Welcome to TERN Knowledge Base
Using the Map View in EcoPlots
Map Functions
To search for data using EcoPlot’s Map view function, select the Map View button 
The Map view function is a feature that allows the sites in EcoPlots with available data to be viewed spatially. Data searches performed from the data view can be visualised by using the map view.
The map view interface has filters in the column on the left. The filters have the same functionality as the filters available in the data search view. The bottom right corner contains a Show Legends button which users can select to see the colour coding for the different site clusters, while the top right of the map has a button for users to apply available background layers to the map.
Additionally, the vertical tool bar on the left side of the map contains buttons that allow users to customise their search using the map function:
Button | Function |
|---|---|
| Show/hide map button |
| Zoom in |
| Zoom out |
| Zoom to original map extent (500km/500mi) |
| Zoom to selection (only available when the user edits the map, or has used one of the available filters) |
| Edit map (draw shape) |
| Draw rectangle (only available after “Edit map” is selected) |
| Draw polygon (only available after “Edit map” is selected) Note: To close the polygon, double click when adding the final point to the map. |
| Edit shape on map (rectangle or polygon) |
| Save edits to shape (rectangle or polygon) |
| Discard shape edits (rectangle or polygon) |
| Delete shape from map (rectangle or polygon) |
| Search by location or address |
| Map help |
Finding Data Using Map View
Direct Selection on Map
One way to find data is to use the zoom function. Once you have zoomed in on an area of interest, you can click on a site marker to reveal further information about that site. By clicking Filter by site, you will be able to narrow the search results to data from that site.
Selecting Data Within a Polygon
To find data by selecting an area on the map, you can use the polygon or rectangular tool features. Zoom in on your area of interest and click either the polygonal or the rectangular selection tool. Draw on the map around your area of interest by clicking to create polygonal selections or clicking and dragging to draw a rectangular selection (the polygonal selection tool is being used in the example below).
When using the draw polygon option, the polygon can be closed by double clicking when selecting the final point.
Once the polygon or rectangle has been defined, all data found in that selected area is ready to searched in the filter bar on the left hand side. In the figure below, there is available data from four data sources (QBEIS, TERN Ecosystem Processes, TERN Ecosystem Surveillance and the William’s Wet Tropics Vertebrate database) that are found within the boundaries of the selected polygon. Users can then refine their search further using the Parameters or Feature Types filters if necessary.
Search by Location Function
Data can also be found using the Search by Location tool 
When using the Search by Location tool, users may find that the tool zooms too close to the desired location (especially if searching by a specific address or for a larger centre such as Sydney). You may need to zoom out a little to see nearby sites with data.