How to use the 'select' interaction type

This article is for Citizen Space Geospatial. Please speak to your customer success manager if you are interested in learning more about it.

After you have added a question to a mapping page, you can choose from a number of ways for your respondents to interact with the map.

'Select an option from the map' allows you to provide a set number of options on the map for your respondents to choose from. Their choice is then stored as response data in Citizen Space.

The options that can be selected from can be:

  • points
  • shapes (polygons) or
  • lines.

Tip: It might be useful to think of this type of interaction as a multiple choice radio button component, but with the answer options presented visually on a map, instead of in a list.

How to add this interaction

Add your question, then:

1) Choose 'Select an option from the map' from the interaction type dropdown list, then 'Add map component'.

2) Add a suitable reporting field heading, then 'Add component'.

Once you have chosen the 'Select an option from the map' component, you will see guidance on the page showing the steps you need to take to set up the component (steps 3, 4 and 5 below).

Note: with the 'select' answer component, you cannot combine uploaded and drawn layers to create the answer options, you can only have one or the other.

3) Upload or draw your layer:

Uploaded layers should be in a GeoJSON or Shapefile format. These layers will have a layer name already, and are likely to have attributes already included in the file that can be chosen as answer attributes. 

Drawn layers will not have a layer name or attributes already included, you will need to add those manually when you select 'Draw layer'. 

Once the layer has been drawn, you will need to 'Edit attributes' to add at least one attribute, and then 'Edit attribute features' to add feature values to the attributes. This is so that your drawn layer will have at least one value to be selected as the 'Answer attribute' from the dropdown list.

4) Once you have uploaded or drawn your layer, you need to choose an 'Answer attribute' from the dropdown list.

The answer attribute that you choose will be the value saved in Citizen Space when your respondent interacts with the map (for example if your layer includes 'ward' as an attribute, your respondents' choice on the map will be saved as a ward name).

If you select the 'Show all answer options' link you will see a list of the available answer options for the answer attribute that has been chosen from the dropdown list.

Note: Think carefully about which answer attribute you choose, because we strongly recommend you don't change this after the activity has been published and has received responses.

5) Now select 'Edit attributes' to decide which attributes you would like to be visible on the map when the user selects the option.

All attributes default to 'Don't show', but we recommend that you show the Attribute that you have chosen as the Answer attribute as a minimum, and then any others that your users might find useful.

6) Preview (and test if possible). 

Previewing is always important, and any testing that can be done in advance of publishing is always beneficial. Testing is vital if you have uploaded a layer with  a large number of options as this may affect usability, (you should consider how easily your respondents can find the option they wish to select in amongst a high number of potential options).

How to export a selectable layer

You can export a selectable layer from Citizen Space. This is particularly useful if you've either drawn a layer from scratch, or uploaded an existing layer of data but then tweaked it in Citizen Space, and would like to be able to re-use the layer in other activities.

To export a selectable layer:

  1. Select the relevant mapping question from the left hand menu.
  2. Select the Edit component link on the mapping component.
  3. Select the Download link, which can be found directly underneath the map on the right-hand side if a selectable layer has been set.

The layer will download as a GeoJSON file which can then be re-uploaded to other Citizen Space activities or to a separate GIS system.