![]() It does not resemble a database or GIS selection tool. ![]() It allows the user to easily restrict the results by areas and distances.Results can be obtained with a small number of clicks.Web Map Queries Made EasyĪ well designed query tool that is easy to use usually has the following traits: Or as they say in the design world, "Don't make them think". It's your job as a web map designer to deliver a query tool that can be used by anyone-without any prior training. This is a mistake, in most cases the very reason for producing a web map is to put a useful tool in the hands of clients, colleagues or customers that don't have access to a GIS and in all likelihood have never even heard of the term, never mind used one.ĭesktop tools for building selection sets are extremely powerful, but they are also extremely complicated. Your Query Tool Needs to Be User FriendlyĪ common mistake when creating a query tool for a web map is to make it behave like a desktop GIS. In such cases we have two solutions, one is to make ever more complex symbology in a futile attempt to cover every question we can envisage, or we can provide a query tool that allows the user to quickly answer their own questions without restriction. This is great, but what happens if the question gets more complex? Say, for example I only want to see properties that were on the premium package, or properties for which previous claims have been made? The map could color-code the properties based on whether they made a claim, it could even change the marker size based on the size of the claim. Imagine a map showing properties that your company insures, along with rivers, lakes, and the extent of last year’s flood. ![]() Why Your Map Needs a Query ToolĪ web map can make patterns easy to visualize. The same answers can often be generated by a spreadsheet, but what a spreadsheet can't do is visualize patterns in the data.įor example, a spreadsheet containing insurance claim data for flood damage can tell you which properties claimed but it can't easily show you whether those claims were concentrated in a specific area or were correlated to their proximity to a river or lake.
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