Obtaining Basemaps for Use with pointMapper
The first resource is our map catalog, to which we often add new maps.
You can also use swfs or jpegs from other sources as pointMapper maps. For ideas on where to find or make maps, see map sources.
Obtaining Geographic Coordinates for Points of Interest
pointMapper requires geographic locations be specified in decimal degrees of latitude and longitude (or screen coordinates are allowed for non-georeferenced maps and images). If you're working in an area local to you and have a GPS, you're set. Or, you may be able to get the coordinates you need from one of our georeferenced maps-- select the map from the map catalog and use the Locate control in the toolbar. Otherwise, here are some useful websites:- geocoder.us Free (open source) geocoder for any address in the US based on TIGER (US Census Bureau) data. Results are in decimal degrees.
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Place Names Geocodes places names throughout the world. Results are in decimal degrees.
- GNIS, Geographic Names Information System A comprehensive database of place names in the US and its territories and Antarctica, maintained by the USGS. Coordinates are returned in degree minutes seconds and must be converted to decimal degrees.
- Maporama Place names in many countries are available, as well as some address-level geocoding. Results are in decimal degrees.
- MultiMap Place names in many countries are available, as well as some address-level geocoding. Results are in decimal degrees as well as degree minutes seconds.
- NIMA, Geographic Names Server A comprehensive database of world place names, excluding the US. Coordinates are returned in degree minutes seconds and must be converted to decimal degrees.
- TravelGIS.com, Free Geocoding Service An address-level geocoding service for 18 countries. Results are in decimal degrees.
- US Gazetter Geocoding for US place names or zip codes only. Results are in decimal degrees.
- www.geocode.com TeleAtlas' geocoding service. This is not free, but you can try it for free. It's easy to do batch processing of addresses using TeleAtlas.
- DMS to DD Convertor Degree minutes seconds to decimal degree conversion.
GIS professionals are great candidates for pointMapper users! Certainly there are packages available for serving GIS data over the internet, which may interface smoothly with desktop GIS software. But the technology is usually expensive, difficult to set up, and often provides a less-than-ideal experience for the user. The most annoying aspect of the user experience is the slow-as-molasses charcter of GIS presentations. pointMapper provides a lightweight, inexpensive and flexible alternative for some kinds of GIS presentation. And GIS users have the wherewithall to make their own basemaps and generate their own point data sets.
On Windows, pointMapper works on all of the major browsers (IE 6, Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, Opera); on Mac, it works on Firefox, Safari, Netscape, and Camino; on Linux on Mozilla and Firefox.
Using pointMapper with Non-geographic "Maps"
A pointMapper "basemap" can be any .swf or non-progressive jpeg image. Let your imagination rule. You may want to georeference some of these images (abstract maps?), but most likely canvas coordinates will be used with the pointMapper API.
Despite its name, pointMapper can draw lines too, allowing, for example, gps tracks to be displayed. See the API documentation.