Map Workspace

The Map Workspace is the full-screen spatial hub in TerraSitu. Access it from the main navigation under Map. Unlike the map tab on individual project, site, or survey detail pages, the workspace gives you a single environment to work across all your spatial data — switch context, manage layers, digitize features, run spatial operations, and export map figures without leaving the map.

Context bar

The context bar at the top of the workspace lets you scope the map to a specific project, site, or survey. Selecting a context filters all data shown — GIS layers, observations, sampling units, and boundaries — to match your selection.

• No context — all sites and layers across your organisation are visible
• Project selected — shows all sites and their associated GIS layers for that project
• Site selected — shows the site boundary, imported GIS layers, and all surveys at that site
• Survey selected — shows the survey boundary, associated GIS layers, observations, and sampling units

Layer panel

The layer panel on the left lists all spatial content for the current context:

• Site boundary — the outer boundary of the site
• GIS layers — imported spatial data and digitized layers
• Reference layers — government datasets such as vegetation maps, cadastre, or protected areas
• Observations — field observations plotted by GPS coordinates
• Sampling units — structured grid or transect stops for the active survey

Toggle visibility with the eye icon. Drag layers to reorder their render order on the map. Click the paintbrush icon to open the style editor for a layer.

Layer panel controls

Zoom to layer

In the layer TOC, hover over a GIS layer to reveal the action icons. Click the fit/zoom icon (two arrows) next to a layer to fly the map to that layer's geographic extent. This works for any imported or digitized GIS layer that has features.

Opacity control

Hover over a GIS layer in the TOC to reveal the opacity slider below the layer row. Drag the slider left to make the layer more transparent, or right to make it fully opaque. The percentage value is shown on the left. Adjusting opacity does not hide the layer — it overlays it transparently so you can see what is beneath.

Digitizing features

Use the drawing toolbar in the top-right to draw new features directly on the map:

• Point — place a point of interest
• Line — draw a linear feature (track, fence line, drainage channel)
• Polygon — draw an area boundary (habitat patch, exclusion zone)

Digitized features are saved as a new GIS layer attached to the current survey or site. You can name the layer after saving. Digitized layers appear in the layer panel with source shown as "(digitized)" to distinguish them from imported files.

Undo while digitizing

While drawing a line or polygon, click the Undo button in the digitize panel to remove the last placed vertex and continue drawing from the previous point. Press Escape to cancel the entire shape and discard all vertices for the current feature.

Spatial operations

Click the spatial operations button (sigma icon) to create derived layers by processing existing ones:

• Buffer — expand features outward by a set distance
• Clip — trim one layer to the boundary of another
• Merge — combine features from multiple layers into one

See Running Spatial Operations on GIS Layers for detailed guidance.

Importing GIS data

Click Import Layer in the layer panel to upload a Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, or GML file. See Importing GIS data for supported formats, clip options, and coordinate system requirements.

Reference layers

Click Add Reference Layer to browse the catalogue of government-published spatial datasets available for your region — cadastre, protected areas, vegetation maps, and more. See Adding government reference layers.

Measurement tools

Use the measurement toolbar to calculate distances, areas, and bearings on the map without saving a layer. See Measuring distances, areas, and bearings.

Attribute panel

Resize the attribute panel

Drag the resize handle (the thin bar at the top of the bottom panel) up or down to adjust the panel height. The panel can be resized between a minimum of 128 px and up to 60% of the screen height. Release the mouse to lock the height in place.

QA review and observation linking

Jump to observation from QA

In the QA review panel, each observation that has GPS coordinates shows a View on Map link. Click it to open the Map Workspace, automatically fly to that observation's location, and open its feature info popup — all without leaving your review workflow.

Observation deep link

The Map Workspace accepts an observationId URL parameter. Navigate to /map?surveyId=X&observationId=Y to fly directly to an observation and open its popup. This link is included in the QA panel and can be shared with team members.

Observation filtering

Open the filter panel (funnel icon) to show or hide observations by:

• Discipline — ecology, archaeology, heritage, or other configured disciplines
• Date range — filter by when observations were collected
• Status — pending QA, approved, or flagged for re-survey
• Recorded by — show observations from a specific field researcher

Exporting map figures

Click Export to generate a print-ready PNG or PDF map figure for reports or permit applications. See Exporting Map Figures.

Related Articles

• Importing GIS data — Uploading spatial reference layers
• Editing and filtering GIS layers — Trimming and filtering imported layers
• Running Spatial Operations on GIS Layers — Buffers, clips, and merges
• Styling GIS Layers — Colours, labels, and classification
• Exporting Map Figures — Print-ready map output