The Towns button at the top of the Data Explorer can be used as a shortcut to locating each of Connecticut's shoreline towns. They are listed in geographic order from west to east. Click on a town name to zoom to that area of the coastline.

Basemaps

A Basemap draws below the other layers in a map. To change the basemap, click on the Basemap Gallery icon. Choose from a long list of options. Don't know what to choose? Try the Imagery Hybrid, Topographic, or the Dark or Light Gray Canvas.

TIP!  Although not technically listed under the basemap button, the NOAA Nautical Charts listed in the Layer List will be one of the most important reference maps for viewing aquaculture data. You can find it and turn it on at the bottom of the Layer List.

Layer List

In the Data Explorer, the Layer List is open by default on the right side of the viewer when using a large screen device. The Layer List icon () can be selected when using a tablet or mobile device.

Layers are often listed in Groups. Click on the  to open a group. The group needs to be checked on in order for layers inside it to be visible .

In this example, the Permitted Aquaculture Gear Areas is checked on inside the Permitted Aquaculture Gear group layer. The Permitted Aquaculture Gear Points is also part of the group, but is not visible because it is not checked.

Expand as many groups as you like and turn on () 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.

Reorder Layers

The Data Explorer allows you to change the order of layers. Locate the 6-dot reposition () symbol next to a layer. The mouse turns to a cross-hair indicating that clicking and dragging the layer will move it to a different spot higher or lower on the list. Layers can be moved outside of their home group and/or into a different group.

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.

Options

Each group item and layer has three-dots on the far right which opens the Options menu. Some layers types have more options than others.

TIP! The Options menu is not accessible (it is grayed out) if the layer is not visible (be sure the layer AND the group are both checked).

• Transparency

Transparency makes a layer partially or fully see-through.

• Statistics

Use Statistics to get the following metrics for a particular layer field of interest: number of values, sum of values, minimum, maximum, average, and standard deviation.

•  Zoom to  

Zooms to the extent of the data layer. Most layers in the Advanced Viewer are statewide.

• Set Filter

The Set Filter tool filters the features shown on the map by their attributes. Attributes are the information stored in the layer's table. To add a filter, first click + Add to start a new one. Adding a Clause is used for one filter. Select Clause set  for multiple filters. In the first box, select the attribute, or characteristic to use for the filter. Note that the 123 and ABC denote the type of field, whether it is numeric or text, respectively. In the second box, select the operation, such as is (equals), is not (does not equal), and many others. In the third box, first click the Select source type icon and choose either User Input, Field, or Unique.

• • • User Input - type into the box.
    • Field - use a field in the query, for example, one field = a second field.
    • Unique - lists all of the values that exist in that attribute. Select by clicking on a value.

Once the filter is set, flip the switch in the upper right corner of the filter box to activate it. ()

TIP! After a filter is set, the Zoom To will zoom just to the layers that are present after the filter is applied.

When a layer has an active filter, it is denoted by the blue dot on the options menu of that layer.

• Add to Table

Add the attributes from the layer to the Table. The table exists along the bottom of the map window and can be opened and closed with the chevron tab. To learn more about tables, visit the Tables section.

TIP! Filters that are set for the layer are also applied to that layer's table.

• Export

Some layer types allow Export to multiple formats including JSON, CSV, and GeoJSON. If you don't know what these are, you probably don't need to use the Export tool. Consider using the Share, Print, or taking a screenshot.

It is important to be familiar with the layers before using them for a particular application. Some layer information may be accessed using the Options icon () next to the layer name in the Layer List and then clicking Details. More detailed information about the layers in the Aquaculture Mapping Atlas can be accessed on the Project Home Page on CT ECO.

The Legend can be turned on by clicking the Legend button at the top of the Data Explorer. The legend displays the symbology for the layers that are visible (checked on) in the map.

To Collapse or Close the Legend on tablets or mobile devices, click on the double arrow or X on the right of the panel title.

Symbology, or the symbols used for a layer (which are also shown in the legend), can also be viewed in the Layers List. Click on the Legend icon () to the right of the layer name to show the legend.

TIP! Selecting the Legend icon for a group will show the legend for all active (checked on) layers of the group.

TIP! To turn off the legend so that it is no longer visible, click the Legend icon again.

Clicking on the map at any location opens a pop-up that contains information for any layer that is visible AND has a feature at that location. If more than one layer has a feature at that spot, use the Previous and Next arrows in the upper left or lower left depending on the box location to to flip through the features. The upper or lower right corner shows how many features are at that location and the Select feature icon lists them.

The information in the pop-up comes from the layer's attribute table. Try clicking on different features on the map and notice how the information in the pop-up changes. To view the full table record for any feature, choose the Actions icon () and then View in table. You can also Export the feature from the pop-up window.

