C5.41 Documentation for GIS webapplication available
As described in the C5.65 and C5.66 component reports, an online GIS webapplication (the EDIT MapViewer Tool) for taxonomic visualisation of point occurrences and regional distribution has been developed by CSIC, in collaboration with RMCA and BGBM. Applications developed include:
-
An interactive online tool for taxonomists, to visualise their data and
download the result in a host of image formats (png, jpg,...) in print
quality for publication.
Demo URL : http://edit.csic.es/edit_geo/prototype/edit_project.html -
A REST webservice offering the same functions in an automated way through an
Application Programming Interface (API).
API Documentation: http://dev.e-taxonomy.eu/trac/wiki/GeoRestService
To be useful, the online webtool must be accessible to people without prior knowledge of GIS (and similar) systems. The MapViewer tool is conceived in a very user-friendly way, but still some documentation is necessary to help first-time users or people unacquainted with GIS. This is delivered through instruction videos explaining the process step by step. 5 separate videos have been made to explain the different functions of the MapViewer Tool:
- Exploring the main interface
- Uploading and symbolising your data
- Using remote layers (WMS)
- GBIF browsing
- Future analysis
The videos are available at http://edit.csic.es/info/edit_videos.html.
Each of the videos is accompanied by an explanatory text description about the function that is demonstrated. The text appearing on the website is repeated in the Appendix, together with some screenshots that give an idea of the videos.