The map layers are organized thematically in folders. Click the folder icons to expand or close the folders and to view the map layers contained in the folders.
To see a layer, check the box next to the layer's name. The map will refresh immediately. To control when the map refreshes after layers are checked on or off, uncheck the "AutoRefresh Map" box below the layer tree. The map will then redraw only when the "Refresh Map" button is clicked.
Some layers are visible only within a specified range of view-scales. Such layers are marked with the
icon. Hover your mouse pointer over the icon to determine the range of viewable
scales for scale-dependent layers.To view metadata for a layer of interest, click the
icon.
Clicking the
icon shows or hides the layer's legend.
To save your customized map on your computer, type in a bookmark name and click the "Create" button. Your new bookmark will appear in a list titled "Saved bookmarks."
To return to a customized map that was previously bookmarked, click on its name in the list of saved bookmarks.
Existing bookmarks can be deleted by clicking the red X next to their names.
NOTE: This tool uses Internet cookies to save your bookmarked maps. If this tool is not functioning properly, your Web-browser settings for cookies may be disabled. If you wish to use the "Bookmarks" function, set your browser to enable cookies.
Click the "Generate Link" button, and a hyperlink will appear in the text box above the button. You can then copy and paste the hyperlink from the text box into a document or e-mail message.
NOTE: This tool may not work with browsers other than Internet Explorer.
Search/Query -> Zoom to Location. Click this menu item to zoom-in quickly to a county, city, quadrangle, township, or section of interest.
When you click this menu item, the "Zoom to Location or Area" dialog box will appear in the frame to the right of the map.
In order to zoom to a county, use the dropdown box to select the county and then press the "Zoom" button.
In order to zoom to a city or quadrangle, enter first letters of the name followed by a percent sign ("%") into the appropriate query box. Press the "Search" button and select the city or quadrangle from the dropdown box. Then press the "Zoom" button.
In order to zoom to a township or section, select the township, range, and section from the dropdown boxes. Then press the "Zoom" button. In order to view an entire township, select the value "All" from the "Section" dropdown box.
When you click this menu item, the "Zoom to Coordinates" dialog box will appear in the frame to the right of the map.
Select which coordinate system you wish to use: (1) Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Zone 16 North, NAD83, or (2) decimal degrees. If you have coordinate values that are in units of "degree-minutes-seconds" and you need to convert such values to decimal degrees, several links to convertors are provided at the bottom of the dialog box.
Under "Specify Coordinates," enter the coordinates into the text-entry boxes for "X" and "Y" coordinates.
Under "Add Point Symbol," select the type of point symbol that you wish to use to show the point's location.
If you wish the coordinate values to appear as labels on the map, check the box labeled "Add Coordinates to Map."
Click the "Zoom" button to zoom-in to your specified coordinates.
To remove the point and coordinates, click the button labeled "Clear Map."
When you click this menu item, the "Locate Address or Street" dialog box will appear in the frame to the right of the map.
For the address or street of interest, enter the specified parameters. Examples are provided in the lower part of the dialog box under the section titled "Instructions."
Click the "Search" button to locate addresses or streets. If a single address match is found, the map is zoomed to the location and address marker and text are drawn on the map. If a single street match is returned, the street segment is selected and the map is zoomed to it.
If more than 25 address or street matches are found, only the first 25 will be shown. Narrow down your search criteria to reduce the number of matches. Multiple address or street matches are returned as hyperlinks. Click a link to zoom in to the address of street.
To remove the marker and text or line, click the "Clear Map" button.
When you click this menu item, the "Query" dialog box will appear in the frame to the right of the map.
Select the layer that you wish to query by using the "Active Layer" dropdown box.
Select the field that you wish to query from the "Field" dropdown box.
Select the operator that you wish to use from the "Operator" dropdown box.
Enter the value of the feature that you wish to find in the "Value" text box. Use the "Get Samples" button to obtain sample values. If the particular value in which you are interested does not appear in the list, enter your desired value using the same format as the samples.
To complete the simple query string, click the button labeled "Add to Query String" and then click the "Execute" button.
Your desired feature should then be highlighted on the map in blue, and a new browser window named "Query/Selection Results" will appear.
