Layer List

The Layer List is in the Layers panel on left side of the viewer. To open the Layers panel either click on the Layers tab in the lower left corner of the viewer OR click on the Layer List button on the toolbar.

Layers are listed in Groups. There are three main groups in the Blue Plan Viewer: (1) Blue Plan Planning and Policy Areas, (2) Ecologically Signficant Areas and (3) Significant Human Use Areas. Click on the plus  to expand a group. Sub-groups exist inside the main groups. Continue to expand groups until the member layers are visible.

The group needs to be checked in order for layers inside it to be visible .

In this example, the Significant Human Use Areas (SHUA) main group is checked on. The Areas important for navigation, transportation, infrastructure and economic activity sub-group is checked on. Two sub-sub groups are checked on (yellow arrows). One is Working waterfronts, ports and marine commercial areas with it's member layer Working Waterfronts. Working waterfronts is a single class layer which is evident by its single symbol (a brown dot). The other sub-sub group is Vessel traffic areas with its member layer Vessel Transit Lanes. The legend info icon shows that the layer has multiple classes which can be expanded by clicking the legend icon .

Expand as many groups as you like and turn on (check) any combination of layers. Remember that layers draw in order. Layers higher up on the list will draw above and on top of layers below. Layers often overlap so may cover each other up. If this is the case, use transparency or turn the layer off.

Layer Actions

Many layers have a chevron to the right of the layer name in the Table of Contents which opens the Layer Actions menu/panel. The panel contains options like Zoom to full extent (of layer), Zoom to visible scale (of layer), and if available, links to metadata and other resources. To close the panel, click on the  in the upper right corner.

Transparency

Transparency makes a layer partially or fully see-through. Transparency can be adjusted on some layer groups by moving the transparency slider next to the layer's name.

It is important to be familiar with the layers before you use them. The best place to get information about the layers in the viewer is the Blue Plan itself or the Blue Plan Layer informational pages. All review the technical documents.

From the Layers panel, click on the Panel Actions icon  at the top right of the panel. Click on Show Legend to open the Legend panel. The panel contains the legend for all layers that are turned on (checked) in the table of contents. To Close the Legend, click on the  at the top of the Legend panel to return to the Layers panel.

Symbology, or the symbols used for a layer (which are shown in the legend), can also be viewed in the Table of Contents. Click on the Legend info icon  to the left of the layer name to show the legend. In the case where only one symbol is used in a layer, that symbol is visible instead of the legend information icon.

Home

Home returns to the initial home panel which includes basic instructions and a few links.

Full Extent

Full Extent returns the map extent to the full view which is Connecticut and beyond.

Initial View

Initial View returns the map extent to the initial extent when the viewer first opened.

Previous Extent, Next Extent

If you have zoomed at least once since the viewer was opened, the Previous Extent button will take you back to the previous zoom area. The Previous Extent button can be used multiple times. After using the Previous Extent button to go back, the Next Extent takes you incrementally forward through already viewed extents.

Pan

The Pan tool cancels any active tools and sets the cursor to pan around the map.

Layer List

The Layer List icon opens the Layer List panel.

Identify

Use the Identify Tool to learn about what exists at a certain location. To start, click on the Point option and then click on the map. Note that Identify will only return information about features that exist in layers that are currently turned on or visible (visit the Layer List to change this). Two things happen when you click on a location. First, any features at that location are returned on the Identify Results panel which opens. Second, a red placemark is placed in the center of each feature that is listed in the Identify Results panel. Click on any feature on the Identify Results panel to see the attributes for that feature. The feature is highlighted on the map and the map extent changes to fit the extent of that feature. Click the  to close the attribute panel and return to the Identify panel.

Besides a point, the other identify options include freehand, line, polygon and rectangle as ways to choose what area will be used when identifying features. For example, draw a polygon around an area of interest to find all features that exist inside it.

Some useful options exist in the Panel Actions  menu. These include

• Switch to Table -to view the results in table format
• Show Buffer Options - to identify features near the results
• Export - results can be export as CSV, XLSX or shapefile
• Combine Results - perform operations with multiple lists of results

Measure

Select the Distance tool to measure linear distance and the Area tool to measure area. The Area tool can be found under the small black arrow next to the Distance tool. After one of the tools is selected, change the units if desired. Also Enable Snapping if desired. Then click on the map to create a line (distance) or shape (area) and double-click to finish. For distance, the total and length of each segment in the unit selected is visible. For area, the length of each segment as well as the total area and perimeter are returned in the units selected.

Note that instructions are provided at the bottom of the viewer.

To stop measuring, click the Measure tool again so that it is no longer selected on the toolbar. Any measurements on the map will be removed.

Plot Coordinates

The Plot Coordinates tool allows you to retrieve coordinates from the map or type them in and locate. After selecting the tool (clicking on it), the first step is to choose the coordinate system for the coordinates that will be returned. WKID stands for Well Known ID and is numeric way of cataloging coordinate systems. 4326 is a geographic coordinate system expressed in Lat/Long. Other options include Connecticut State Plane NAD83 feet which is commonly used in Connecticut as well as Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere (3857) which is commonly used for web services viewers.

Add Points

Click on the map to place a point and display the coordinates. Click again to add another point. Notice that points are numbered on the map as well as on the Plot Coordinates panel. Alternatively, type in known x, y coordinates and click Add. Be sure the correct coordinate system is selected that matches your coordinates. If yours is not on the list, contact us (info below in the footer).

Edit Points

Click on the 3 dots next to the point to be edited. The Coordinate Actions panel has several options including Hide Coordinate, Edit and Delete. Choose Edit, make any changes and Update. Click the X next to Coordinate Actions to close the panel and return to Plot Coordinates.

Stop Plotting Coordinates

To stop adding points, click the Plot Coordinates button again so that it is no longer highlighted. The points remain until you exit the viewer OR choose to Hide or Delete all coordinates from the Plot Coordinates panel action menu .

Coordinates Widget (lower left)

The left side of the footer ribbon holds the coordinates widget, the scale input box, and the scale bar.

Click on the Coordinates Widget button to expand the Coordinates widget. Notice that clicking on the black triangle  gives coordinate system choices. When you move the mouse over the map, the coordinates change. The Coordinate System page discusses the different coordinate systems in more detail, and the shortcuts section pertains to this viewer.

Click on the Scale Input Box  icon to expand the tool. Choose a per-existing scale. The scales are set following the Google/Bing tiling scheme.

Coordinates from the Map

Right-click on any location on the map to see the latitude and longitude for that location.

Click on the map to open a pop-up containing information for any layer that is turned on AND has a feature in that location. If more than one layer has a feature at that spot, use the drop-down menu or arrows  to flip through the features.

View Additional Details opens a new panel containing all attributes associated with that feature. It also zooms to the feature. Close the panel with the in the upper right. To go back to the view before you clicked View Additional Details, use the Previous Extent  button on the toolbar.

For in depth identifying of overlapping features, try the Identify tool.

Use the Search Tool (upper right) to find a location, place, address and more. Type into the Search window and press Enter. Search Results will appear in the side panel. Click on the result you wish to navigate to. The map will redraw with the feature centered on the map. Click the in the  to remove the search results, or click on the Layers tab at the bottom of the side panel to view the Layers List.