How to Use the Monroe County GIS Application

The Monroe County GIS application will load into the present session of your
Internet Explorer Web Browser. The left side of the screen contains command
buttons for various functions of the application. The main client window contains the
map view. The upper left corner of the map window contains controls for
manipulating the map display.

Below the map window, an Attribute Data Display will be shown when extended
information is available for map features.

Manipulating the Map Display

These controls will identify their function through context sensitive
help. Context sensitive menus are displayed by "hovering" the mouse
pointer over the control, as shown in the illustration.

• Zoom
  The Zoom control is used to bring a small portion of the map display into
  finer detail. Click the control, then click the map display at the location of the
  new screen center: the map display will zoom closer to the new center of
  screen. You can also magnify an area by dragging the mouse pointer over it.
  As you drag the mouse pointer, a bounding rectangle will be drawn around
  the extents of the new viewing area. When you release the left mouse button,
  the screen will change to display the new view area.
• Zoom Goto
  Zoom Goto is used to find particular features of interest on the map.
• Zoom Out
  The Zoom Out control allows you to expand the extents of the view window
  using a selected feature as the center of the screen. Select the Zoom Out
  control, then click a point on the map view. The screen will change to display
  a larger viewing extent around the selected point.
• Unzoom
  When the Unzoom control is clicked, the map display will return to the view
  of the entire county.
• Copy
  The Copy control will "Capture" the client area of the map window to the
  Windows Clipboard.
• Pan
  The Pan control allows you to reposition the map within the view window.

Understanding the Legend and Layer Display

The application automatically enables the display of various map layers as you increase the zoom factor. As the map layers are enabled, they are added to the legend. The legend is just beneath the zoom controls, immediately to the left of the map window.

Once a map layer has been enabled, it can be disabled, by clicking the corresponding check-box on the legend. Layers which are "checked" are displayed. Layers that are not "checked" are not displayed.

 Getting Information about Items on the Map

In order to use the enquiry features of the GIS Application, you must first "select" features from the map.

Single selections are made simply by clicking the mouse pointer on the
map-feature of interest.

Multiple selections are made by holding down the "Shift" key, while
clicking individual selections.

Multiple selections can also be made by "rubber-banding", or drawing
a selection box on the map window with the mouse pointer. (This is
accomplished by holding down the left mouse button, and dragging
the pointer across the screen).

In this example, a single property feature has been selected from the
map. Notice that the property feature is highlighted in brown to
indicate that it has been "selected".

The parcel number and acreage are displayed when you "hover" the
mouse pointer over the parcel.

Click the Clear Selection command button to "un-select" all current feature selections.

 Using the Report Function to View Data

Once you have selected one or more items from the map you can use the reporting features to view the data.

On the left side of the application window are a series of command
buttons. The command buttons perform some commonly used tasks,
such as generating reports, and producing printed output.

After making a selection from the map, click the "Report" command-button. The dialog box shown in the illustration will appear.
In this instance, a "Parcel" feature was selected. Choose OK in the
dialog box; the Attribute Data Display will contain the information for
that feature.

The Attribute Data Display contains text fields that are "hyper-linked"
to supplemental information. Clicking the Parcel ID Number will
create a new window containing a data report for the parcel. Clicking
the owner name will cause all parcels with the same ownership to be
listed.

Click the "Close" box on the upper right corner of the window when
you are finished viewing the data.

Using the Buffer Function

In addition to the reporting functions shown in the previous section, you can perform another type of analysis called a "Buffer Calculation".

The illustration shows a buffer-zone that was constructed on a 500
foot radius around a particular property. The buffer-zone is
represented by the hatched/shaded area.

The construction of a buffer-zone on the map is relatively
straightforward. After you select a property from the map, choose the
"Buffer" command button from the function buttons on the left of the
Application screen. The "View Buffer" dialog box will appear.

The configuration options in the "View Buffer" dialog box enable you
to choose the distance from the particular lot that will be buffered.
Furthermore, the style of graphics that will show the buffer on the map
display can be configured as well.

The illustration shows some sample settings as configured in the "View Buffer" dialog box. The offset distance has been set to 500 feet. The
fill style has been set to the "Hatch" style, while the Background Mode
has been set to "Transparent".

After choosing the "OK" command button, the buffer will be
displayed on the screen. The "Remove Buffer" command button at the
left of the screen will cause the buffer pattern to be removed from the
map.

Finding Specific Parcels

Another powerful feature of the GIS Application is the ability to find
particular items on the map. If you know the address, parcel
identification number, or the owner name, you can quickly locate a
piece of property.

To search for an address, type the house-number you are searching
for into the "Enter Address" text entry box. If a match is found on the
address layer, the display will change to show the property with at
that address.

To search for a Parcel ID, type the ID number you are looking for
into the "Enter Parcel ID" text entry box. If a match is found, the
display will change to show that particular parcel.

If want to search for properties that are titled to a particular name,
type the owner name into the "Enter Owner Name" text entry box.
The display will change to show any properties that match.

Producing Printed Output

• Print Setup
  Hardcopy output is available from the "Print" command button. Some users may wish to modify the default appearance of the map, by turning off the legend, north arrow, or scale features.
• Print
  Send the current map view to any output device available on your system. Some of the printing features, such as the legend and title, are configurable from the "Print Setup" command button.