NOTE: More complex queries can be built and executed by using the "And," "Or," "Not," and parenthesis buttons to construct a compound query, followed by use of the "Add to Query String" and "Execute" buttons.
When you click this menu item, the "Keyword Search" dialog box will appear in the frame to the right of the map.
Specify a word or a part of word and click the "Search" button to generate a list of matching keywords. Then select one of the keywords from the list to retrieve a list of layers related to the keyword.
Any layer in the list can be viewed by checking the box next to the layer's name.
Draw -> Text or Markers. Click this menu item to place custom text and (or) markers on the map.
After you select the tool, the "Add Text or Marker" dialog box will appear to the right of the map.
Choose whether you want to place a marker (that is, a point symbol) or text, or both. If the "Add Point Symbol" option has been chosen, one of five symbols can be specified from the dropdown box. Using the "Add Text" option, you can add either a comment or coordinates of a particular location on the map. Coordinates can be displayed either in map projection (UTM Zone 16 NAD83) or in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
Once you have chosen the options, click the map to define the desired location. Then click the "Add Graphics" button and the symbol and its associated text will appear on the map.
If both text and marker are placed on the map, the text will be centered below the marker. If only text is added, the label will appear immediately to the right of the click location.
Any number of text and marker labels can be placed on the map. To remove labels from the map, press either the "Remove Last" or "Remove All" button that is beneath "Manage text and/or marker graphics." Similarly, to remove graphic shapes, press either the "Remove Last" or "Remove All" button that is beneath "Manage line or polygon graphics."
After you select the tool, the "Add Shape (Line or Polygon Graphic)" dialog box will appear to the right of the map. Start by clicking on the map to add a point. Continue to sketch a line on the map one point at a time. Click the "Delete Last Point" button to delete the last point added to the map, or the "Restart" button to erase the entire line.
To add the sketched line as a permanent graphic, click either the "Complete Line" or "Complete Polygon" button. Line style, width, color, and fill style (for polygons) can be set. Optionally, length or area measurements can be added.
To add a circle to the map, click on the map to place either one or two points. If one point is added, specify radius and distance units and generate a circle graphic by clicking the "Add Circle by Point and Radius" button. The point becomes the center of the circle. If two points are placed, click the "Add Circle by 2 Points" button. The first point becomes the circle's center, while the second point determines the circle's radius. Circle center and radius measurements can be added.
To erase text and marker graphics or line and polygon graphics, click the "Remove Last" or "Remove All" button. The measurements, radius, and circle-center marker are added as separate text/marker graphics and therefore are deleted separately from line and polygon graphics.
To remove text and markers created with the "Text and Markers" tool or lines and polygons created with the "Shapes" tool, you must use the "Remove Last" or "Remove All" button included in the tool's dialog box.
Map Output -> Generate Layout for Printing. Click this menu item to create a layout (in a new browser window) to create a layout to send to a printer.
After you select the tool, the "Generate Layout for Printing" dialog box will appear to the right of the map. Follow the steps described below to generate the map layout.
1. Specify map properties.
a. Map size and orientation. Select the size and orientation of your map.
b. Map extent. Use the "Preserve scale" option to keep the scale of the printed map the same as that of the online map. The area covered by the printed map will not match the area covered by the online map. Both printed and online maps, however, will always be centered on the same location. Since the scale of the map remains the same, the visibility of scale-dependent layers in the printed map does not change. If the "Preserve extent" option is used, the online map is fit into the extent of the printed map. The area covered by the map remains the same, but the scale of the map changes. Layers that are scale-dependent that are visible in the online map may not be visible in the printed map because of the change of scale.
c. Map elements. Select the "Map image only" option to maximize the map area in the print layout. The layout will contain map, disclaimer, and map scale.
Select the "Add map elements" option if you wish to add additional elements to the map. These elements are optional and include "Title," "Overview map," and "Legend." You can control which layers will appear in the legend by selecting them in the list.
2. Generate map layout.
Click the Print Map button to create map layout. You may have to wait up to 20-30 seconds, depending on map size you selected.
