Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Internet Mapping Help and Tutorial System

Specific Functions #8: Spatial Overlay Engine Tools

The Spatial Overlay Engine tools allow you to specify a location on the map—a point, a line, or a polygon—and search through dozens of layers of mapping data for information about features that coincide spatially with that location. Optionally, you can specify an adjacency buffer distance that widens the search around your location by the buffer distance. It may be helpful to think of a cookie cutter, cutting through the layers of data. Specifying a larger adjacency buffer is like using a larger cookie cutter.

To use the Spatial Overlay Engine Point tool, click a location on the map and enter an Adjacency Buffer distance. In the Report Options, select either Show shape on map to see the point you specified and the buffer distance, or choose not to show the shape on the map, leaving it blank.

Click on the Submit Query button to begin your search. Within a short period of time, iMAPBC will display a Spatial Overlay Engine report in a new browser window. Scroll through the report, and you will find all kinds of valuable information about that location you clicked. Instead of sifting through dozens of thematic paper maps for this information, you have generated all of this information in iMAPBC with a few simple steps.

The Spatial Overlay Engine line and polygon tools work in exactly the same way as the Point tool, but they allow you to specify different shapes for your search location. The line tool allows you to search along a linear feature such as a road or a river. The polygon tool allows you to specify a larger area, such as a lot or an administrative area. You may draw lines and polygons on the map in the same way as you drew these shapes with the Markup Tools.

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