User Guide & Help

Texas Hazard Mitigation Package (THMP)

Click one of the links below to learn more about each feature:

Working with the Map Viewer:

A Map Viewer is an internet map server that renders maps on your web browser. In this case ArcIMS is the server software used to generate the map. You can decide the layers and the scale for viewing. It also provides some basic GIS (Geographic Information Systems) tools that allow you to manipulate or retrieve existing data sets from the map's graphical interface.

The main features are explained below:

Feature	Description
Toolbar	Displays various buttons that allow you to interact with the map, such as zooming in and out or pan around the map. For a detail description into each one of the tool's functions, click here
Map overview	Shows the position of the map being displayed with a red box
Map display	The map viewer window
List of layers & legends	Lists all data layers available to use and view. Also displays the data layer legends in toggle view.
Map refresh button	Click here to refresh the map display
Scale bar	Shows the mapping scale of the Map display
Data display	Displays data information of an active layer when you use the identify tool or make a query. (Some features may be associated with multiple records)
Selected tool	Shows which tool you have selected from the toolbar
Links	Go to other linked webpages on this site

Working with the Toolbar:

When a tool is selected on the toolbar it may be surrounded by a red outline like this:

By default the Zoom In tool is active when the Map Viewer is first loaded.

The most common tools are explained below:

Icon	Tool Name	Tool Function
	Layer/Legend	Toggles between Layer List and Legend on the right-side of map area. The layer list displays all the available data layers within categories for the current Map Viewer. The legend displays the symbology used to map the selected layers. Note: The legend is automatically displayed for printing.
	Overview Map	Toggles the thumbnail window at the top left hand corner of the map viewer on (visible) or off (not visible). The thumbnail shows the full extent view. The red boxed area is your current zoom extent.
	Zoom In	Default tool, as shown by a red border around the icon. Zoom In is used two ways: Click to center the map, while it zooms in to a preset amount [or] Click and drag a box to define a new zoom area, a red rectangle will form around the selected area.
	Zoom Out	Click to center the map, while it zooms out to a preset amount.
	Zoom to Full Extent	Zoom out to the extent shown on the Overview Map thumbnail.
	Zoom to Active Layer	Zooms to the full extent of the active (highlighted) layer.
	Recall Last Extent	Revert to the previous zoom view.
	Pan	Click and drag to move the map in any direction for a new zoom view.
	Pan North	Pans the map a set amount to the north.
	Pan South	Pans the map a set amount to the south.
	Pan West	Pans the map a set amount to the west.
	Pan East	Pans the map a set amount to the east.
	Identify	Identifies the attributes of a feature when layer is active (highlighted) Click a feature on the map to see the fields in table format at the bottom of the map area To print, right-click on the table and select print.
	Find	This searches the database to locate and list features based on text you enter
	Measure	Select this tool, then click, drag, and click on the map to measure the distance between two points on the map. The distance is displayed using units you specify.
	Set Units	This sets the units of the Scale bar for ease of readability, or the units you want to measure with (as explained above). For State level its best to use either miles or kilometers, while for county levels or close-ups use feet or meters. Available display units are feet, miles, meters (metres), or kilometers (kilometres).
	Buffer	Make a selection, then click Buffer to draw a buffer zone around the area.
	Select by rectangle	Click this button, then draw a rectangle (click and drag diagonally) on the map to make selections and redraw the map. Note: selecting by rectangle also works with the Zoom In and Zoom Out tools.
	Select by line or polygon	Click two points to select a line, or click points around a polygon to select the area within it.
	Clear Selection	Deselect, similar to "Undo"
	Print	Printing preparation area appears below the map area. Type in a title for your map and click Create Print Page. A new window opens with a map and its legend displayed, ready for printing.

Printing Hints:

Click the PRINT tool (bottom-right button on Toolbar).

Below the map area, type in a title for your map then click on Create Print Page button. This will open a new browser window with the Map Image, Overview Map Image, and Legend displayed.

You can then use the File/Print menu item to send the display to your printer.

Note: You will need to set the printer orientation to Landscape in order to print the map properly.

Preparing to Print a State-wide Map:

If attempting to print to the entire state of Texas, you might want to resize the window to eliminate white space. By cropping the state more precisely, you will increase the size of Texas on your print page which may be necessary to better view the map.

To do this, you will first need to restore down the window (double-boxes in upper-right window title bar),

then click the Zoom to Full Extent tool (or Zoom Out) to display the entire state.

Working with Layers:

Map layers are listed on the right side of the screen. Some layers are scale dependent. If you zoom in or zoom out to a certain scale, these layers will be displayed automatically.

The Layers List works in a similar fashion to that of Windows Explorer.

Data Layer categories are collapsible to reveal the list of layers within that category. As shown below:

To make a data layer visible (turned on), click the checkbox next to it.

Hazard data layers should be selected carefully to achieve the viewing results you are seeking. Typically, you will only want to display one hazard data layer at a time. Since Base map data layers are generally used for reference (backdrop) purposes, they do not pose the same potential issue of too many layers being displayed at once.

Please also note that some data layers are only visible at particular zoom levels. These are marked with a magnifier symbol in their respective checkbox.

To make a data layer active, click the "radio" button next to its checkbox.

This allows you to retrieve attribute data about the data layer using the Identify tool. Important: Only one data layer can be active at a time.

To view the metadata for a data layer click on the name of the data layer. A new window will open displaying the metadata. There you will find information about the data for the layer, such as where the data originally came from, its attributes etc...

Use the Refresh Map button to refresh the Map display anytime it is neccessary. Below it, is the Auto Refresh checkbox. By default it is checked. This ensures that the Map display is refreshed every time you check or uncheck a data layer. If this becomes inconvenient, you can uncheck it and after you have selected the data layers you want to be displayed, you then just click the Refresh Map button to update the Map display.

At the bottom of the list you will find a quick help guide as show below:

Working with Legends:

To view the legends for the selected layers, toggle the layer list/legend tool on the toolbar on the left side of the page.

This causes the layer list to be replaced with a legend. This shows the symbology used for each selected layer. This is useful for understanding the data that is displayed on the map display. Only the layers that are visible on the map display will have legends available.