Dorset Explorer Map

Whatever you need to find in Dorset’s landscape the interactive ‘Explorer Map’ from Dorset Council is a good place to start.

https://explorer.geowessex.com/

The Basics

Navigating the Map

Using the Mouse

  • Zoom In: Double left-click or roll the scroll-wheel forwards
  • Zoom Out: Double right-click or roll the scroll-wheel backwards
  • Pan: Click and hold the map and you can drag the map around
  • Box Zoom: Hold down the “shift” key and click and drag the mouse to draw a box. Let go and the map will zoom to that area

Keyboard Navigation

  • Pan North: “N” or Up arrow
  • Pan South: “S” or Down arrow
  • Pan East: “E” or Right arrow
  • Pan West: “W” or Left arrow
  • Zoom In: “+” or “I”
  • Zoom Out: “-” or “O”
  • Close Popup Bubble: “Esc”

Using the Navigation Tools

On the top left of the screen there are navigation tools. You can use the “+” and “-” buttons to zoom in or out or drag the slider up and down. The arrows can be used to pan in the indicated direction.

Getting Information

To query a feature (such as a Search Result or Map Layer) just click it once on the map and a popup bubble will appear with information for that feature. Simple as that!

You can also draw a polygon on to the map or create a buffer zone to search for features on the map. Simply Right Click anywhere on the map and you can choose either “Draw a Search Polygon” to activate the polygon drawing tool or “Buffer Search” to define the radius of a buffer around the point you right clicked on. Your results will appear in a popup bubble as per usual.

When you get more than one result in your popup you have the option to view the data in a Data Viewer. The Data Viewer allows you to view the data in a more traditional Table format, and also allows you to sort and export the data (subject to any terms and conditions of use). To view your data in the Data Viewer just click the small Table icon that appears next to the close button in a popup that has more than one result in.

If you find a search for a Polygon is unexpectadly returning more than one result then you may want to try the ‘Search at this exact point’ option in the Right Click menu. This does a high precision search at the exact location you clicked on the map. This does mean you need to be highly accurate and as such is not suitable for Line or Point features.

Finding Places

Most versions of the application include a search box (usually in the Header Box)

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