Author: ecls

ShareGeo for Sharing Data

ecls/ / Digimap News

Have you created geospatial data for your research project or teaching module?
If so, why not put it in ShareGeo and share it with other Digimap users?

ShareGeo is a facility in Digimap where users can share and re-use geospatial data, whether they have been derived from exiting Digimap data or created entirely from scratch.

Why should I put my data in ShareGeo?

  • increase the visibility of your research
  • share datasets easily with colleagues and peers
  • create a record of your data with simple metadata
  • manage your data for future use

Also, you will:

  • find datasets you may be interested in
  • save time by re-using existing data that others have created

What’s new in ShareGeo?

New datasets available in ShareGeo include: UK Digital Terrain Model (DEM), UK National Parks boundaries, Government Office Regions, Strategic Health Authority boundaries and many others.

A full list of all datasets in ShareGeo can be found here.

How do I access ShareGeo?

ShareGeo can be accessed by logging in to Digimap and following the link on the Collections page to ShareGeo. http://edina.ac.uk/digimap/

More information about ShareGeo can be found at: http://edina.ac.uk/projects/sharegeo/index.shtml

Let us know what you think about ShareGeo by sending an email to: mailto:edina@ed.ac.uk?subject=ShareGeo

Forthcoming changes to Digimap

ecls/ / Digimap News, New Features

The current version of Digimap’s Classic facility (available through the Ordnance Survey Collection) is currently undergoing both a facelift and some reconstruction work!

Later this year we will be introducing “slippy” maps (drag the map with your mouse to move it around) and some new ways of saving your maps and producing printed copies. The new facility will offer the same maps and the same functions as those currently available but will be easier and more intuitive to use. Everyday use of online mapping technology has grown dramatically since the current version of Classic was released. Users’ familiarity with online mapping has increased and there are now common expectations of how map services online should work. The current re-engineering aims to accommodate these changes and build a service which meets those expectations.

Although this is still work in progress, below is a sneak preview of how the new version might look.

EDINA will operate both new and existing versions of this facility in parallel to ensure that a smooth transition is made between them. If you have teaching materials or help pages which are currently based on the existing version, there will be plenty of time to update them before the existing version of Classic is withdrawn.

Survey for Support Staff

ecls/ / Consultations

EDINA is undertaking a survey to understand more about support for online geospatial resources, spatial data, GIS and related software. We would like to learn more about what support and training is currently available, what is useful and what might be provided to improve the support available.

If you have any kind of support role with respect to spatial data, GIS, CAD or geospatial resources we would be grateful if you would complete the following survey and would pass it on to others who are also involved in supporting users of all things geospatial.

The survey link is here: http://tinyurl.com/geosupportsurvey

The survey will remain open and available until TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2009.

This is NOT a service-specific survey, so anyone involved in supporting users of geospatial data and resources has something valuable to contribute. Please pass it on. Gathering feedback is a challenging task, so your efforts to complete these questions is very much appreciated.

The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete and the majority of questions are multiple choice checkboxes. There will be a prize draw for four £25 Amazon vouchers. Please enter your name and email address at the end of the survey if you wish to be entered into the draw.

Many thanks for your time.

What do you know about postcodes?

ecls/ / Of Interest

There is a lot to know about UK postcodes! Here are some interesting key facts:

  • There are around 2 million postcodes in the UK, covering something like 29 million addresses.
  • A postcode is made up of four constituent parts. Take the postcode EH9 1PR as an example:
    • The postcode Area is indicated by the initial one or two letters: EH
    • The post District is indicated by the one or two numbers following the Area: EH9
    • The postcode Sector is indicated by the number after the District: EH9 1
    • The postcode Unit is indicated by the full postcode: EH9 1PR
  • Some buildings can contain delivery addresses with different postcodes. High-rise residential buildings are a good example of these. As far as the Code-Point dataset is concerned these are called Vertical Streets, and their boundaries are recorded as regular squares. These are clearly visible when the postcode boundaries are mapped.
  • Usually postcodes cover around 15 delivery addresses, although this isn’t a hard and fast rule.
  • Some postcodes apply to only one address or building. Ordnance Survey’s postcode is SO16 4GU. Buckingham Palace also has it’s own postcode, SW1A 1AA, and 10 Downing Street’s postcode is SW1A 2AA. The House of Commons is SW1A 0AA
  • Postcode unit boundaries (which form the OS Code-Point Polygons dataset) are mathematically calculated around a centroid and are not based on physical boundaries visible on the ground. This centroid is calculated using the coordinates for the delivery points in each postcode. These are not necessarily the precise geographic coordinats of the letterbox in your front door!
  • The Code-Point dataset offered through Digimap provides much more information than just the postcode and the coordinates of it’s centroid. Additional information includes the NHS Region code, Ward name, how many delivery addresses are in that postcode, how many of those are domestic or business delivery points. The range of information given is different for Scotland from England and Wales.
  • These enable you to link additional information to the postcode if it is already associated with a code common to the postcode dataset e.g. you can identify which postcodes are associated with data you have collected using Ward codes.
  • You can use Digimap’s Postcode Query facility (in the Ordnance Survey Collection) to look up the additional information about a particular postcode.
  • You can use Digimap’s Boundary Download facility to download the Code-Point data and the associated polygons.

