Adding and configuring map layers

Layers are a great way of showing additional information and giving more context to help better inform respondents.

Once you have added a mapping page you get an additional mapping page sub-navigation on the left hand navigation. Select Configure map layers to set and select the layers you want visible on your map. 

In this article we’ll be going through the below steps to help you add and configure map layers:

Step 1 - Add a new layer 

There are two ways to add a new layer, by uploading a file or by drawing a layer.

Drawing a new layer

• To add a new layer select the Draw new layer button
• Give your layer a name - this will be used as the key label for the layer
• Chose what type of feature you'd like to draw: points, lines or polygons
• Draw your layer on the map - you can add as many features as you like
• Select the Save changes button
• Your layer will now appear in the stack below the map preview, ready to customise

Uploading a new layer

• To add a new layer select the Upload new layer button
• Select the Choose File button
• Choose the GeoJSON file or Shapefile you'd like to upload from your computer
• Select the Add new layer button
• Your layer will now appear in the stack below the map preview, ready to customise

Considerations for uploads

• There is a limit of 50,000 points/vertices per layer - layers more complex than this will not be imported
• Any layer with over 10,000 points will automatically be hidden by default to improve performance, although you can change this
• Shapefiles may include more than one layer, all of which will be added when the shapefile is imported
• Shapefiles can use use the WGS84 (EPSG:4326), British National Grid (EPSG:27700) or Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG:2157) coordinate systems - if no projection is specified, WGS84 is assumed
• GeoJSON files will always be assumed to use WGS84 (EPSG:4326)

Step 2 - Customise your new layer

Once you've added a new layer you can change the way it appears on the map and in the key.

• Find the new layer in the stack (it will be at the top with the Key label: New Layer)
• Update the Key Label to change how the layer will be named in the map key
• Chose the Colour of the layer from the dropdown
  • Note: Colour is the only styling option you can set for layers that have points as the letters are automatically assigned alphabetically based on the order of the layers in your key
• If the layer contains polygons, you can choose the Fill (no fill, semi-transparent, solid colour, diagonal, mesh, grid, plus, dots)
  • Note: This will have no effect on layers that only have lines or points
• If the layer contains lines, you can choose the Line style (solid, dashed long, dashed medium, dashed short, dashed very short, dotted)
  • Note: This will have no effect on layers that only have points
• If the layer contains polygons or lines, you can choose the Line thickness (thin, medium or thick)
  • Note: This will have no effect on layers that only have points
• Decide if you want the layer to be visible or hidden by default when the map first loads
  • This is useful if you want to have layers available to provide optional context for those that need them, but don't want to have too complex a map for the majority of respondents
• Decide if you would like any attributes to show on the map. (See Using layer attributes to add labels to your map)

Step 3 - Add additional layers

• To add additional new layers select the Upload new layer button
• Repeat Step 2 to customise your new layers

Step 4 - Customise the Key

• Manage where the different layers appear in the key by using the 'Move up' and 'Move down' arrows on the right hand side. This will also affect which layer is shown on top when they overlap on the map.