes relief shading). The result is to display the map coloured by political boundaries rather than topology.

Back to Maps & Coordinates

Place Markers

Placing Markers- Adding Map Coordinates Manually

You can use embedded vector maps or online Google Maps with Omniscope, DataPlayer or FeatureFinder Web Studio to add map coordinates to your data by selecting records (rows) and manually placing markers on an open Map View.

1. Open File and Add Views

To place markers and generate coordinates in your data for existing records (rows), open your data set and close all views except:

1. A Table View, for selecting records (a Chart View can also be used if necessary)
2. A Map View, using either vector or Google Maps displays zoomed in for positioning markers.

These views must be open simultaneously, and you might want to drag or switch (rotate) the view divider to allocate more space to the Map View. When you add the Map View, if this is the first time you're adding markers to the map, you will see the Configure Map dialog asking you to configure the map:

Make sure Add new X/Y field pair is selected, and click OK. You will be able to name the new. blank coordinate fields in the dialog. Suggestion: name the X-axis with something related to longitude and the Y-axis with something related to latittude.

2. Filter the data

Next, filter your data until only the records you want to place to generate coordinates remain visible. For example, if you have already placed some markers, you will want to filter out the records that already have coordinates. This will make focusing on the remaining records with blank coordinates easier. In the Omniscope Table view, scroll across to the coordinate fields, and click on any grey (blank) cell. This will select all the records without coordinates. Click Keep on the Main Toolbar to isolate only those records in the Table View.

3. Placing a single record

In the Map View, first make sure Place marker mode is selected in the mouse Mode drop-down.

1. Select the record you want to place in the Table View.
2. In the Map View, use the Navigator mini-window to find the correct location, zooming in as needed for accuracy.
3. Click on the map to place a marker for the selected record.

Notice that the X and Y coordinate fields visible in the Table View are populated automatically with latitude and longitude coordinates when you do this.

4. Placing multiple records

Sometimes you might want to place a range of records at a single point on the map. For example, you might have a database of customers, and you might only know they are based in London. In the Table or Chart Views, select the records you want to place in the same location. In our example, there might be a field called 'Location'. In the Chart View, we would open the Location device and select the value 'London'. In the Map View again, still in Place marker mode, point at London and click to place all selected markers in London.

5. Moving existing markers

After zooming in and exploring your map and markers, you might want to adjust the position of some of them. In Place marker mode, dragging a marker will update its position. If the marker represents several records, only the top-most record in the "pile" will be repositioned.

6. Adding new records

When in Place marker mode, if you click on the map without record(s) selected/highlighted, you will be asked if you want to Add a record at that location. This will create a new record (row) in the data set, with all fields empty except the coordinates.

Back to Maps & Coordinates

Change Projections

Change Map Projection- Creating Coordinate Grids

Map projections define how (X,Y) coordinates in your data are displayed over images/maps used in the Map View.  Visokio applications allow you to calibrate or define coordinate grids on any kind of map, photo or scanned image imported for use as a map.

The Omniscope Map View Toolbar View Tools  menu (or the Configure Map View wizard in DataPlayer and FeatureFinder) includes a command Change map projection.  If your data is consistent with the default projection for your selected map (usually Mercator projections using decimal latitude and longitude fields (columns), you will not need to use this command.  However, if you are using a scanned image as a background map, or maps that are not consistent with the Mercator standard projection, you may need to tick the Override, by setting two reference points option.

This dialog allows you to configure and refine how coordinates in the data file will be positioned on your map.  There are 3 options:

1. You know  the coordinates of specific points on the image-for example, if you had imported an image of New York's streets and you had coordinates in some form of grid reference (such as latitude and longitude, which on a small scale are linear), and you knew the coordinates of two street intersections that were diagonally apart, you would use this dialog to ensure points in your dataset are plotted at the correct location. You would drag the two reference points to where you could see the two crossroads, then click the Change buttons to enter the correct coordinate locations for each crossroad.

2. You want the points distributed across the image- for example, you might have a data file of events during a game on a soccer pitch, and have imported a picture of the pitch to use as a map. You place corner events in two opposite corners of the pitch image. The coordinate system in your data file could be arbitrary, but assuming events happened across the entire pitch, you would click Distribute data points across map and the application would work out the transformation so as to "normalise" the points correctly.

3. You want the data points to map to the pixels in the image (default).  To revert to the default setting, where data coordinates correspond to pixel positions in the image, click 1:1 (pixel coordinates).

Back to Maps & Coordinates

Google Maps

Using Google Maps

All Visokio applications feature Map Views that can superimpose data points on Google Maps.

{in preparation}

Back to Maps & Coordinates

Google Earth

Using Visokio with Google Earth

{Experimental feature-page in preparation}

Back to Maps & Coordinates