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In this video we will show you how to add layers from an external Web Mapping Service
(also known as “WMS”) into MapInfo Stratus.
A WMS server uses an open standard protocol for serving map images over the Internet.
It was developed by the open geospatial consortium (OGC) and adopted by the International
Standards Organization (ISO). A wide variety of data can be accessed by WMS services which
are typically made available by Governments and other organizations.
You can add and mix WMS layers with layers that you may have uploaded previously. However in
this example we will create a new Map Configuration which includes only WMS layers.
In the Admin Console, on the Map Configs tab, click New to create a new map configuration. Name
it “WMS Test Map.”
A new map configuration is created and by default the Bing maps are included as base maps.
Next, click Add WMS Map. The Add WMS Maps dialog box displays. The dialog box has
two steps. The first step is to specify the URL for the WMS server and choose the
authentication type. The second step is to choose the layers you want.
We will begin by entering the WMS URL. In this case we are browsing to a WMS service hosted
by the UK Mapping Agency, the Ordnance Survey. The one you are using may be different.
Because this is a secured WMS, we need to enter our credentials to access it.
There are two types of authentication supported by most WMS servers. For this WMS we
need to choose Basic Authentication. Some WMS services require the credentials
to be passed directly in the URL. For those you would choose Query Parameters Inline as the
authentication type.
Enter the user name and password for your WMS, if required. Then click Open.
This will take you to the second step in the dialog box. You have securely accessed the WMS
and are able to read its information. This information includes a list of the available
layers, the supported projections and the geographic extents of the layers.
This particular WMS server includes a wide range of UK data including the national map base,
known as Mastermap, and several more general maps. We will choose maps at a number of
different scales and from a number of different categories. This WMS is designed to
automatically show the appropriate maps at each scale depending on the zoom level in
Stratus. You can select more than one layer at a time by clicking on the ones you want.
If you select a layer by mistake, you can click on it again to deselect it. Once you
have selected all the layers you want, click Add.
With the Add as a base map check box selected, we are adding these WMS layers as a Base map.
The only projection supported by the layers we have selected is EPSG:27700.
We will give the WMS map a name and then click Add to Map to add it to the map configuration.
Because base maps in different projections cannot be added to the same map configuration at
the same time, a message box opens asking you to confirm whether you wish to replace the
existing base maps. We wish to use the UK map as a base so we will click Yes to replace the
existing Bing Maps base layers.
The WMS map is added.
On the Settings tab you can see that the projection and bounds of the map configuration have
been populated automatically from the information obtained from the WMS.
Since we have added a new map, we will save the map configuration. Then we can open
it in Stratus.
The map is opened in Stratus.
We can change the zoom to see the different map layers. If we zoom out, you can see more of
the UK.
If we zoom in to London, you can see different map layers appear.
As we zoom in even further, the UK Mastermap data is visible.
Now we will go back to the Admin Console and add a second WMS layer from a different server.
This time we are accessing a WMS hosted by the British Geological Survey. This is a public WMS
and does not need any authentication.
This WMS includes sample ground stability data for two regions in the UK. We will pick the
layers from the Loughborough region. As before, you can select more than one layer by
clicking on each one. Then click Add when all of the required layers are selected.
This time we’re going to add the map as an overlay and unselect the Add as a base map check box.
Notice that the Get Feature Info option (which shows information in the Stratus call out) and the
Get Legend Graphic option (which returns the legend image for the WMS) become enabled and
selected. We will leave them selected. Some WMS servers may not support these options, and
the check boxes may remain greyed out.
This WMS supports a wide range of projections but as we are using EPSG:27700 for the base
map we will need to ensure that the same projection is used here.
We will give the WMS a name and click Add to Map and add it to the map configuration.
Then we will set the transparency to 30% so that we can still partially see the base
map through the overlay.
And finally we need to save the Map configuration and then refresh Stratus to see the
changes.
If we zoom out and pan the map we can see the Loughborough area has the WMS layer.
The legend also has all of the information for the chosen WMS layers, since we had selected
Get Legend Graphic earlier.
If we zoom in to the new layer and click on the map, you can see the call out appears with
the feature information from the WMS. This is because we selected Get Feature Info
earlier.