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Basemaps are the starting point for GaeaSynergy, they are used to organize, find, and select projects. In addition, basemaps are used as the basis for the Geographic Information System (GIS) in GaeaSynergy. The GIS stores all of the basemap, project, boring/well, cross-section, and other spatial data for the application.

 

In GaeaSynergy, basemaps represent the geographic information as a collection of layers. These layers represent different datasets that are overlaid on the basemap. Some examples of layers are web mapping services, satellite images, aerial photos, roads, lakes and streams, political boundaries, building footprints, utility lines, and terrain. There are a wide variety of sources of the layer data, some data is provided with the program and other data can be obtained from our various partners and government sources.

 

GaeaSynergy can have any number of basemaps. Different basemaps may be used for different countries or areas, for different clients, for different industries, or for different exploration targets.The creation, use, and editing of basemaps is briefly described in the sections below. A detailed description of basemaps is provided in Chapter 2.

 

 

Types of Basemaps

 

There are two types of basemaps, web map services or static. In addition, no basemap can be specified in this case the main window will display a list of projects instead. When the application is first run the type of initial basemap is selected. If a web map service is selected, the service must be selected. And if a static basemap is selected the static basemap must be selected and created.

 

Web Map Services

 

Web map services use a standard protocol to serve georeferenced map images over the Internet. This protocol was developed and published by the Open Geospatial Consortium. Several web map services are available within the application and more are being added with each update.

 

Static Basemaps

 

These basemaps consist of a set of georeferenced layers (shape files) for different parts of the world. GAEA has created over 300 predefined static basemaps that can be downloaded from our Internet site or a CD. Once a predefined static basemap has been created, additional GIS layers can be added to it.

 

 

Selecting Web Map Services

 

The web map service displayed for the basemap can either be selected from the basemap toolbar or in Preferences. If it is selected in Preferences it will be the default basemap display and will be shown every time the application is started. When it is selected from the basemap toolbar it will be effective only until it is changed again or the application is closed.

 

 

Selecting Static Basemaps

 

After a static basemap has been created it can be displayed either by selecting it with Tools > GIS > Basemaps > Change. or in Preferences.  If it is selected in Preferences it will be the default basemap display and will be shown every time the application is started. When it is selected from Tools > GIS > Basemaps > Change it will be effective only until it is changed again or the application is closed.

 

 

Creating Static Basemaps

 

Static basemaps can be created by selecting File > New > Static Basemap.  This menu item will display the Create Basemap form that can used to create a new static basemap. After the basemap has been created it will be displayed.

 

 

Editing Basemaps

 

A basemap can be edited by selecting Edit > Basemap. When a basemap is being edited the Edit menu and Edit Basemap toolbar will be displayed. These can be used to add, edit, and delete a variety of layers on a static basemap. In addition, the Edit Basemap toolbar can be used to set the extents of the basemap.

 

The extents of the basemap control the area of the basemap that will be displayed when the basemap is not being edited and when the application is first started. To set the extents of the basemap, first zoom the basemap to the area that represents the desired extent and then click on the Set Extents button on the toolbar.

 

Layers can be added to the static basemap using Edit > Add Layer. Several types of layers can be added such as Shape, CAD, and Raster files. When a layer is added, a copy of the file is placed in the datastore. Alternatively, layers can be linked to the static basemap using Edit > Link Layer. When a layer is linked to the basemap, the original file is used by the static basemap and thus any changes to the file will be reflected in the basemap.

 

After a layer has been added to a static basemap it can be edited by double clicking on the layer on the sidebar. When the layer is edited the Layer Properties form will be displayed. This form can be used to edit a variety of properties of the layer such as:

 

•Caption

•Transparency

•Scale range that the layer is shown

•Symbology used for the layer

•Whether the features of the layer are labeled

•Whether the features are labeled the same way or grouped into classes

•Which feature to label and the font and placement of the label

•Scale range to display the label

 

Layers can also be removed from the static basemap by clicking on the label in the sidebar and selecting Popup > Remove Layer. The boring/well, annotation, and project layers can not be removed from the basemap. Instead of removing the layer, it's display can be turned off using the checkbox next to the layer in the sidebar. If the layer is a Shape, CAD, or Raster file that was added to the basemap, the copied layer file will be deleted from the Datastore. If the layer was linked to the basemap, the original layer file will not be deleted.

 

 

Using Basemaps

 

The default basemap is displayed whenever the program is started. The basemap will display the project and boring/well layers in the database and any other layers in the basemap. The display of these layers can be turned on and off by clicking on the checkbox next to them in the sidebar.

 

The primary use of the basemap is to create, open, and locate projects. Creating and editing projects is described in the next section. Projects can be located on the basemap by selecting them in the sidebar and selecting Popup > Locate.

 

On the basemap toolbar, the North arrow can be turned on and off using the North Arrow button. The basemap can also be rotated from North by specifying the angle of rotation in the Rot field.

 

Distances can be measured on the basemap using the Measure tool on the basemap toolbar. When this is selected you can measure the distance between two points in a variety of units.

 

If the type of basemap is a web map service, you can locate an address using the Find button on the basemap toolbar. When this button is selected an address form will be displayed where you can enter the address to be located. Enter as much information about the address as possible and then click on the Goto Address button to zoom the basemap to that address. The address will be highlighted with a flag.

 

The basemap can also be used to perform spatial queries on projects and boring/wells by selecting them from Tools > GIS > Spatial Queries. When performing a spatial query it can either be done on the full extent of the basemap or within a selected region of the basemap. The query can then be performed using a variety of selection criteria.