Erie County Internet Mapping System

The main window is where the map is displayed. The contents of the display are controlled by the various tool buttons, layer controls, and queries. At the bottom of the display is the scale bar. The scale bar units can be set by the set units button

on the Toolbar.

This small window, located in the upper left, displays an overview of the Map Window. The red box indicates the extent of the map displayed in the Main Map Window. To move the location of the red box in the overview, click with the "pointing hand" icon on the area that you want displayed in the Overview Window. If you want to resize the red box you must use the "zoom in"

or "zoom out"

tool from the Toolbar.

The various tools displayed here are used to control the map display. Users can ZOOM IN or OUT, PAN the Main Map Window, QUERY the features in the Map Window, MEASURE DISTANCES, etc.

The Toolbar at the left side of the Map Window contains a variety of buttons that can be used to control the map display. Clicking on any button will activate that tool for use. It is important to remember that the tool which is active - indicated by a red box around the image - remains active until a different button is clicked. The Active tool is also indicated at the lower left corner of the browser window.

Below are descriptions for each of the tools in the Toolbar. For quick reference while in the Main Map Window hold the mouse pointer over any of the Toolbar icons for a brief description of the tool.

Description of Toolbar Buttons

	Zoom In: click or draw box	Zoom Out: click or draw box
	Return to last view/ extent	Pan by holding mouse button and moving the hand
	Obtain info. from active layer by clicking on feature	Obtain info. by using a Structured Query
	Measure distances	Set units (miles, feet, etc.) for measuring
	Create buffers to select data	Select features from active layer: draw rectangle
	Select features from active layer: select line or polygon	Clear the selected features
	Print the map

First - To select which map layer(s) to display, check or uncheck the "Visible" column,

this will display the selected layer(s) in the Map Window.

Map Redraw Button: VERY IMPORTANT! - The user must click on "Refresh Map" button whenever layers are changed (turned on/off) to view the new map.

Second - Select which layer to make "Active."

In order to query, or ask for information, about the features of a particular map layer, that layer must be turned on as the "Active" layer. While multiple layers can be selected for display, only one layer can be "active."

The figure to the left provides an example of the Agricultural Districts layer being the "active" layer. Using the identify tool

or the query tool

from the Toolbar, would enable the user to obtain information from this layer.

Note that several of the layers are "scale-dependent." Parcels, and Roads will appear on the Legend depending on how the Map Window is zoomed in or out. These detailed layers are not appropriate to display on a county-wide, "small-scale," map because there is far too much data to be displayed at one time. These layers will only appear on the Layers List when the map is zoomed in to at least a scale where viewing these layers is feasible (approximately the size of a typical town).

Use this drop-down menu to quickly set the scale of the map. This is used mainly to zoom quickly to the map to make scale-dependent layers visible or in preparation of printing a paper map to a specific scale.

Use this drop-down menu to select a specific city/ town/ village to zoom to. The selected municipality will be drawn in the Map Window, using the layers selected in the Map Layer Controls.

This drop down box offers three choices for viewing parcel level maps: Outlines of parcel boundaries, coloration by assessed value, and coloration by land use. Note that the parcel layer is scale-dependent. The parcel layer will not appear in the Legend until the map is zoomed in to a scale that is appropriate to display these small polygons.

The Parcel Display Options menu includes two thematic maps: Current Assessment, and Land Use. The data for these maps are derived from the Real Property System (RPS), and are determined by local assessors. Selecting either of these two thematic maps will open a window containing the appropriate map and/or legend, as seen below.

To view map legend: Click on the Toggle Between Legend and Layers List icon

in the upper left corner of the Toolbar. This will change the "Layers" list to "Legend," showing all of the symbols (colors, lines, etc.) for all of the visible layers. To revert back to the "Layers" list , click the Toggle Between Legend and Layers List icon again.

To locate a parcel by owner, address, or tax number click the "Locate Property" button at the lower portion of the Map View window.

The button will open a Parcel Property Locator window, (shown left), containing "radio" buttons

to locate property by owner name, property address, or tax number, and dialog boxes for entering in neccessary information to locate the parcel.

Select appropriate option by checking the radio button, then enter in the relevant information in the space below.

To execute the search click the search button. The results will be displayed in a new window (shown below).

It is possible to zoom into a particular record in the Main Map View by clicking the selection on the number in the first column (Rec) of desired record.

A query enables the user to ask for specific information about a particular map layer using a set of variables.

There are several steps involved in constructing a query. The example described below specifies obtaining information from the Parks layer. In this example we will query the database to find all the parks located in the Town of Amherst. These same procedures are used to construct a query for any of the map layers using whatever set of variables you want. It is important to realize that you can only obtain information from the map layer if it's associated database contains that information. For example: if the database for the parks layer does not contain information on the number of baseball diamonds each park has, then one could not ask to show the parks that have baseball diamonds.

It is not recommended that the query tool

be used for the Parcels layer. As seen above, a button has been specifically created to locate parcels.

Step 2: Click on the query button

on the Toolbar. This will open up a new window for constructing the query (shown below).

Step 3: To locate the all the parks in the Town Of Amherst, choose TOWN in the Field menu. In the Operator menu select =. In the Value field, enter Amherst.

In step three what we have done is created a formula for the software to query the database. Essentially we are asking the system to look at the database of the parks layer and find all the parks where the "TOWN" name "equals" the value "Amherst."

IMPORTANT - In the "Value" menu, it is essential that you enter the information in exactly as it appears in the database. If the first time you are unsuccessful and the query comes back with no information found, try again using upper or lower case. For example: If we were to enter in "AMHERST," all capital letters, the query would come up with no information found.

Step 4: Click on the "Add to Query String" button. This will add your formula to the dialog box enabling the system to execute the query on command.

Step 5: Click on the "Execute Button". This will perform the database search for all parks within the Town of Amherst.

Results: A new "Query/ Selection Results" window will open (shown below). Note that this can take a few minutes depending on how large the database is. If more than one record is found, the window will contain a list of all the records located. The scroll bars to the right and at the bottom can be utilized to view the all the records. If more than 25 records are found, the additional records can be listed by choosing "More Records" at the bottom of the list.

After reviewing the details of the records, choose an individual record by clicking on the number in the first column (Rec). This will zoom the Map Window to the selected record. If the parks layer is not turned on, make it visible by clicking the check-box

on the Layer Controls. If the window is zoomed in too close, zoom out using the Zoom-out icon

on the Toolbar and clicking in the Map Window.

After reviewing the selection, clear it by clicking on the Clear Selection

on the Toolbar.

Similar procedures can be used to query any of the map layers, by making them Active, and selecting the appropriate field, operator, and value to construct a query.

To print a map, click on the Printer icon

on the lower left of the Toolbar. This will open a dialogue window where the user may type in a title for the map.

Click on "Create Print Page" to open up a new browser window containing a preview of the printed map. You can then use the File/ Print menu to print the page.

Example of Land Use Classification Thematic Map	Legend

Example of Current Assessed Value Thematic Map	Legend