Introduction
CMaps is a web mapping service used to display some of the geographic information held by Colchester Borough Council. The mapping used in CMaps cannot be used in the submission of planning applications; nor should the mapping be screen-captured and used elsewhere. This guide aims to highlight the main features of CMaps.
Username: CBC
Password: cmaps
Searching for an Address
To search for an address within Colchester simply enter part of the address in the text box. The results are returned dynamically underneath as you type:
Using the Map Legend
The Map Legend can be accessed by clicking on the following icon from the top right corner of the map window:
Layers of different mapping can be made visible/invisible in the map legend using the checkbox next to the layer name. The layers available in the map legend will differ from map to map depending on their intended use:
The Map Window
Items that are visible in the map legend can be viewed in the map window on the left-hand side of the screen. Clicking on an item will return the detailed held information at that point. Note: Data will be returned for all the layers which are currently switched on. If you only want to view data for one particular layer make sure all other layers are un-ticked:
There are two types of underlying mapping available; these can be switched on/off using the Base and Aerial drop-down menu near the top corner of the Map Legend:
The base contains a contextual mapping from the Ordnance Survey; these maps are zoom layered and change depending on what level of zoom the map is currently at. Aerial contains borough-wide aerial photography. You can also use the zoom features in the bottom left corner of the map in order to see the map at various levels of detail:
There are twenty available zoom levels; level 1 is small scale / borough-level mapping and level 20 is large scale/building level mapping. You can also right-click with your mouse in the map window to zoom in and out of the map.
Creating Queries, Annotations & Polygons
The new interface for CMaps removes the old toolbar which was where the previous annotations and tools could be accessed. Now, if you wish to draw a polygon, make an annotation or write a custom query/thematic map then you can access all these functions via the Create menu on the Map Legend over on the left-hand side.
For additional information on how to use each of these tools in detail, please see the full user guide below.