Reminder: Service Maintenance 26 May

ecls/ / Service Availability

This is a reminder that all Digimap Collections will be unavailable between 17.30 and 20.00 hours on Tuesday 26 May. This is for essential service maintenance.

A further reminder: if you register for Digimap after 5 pm tonight, Monday 25 May, your registration will not be processed until the night of Wednesday 27 May.

Digimap and Licence Numbers

ecls/ / Digimap News

I’ve been asked to provide my institution’s “Digimap Licence Number”. Where do I find this?

There is no such thing as a “Digimap Licence Number”. If you need a specific licence number, we would suggest the OS Educational Copyright Licence number is the most appropriate one to use.

This licence is arranged directly between the institution and Ordnance Survey and therefore doesn’t relate to Digimap specifically. Institutions can hold an OS Educational Copyright Licence without having a subscription to Digimap, although the licence is required in order to take out a subscription to Digimap.

A copy of the licence (on which you will find the licence number) is held by your institution and the licence number is submitted with your institution’s Digimap subscription forms, which are sent to JISC Collection’s subscription agent. Ordnance Survey will also have a record of it.

Service maintenance – registration delay

ecls/ / Access, Service Availability

EDINA is undertaking some service maintenance on Tuesday 26 May, as previously advertised.

If you are registering for Digimap between 5pm on Monday 25 May and 9am on Wednesday 27 May 2009, your registration will not be processed until the evening of Wednesday 27 May 2009.

This means you will not be able to access Digimap until the morning of 28 May 2009. Applications received on Wednesday 27 May will be processed as usual that night.

EDINA is undertaking significant work on the databases underlying Digimap, and as a result, registration applications will be collected but not processed while this work takes place.

Reminder: Digimap Training in June

ecls/ / Training & Events

EDINA would like to remind you that booking is now open and there are spaces available on the following Digimap training courses, which are open to staff members in UK higher and further education institutions:

  • Digimap Essentials 4 June 2009, Bilborough College, Nottingham
  • Digimap Collections Training 9-11 June 2009, Exeter University

You will find more details of course content and booking forms on EDINA’s Training and Events page. If you are uncertain about the relevance of a course for your needs, please contact EDINA for advice at edina-training@ed.ac.uk.

All EDINA training courses are free of charge and lunch is provided. Regretfully, however, we will charge £25.00 for each day of absence from a course without giving us advance notice.

Supporting you remotely

ecls/ / Training & Events

EDINA’s User Support team has recently delivered some short online workshops about elements of various EDINA services, including Digimap, using a web conferencing service called Instant Presenter. In order to join in with online training, you just need a web browser and a set of headphones.

We plan to develop a fuller programme of such online workshops in the next academic year. Although our initial aim is to deliver these workshops to staff in order to allow them to support users, in time we may open the workshops to students too. You can subscribe to our Training and Events feed so you can be the first to know about forthcoming training dates.

We would really like to hear from you about your requirements. Are there particular elements of our services on which you need more information? Do you have any particular topics of interest?

Ad-hoc online workshops can also be arranged at a time that suits you, so if you need support, please ask! You can contact us via the EDINA Helpdesk or you can call our Training Officer, Vivienne Carr, on 0131 651 1852.

Updated Digimap Training Materials

ecls/ / Training & Events

We have recently updated all the training materials available via the Site Representative Support Area within Digimap’s Ordnance Survey Collection. To access these materials, log in to Digimap’s Ordnance Survey Collection and click on the the Site Representative Support Area link in the left menu panel. Once in the Site Representative Support Area use the index on the left to click first on the Training Materials item, then the Download Materials item.

You are free to take any of the documents to either brush up your own Digimap knowledge and skills or to pass these on to others. Materials can also be downloaded from the EDINA website without logging in to Digimap.

As always Site Representatives are encouraged to use these training materials to run their own local courses on Digimap, both for other staff and for students.

For details of scheduled courses run by EDINA, please visit our Training and Events page. Details of our new online training sessions are also available from here.