Managing layers
The Queensland Globe provides easy access to hundreds of data layers for you to incorporate within a map.
To view the layers panel, select the Layers icon from the sidebar.
The layers from the default topic are included in the initial map view. You can replace or add to these layers using the following options:
- Select Add layers to add layers from the table of contents
- Launch a Topic to add a group of layers
- Include your own data files, or link to external webservices via the Add My Data tool
- Add georeferenced imagery layers via the Past imagery tool
Add layers
To add a layer from the table of contents view, select Add layers.
Filter layers by name - Enter a portion of a layer name and select the filter list icon to return all available layers, groups and sub-groups that contain that term or phrase.
Select the check box to add a layer to the map.
Alternatively, you can expand a category and select the checkbox to add the layer to the map.
If a chevron icon is visible to the right of the layer name this indicates it is a heading that contains multiple sub-layers.
Selecting the chevron icon will display the sub-layers, allowing them to be added to your map independently.
Selecting the checkbox for the heading will add all of the sub-layers to your map.
Select the back arrow (top left of the panel) to return to the Layers panel to show the active layers currently in your map.
More information for each category can be accessed by selecting the info icon.
Remove layers
To remove one or more layers from your map, open the Layers panel and select Edit layers.
Click the red icon next to all layers or groups you wish to remove.
Or select Remove all to remove all layers from the map.
Select Done to accept the changes.
The Cancel button reverts any changes made to the layers since the last time the Done button was selected.
Alternatively, layers can be removed by deselecting the checkbox in the table of contents.
View metadata
To access the metadata link for an added layer, expand the layer to view the available options and select Metadata.
This will open the relevant website in a new browser tab.
Layer visibility
| Visibility | Description |
|---|---|
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Visible option is selected, the layer is visible in the current map extent. |
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Hidden option is selected. This will turn the layer off on the map without having to remove it. |
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Visible option is selected but the layer is invisible at the current scale. |
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Sets this layer as the only visible layer. |
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Zooms in to an extent where the data is visible. This option is available for layers that are visible or hidden. |
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Displays all layers in the layer panel. |
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Lists all of the layers in the layer panel that are set as visible. |
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Lists all of the layers in the layer panel that are set as hidden. |
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Lists all of the layers in the layer panel that are active. |
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Lists all of the layers in the layer panel that are inactive. |
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List all layers that have been added via the Add My Data tool. |
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Move the point along the layer opacity slider to adjust the opacity setting. |
Turn layer labels on and off
Labels can be shown or hidden for all layers that contain labelling. This also includes layers added via the Add My Data tool, such as shape files and map or feature services.
Select the Layers button to open the layers panel.
Navigate through the list to your required layer, and click on the arrow next to it to expand the options for that layer.
For all layers except shp, csv, kml and json, select Show labels or Hide labels as needed.
For added data files (shp, csv, kml and json) first choose your display field label, then click Show display field label.
Selecting Hide display field label option will hide the labels in the map view.
The DISPLAY FIELD LABEL dropdown menu provides a list of the available fields that can be used to generate the label.
Change style
The Change style tool has the following functionality:
- Editing layer symbology: Users can edit the appearance of feature and map service layers using this tool. This includes options such as modifying fill colours, stroke (outline) colours, adjusting fill opacity, and other visual properties. This feature allows users to customize how the geographic data is displayed on the map.
- Availability varies: The availability of this option is not universal across all layers. Please check the layer details to see if this tool is available for a particular layer. If the tool is available, it can be used to adjust the layer's visual properties. If the layer does not support this tool, it will not appear as an available option.
- Retention of style settings: When users make changes to the style of a layer and then save the layer within a map, the new style settings are retained. This means that the customized appearance of the layer will be saved with the map, and these changes will be visible whenever the map is opened again.
To modify the appearance of a layer, follow these steps:
- Expand to view the layer details and select Change style.
- Adjust the symbology for the layer, as required.
- Select Reset style if you wish to revert the symbology back to the default settings.
Sort user data layer
When user data files are added, the order of these layers can be altered within the Layers panel using the Sort user data layer option. Adjusting the order of the layers will be reflected on the map.
- This option will only appear after Edit layers has been selected.
- This tool is supported for user added files only.
- Configured layers added via the Add layers or via a Topic cannot be re-arranged.
- User-added data will always appear at the top of the Layers panel.
- This feature is available on touch screen devices, but is not a supported on mobile.
To re-order layers that have been added from user-added files:
- Add the user-added data files to the map.
- Select Edit layers
- Select Sort user data layer
- When this option is selected, it will only display the layers that can be re-ordered in the Layer panel. Drag and drop the layers into the required order.
- Select Done to accept the changes.
- Alternatively, you can select Done for editing the layers and the changes will be applied.
- In this example the layer containing the line feature was moved above all others. You will notice that this will affect the display order on the map.
Layers for 2D & 3D features
When user-added data files contain a mixture of 2D and 3D features, the application now separates them into different layers. These layers are categorized based on the feature type and whether the layer contains 2D or 3D features. To distinguish between these layers, a prefix is added to the layer name, indicating the feature type. If a layer contains 3D features, the prefix may include 3D.
The elevation mode dropdown menu for user-added data file layers is selectively displayed. It appears only for layers that contain 3D features.