Online Help System

Map Interface

The interactive map interface is displayed in many places throughout CRIS, including the Search page, resource wizards, and details modules. The interface contains several controls and tools that are listed below. Note that some tools may be omitted from some maps.

An example view of the CRIS map interface. Various tools and controls are in the upper left and upper right corners.

The following controls perform a function as soon as they are clicked.

The Zoom In (plus) and Zoom Out (minus) buttons in the map interface. Zoom In/Out: Clicking the Zoom In (plus) or Zoom Out (minus) button zooms the map in or out by a factor of 2. The scale bar in the map interface’s lower left corner will indicate the scale in miles or feet.
The Full Extent button displays an icon in the shape of New York State. Full Extent: Zooms the map to the entirety of New York State.
The Initial Extent button displays an icon of a gray square with control points on all four corners. Initial Extent: Present in the details modules only. This button zooms the map to the original area that was shown when you opened the module.

The following controls are dropdowns. When you click them, they will open downward. To close the dropdown, click the control again.

The Legend control displays a right-pointing triangle (which indicates a dropdown) and an icon of a sheet with various color swatches and text labels. Legend: Shows the symbols used for each layer that is currently visible on the map. See the Layers help topic for a description of each layer.
The Layer List control displays a right-pointing triangle (which indicates a dropdown) and an icon of a list of checkboxes and text labels. Layer List: Lists the layers that are currently available for viewing. Each layer will have a checkbox for toggling the layer on or off. If the checkbox is gray, the layer is invisible because the map is zoomed out too far. See the Layers help topic for a description of each layer.
The Locate control displays a right-pointing triangle (which indicates a dropdown) and an icon of green crosshairs. Locate: Allows you to zoom the map to an address, intersection, municipality, prominent place (such as a university or park), or coordinates in decimal degrees (such as -74.131123, 44.012827).
The Measure control displays a right-pointing triangle (which indicates a dropdown) and an icon of two crossed rulers. Measure: Allows you to measure area, distance, and geographic coordinates. Click the measuring tool you wish to use, select the unit of measure, and click on the map to begin measuring. For the area and distance tools, clicking once on the map will set a new corner for your polygon or line, and double-clicking the map will complete the polygon or line.
The Basemap control displays an icon of four gray squares in a grid and a downward-pointing triangle (which indicates a dropdown). Basemap: Switches the background to labeled streets, aerial photography, or topography. Note that some landforms, water boundaries, and other details may not be accurately depicted in the Streets basemap. Photographic basemaps (such as NYS Orthos) are generally better references for drawing accurate boundaries.

The following tools are toggle controls. When you click a toggle control the first time, the tool will be enabled and the control button’s border will change from white to yellow. This will change what happens when you click the map. Click the button again to turn the tool off and the button will have a white border again.

On Off
The Zoom by Extent control displays an icon of a magnifying glass with a plus sign in the lens. In this image, the control has a yellow border, which indicates that it is enabled. In this image, the Zoom by Extent control has a white border, which indicates that it is disabled. Zoom by Extent: Turn the tool on, then click the map and drag a red rectangle around an area to zoom the map there. Alternatively, you may zoom to an area of the map without this tool by using the mouse’s scroll wheel, the plus/minus buttons in the upper left corner of the map, or by holding the Shift key and clicking and dragging a rectangle around an area.
The Google Street View control displays an icon of an orange human figure, which is the icon used in Google Street View to indicate the viewing location and direction. In this image, the control has a yellow border, which indicates that it is enabled. In this image, the Google Street View control has a white border, which indicates that it is disabled. Google Street View: Turn the tool on, then click the map to open Google Street View at that location, if imagery is available. This view will open in a new browser tab.
The Bing Bird’s Eye View control displays an icon of a stylized lowercase B from the Bing logo. In this image, the control has a yellow border, which indicates that it is enabled. In this image, the Bing Bird’s Eye View control has a white border, which indicates that it is disabled. Bing Bird’s Eye View: Turn the tool on, then click the map to open Bird’s Eye View at that location, if imagery is available. This view will open in a new browser tab.

In the details modules and on the Search page, there is an expander button in the upper right corner of the sidebar next to the map. Clicking this button will hide the sidebar and expand the map interface to full width, as shown below for the Search page.

An example view of the map expander on the Search page. The map on the right is collapsed to its default width, and the search tools are visible on the left.An example view of the map expander on the Search page. The map on the right is expanded to its full width, and the search tools on the left are hidden.