3. Set page options.
In the new browser window that contains the map layout, go to "File > Page Setup." The following parameters must be set:
a. Paper size. This browser parameter must match the page size you selected when creating your custom layout. The default page size is "Letter" (8.5 x 11 in.).
b. Page orientation. This browser parameter ("Portrait" or "Landscape") must match the page orientation you chose when creating your custom layout. Page orientation always defaults to "Portrait."
c. Page margins. This browser parameter must be set to 0.5 inches (or less) for all four sides. This change need only be done once because Internet Explorer retains the last values entered for margin settings.
d. Printer. To print your map on a printer that is not set as your default printer, click the "Printer" button and select a different printer. NOTE: when changing your printer, you may need to reset the page size, page orientation, and page margins.
4. Preview your map.
Go to "File > Print Preview" to verify that your map fits the page size you selected. If the page is cut off at the right or at the bottom, try the following:
a. Double-check your Internet Explorer page options: page size, page orientation, and page margins. Size and orientation should match those you selected for your map. Margins should be set to 0.5" on each side.
b. If the map still does not fit on one page and is cut off at the bottom, the map legend may be causing the problem. If your map contains many layers, or if some layers have many symbols, the area occupied by the legend may spill onto a second page. To solve this issue, reduce the number of layers to be included in the legend, change orientation to portrait, increase the page size, or eliminate the legend from the map layout altogether.
5. Print the map.
If the print preview shows that the map fits the page correctly, then go to "File > Print" to send the map to the printer.
After you select this tool, the "Save Map as JPEG Image" dialog box will appear to the right of the map.
Select your desired size and orientation and click the "Generate Image" button. Note that the scale and the center of the JPEG image are the same as those of the map in the viewer. The image loads in a new browser window. To generate your JPEG file, right-click on the image and choose "Save Picture As."
Download -> Statewide Data. Click this menu item to open the "Downloads" page of the Indiana GIS Atlas. All vector layers are provided in shapefile format. Raster layers (grids and TIFF images) of statewide extent are also available for download.
Select the appropriate category to view a list of all the layers in that category.
Metadata for each layer can be viewed by clicking the links in the "Metadata" column.
Click the link in the "Download" column in order to download and save your layer of interest as a compressed ZIP file. In addition to the layer itself, the ZIP file contains metadata, as well as other appropriate accessory data, for the layer.
After clicking this menu item, you will be prompted to click on a point of interest on the interactive map. A dialog box titled "Download Raster Data" will be displayed to the right of the map.
The following types of raster data are available for download: (1) DRG (Digital Raster Graphic) - Digital versions of 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps of the U.S. Geological Survey.
(2) DOQQ (Digital Ortho Quarter Quad) - Black-and-white aerial orthophotos from 1998-1999 of the U.S. Geological Survey.
(3) NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) - Color aerial photographs from 2003 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(4) DEM (Digital Elevation Model) - Gridded elevation data from the 1992 version of the National Elevation Dataset (NED) of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Select the "Download" link to save a compressed ZIP file that contains your data set of interest.
Help -> Help. Click this menu item to show this page ("Explanation of User Interface").
After selecting this menu item, the "Updates and Alerts" dialog box appears to the right of the map. Enter your full email address and click the "Sign Up" button to automatically subscribe. Shortly after subscribing, you should receive a confirmation by email.
After selecting this menu item, the "Contact Information" dialog box appears to the right of the map. Click the link to open an email message that automatically addressed to appropriate IGS personnel.
Toolbar Buttons
After you have clicked on a feature, a table containing the attribute information for the feature will appear in a new browser window. Close this window when you are finished, or it will become hidden behind other windows and may not reappear on top when you use the "Identify" tool again.
If you are zoomed out, a single click may select multiple features of a layer. To avoid a clutter of symbols and numbers, you may need to zoom in closer on the feature of interest.
If you have a problem with this tool, check to determine if the problem is caused by a pop-up blocker in your Web browser.
To erase lines and text, click the "Clear Selection" button.
To erase areas and text, click the "Clear Selection" button.
Click on a single feature to select it, or draw a rectangle around multiple features to select all of them. All features that completely or partially fall within the rectangle will be selected.
After you have selected the features, a table containing the attribute information will appear in a new browser window. Close this window when you are finished, or it will become hidden behind other windows and may not reappear on top when you use the tool again.
If you have a problem with this tool, check to determine if the problem is caused by a pop-up blocker in your Web browser.