Zoom to changes the map extent to center on all features that are at that location. It can be a big or small area depending on the size of the polygons included.

TIP! Raster layers, which are the ones made of pixels, behave differently in a pop-up than vector layers, which are the ones made of lines, points, and polygons.

Location Search  

Use the Search Tool (upper left) 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.

Find My Location

The Find my location button adds your current location to the map and zooms to it. The blue dot is your location. Note that the location could be influenced by the internet provider and/or the accuracy of the basemap. It also requires location to be enabled on your device.

Measure

The Measure Tool is located in the upper left corner of the Data Explorer. It allows for basic distance and area measurements in the map. Select the Measure icon and then choose to measure distance () or measure area (). Once a measure tool is selected, the mouse turns to an orange circle.

Click on the map to start the measure. Notice that the orange and white line or orange fill is measuring as the mouse moves. Click again to add vertices and continue until the line or shape is complete. Double-click to finish. The measurement is shown on the map and in the Measurement window. The units can be changed at any time.

TIP! If while in the middle of measuring, you can makes changes like to the measurement units, turning layers on and off, moving the measurement window, and more.

Scale Bar

The scale bar is in the lower left corner of the map.

Coordinates

The coordinates tool reveals the coordinates as the mouse moves around the map and for a selected point. To select a point use the Enable clicking the map to get coordinates () icon on the left and click on the map. The coordinates at that location are shown. Use the Select the output coordinate system drop-down to change the coordinate system. Use the copy icon to copy the coordinates to paste elsewhere.

Coordinate Conversion

The Coordinate Conversion tool uses input coordinates in one coordinate system and provides output coordinates in a different coordinate system. One useful capability is finding an address from a map location or the opposite, finding a map (coordinate) location from an address.

First, select the starting location by typing in a known address or using the Add Point icon ().  The equivalent coordinates automatically populate in the Coordinate Conversion panel.

The coordinate systems are as follows:

• Address
• DD - Decimal degrees
• DDM - Degrees decimal minutes
• DMS - Degrees, minutes, seconds
• Long-Lat - Longitude and Latitude
• MGRS - Military Grid Reference System
• USNG - United States National Grid
• UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator

TIP! Look for the copy icon () throughout the tool to copy the coordinates for pasting elsewhere, like a document or email.

Many layers in the Layers List have features that include attributes, or information about the features. Access the attribute data in the Table by clicking on located at the bottom of the map when using a large or medium screen device (i.e. computer or tablet). Open the Table on a mobile device by clicking the table icon (). Once the table is opened, there are many ways to interact with the information.

• Layers (a): Use the drop down arrow to access the layer of interest.
• Show selection (b): Click this button to show just the features that have been selected (if applicable).
• Clear selection (c): Click this button to clear the selected data.
• Refresh (d): Click this button to refresh the data in the table.
• Show/hide columns (e): Click this button to remove or add columns to the table view.
• Actions (f): Click this button to use the following tools, which can be applied to the entire dataset or just the selected features:
  • Set filter: Filter the data based on table attributes.
  • Statistics: Quickly access the total number, sum, minimum, maximum, average, and standard deviation of values in a column of interest.
  • Zoom to: Change the map view to the extent of the data in the table.
  • Pan to: Change the screen display so that features on the map are centered on the screen. Does not change the zoom level.
  • Export: Export the data table to a JSON, CSV, or GeoJSON file.

Data in each column can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the three dots to the right of each field column.

The Add Data feature can be accessed from the Add Data button at the top of the Data Explorer. This tool allows a user to temporarily add external map data to the Data Explorer. Data can be added from a URL (map, image or web service), or uploaded from a file on a computer. You can manage and filter added data and view data in the map and tables. It is important to note that this data will NOT be saved in the Data Explorer and will have to be re-added if the application is closed or reloaded.

To use the Add Data tool, follow the instructions in the Add Data panel.

• URL: Add layers or web services by URL. The dropdown menu lists the types of data that you can add. thses include: feature service, map service, vector tile service, image service, scene service, KML, WFS, WMS, WMTS, GeoJSON, and CSV.
• File: Add data from your local drive. Suitable file formats include: CSV, GeoJSON, KML, GPX and (zipped) shapefile.

Note: uploaded CSV files are limited to a maximum of 1,000 records, and all other supported file types are limited to 4,000 records. The maximum upload size is 2 M for a shapefile and 10 MB for all other file types.

Once added, you can rename or delete the added item in the Add Data panel and the Layers list. Clicking on the Actions icon will allow you to pan/zoom to, add to map, add to table, filter, or export the data layer.