CanvasMap

CanvasMap is a new web mapping solution that allows you to create:

• Both static and dynamic maps
• Simple static maps or work with data in a "mini" GIS application
• Complete geospatial application support with legends, navigation, position information, and other features

Below is an example that is running in this page in an "iframe" tag.

CanvasMap has been created using the new Canvas HTML 5 element which makes is much faster and more flexible than previous solutions.

CanvasMap supports:

• Vector data as points, polylines, and polygons using standards such as GeoJSON
• Standard raster data in PNG and JPEG formats (these can be georeferenced)
• Web tile services compatible with OpenStreetMap
• Tiled vector and raster layers from BlueSpray
• Customizable point layers that can be created client side
• Customizable fills and strokes using traditional HTML styles or user-friendly dialogs
• Position information in pixels, reference (map) units, and geographic units
• Custom layers with just about any type of data you would like to display on a map
• Multiple projection systems including: geographic, Google Mercator (compatible with OpenStreetMap tiles), and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

Note that CanvasMap does not support web service calls such as Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS). This is because WMS has caused serious performance problems and been replaced by Web Tile Services such as those used by OpenStreetMap (OSM). CanvasMap does support tile formats that are much higher performance including OSM and ones generated by BlueSpray. BlueSpray is a GIS application developed by SchoonerTurtles and provides data preperation for Canvas Map. You can download BlueSpray from www.schoonerturtles.com.

CanvasMap was created for GIS professions with some web development experience in CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. CanvasMap uses GIS terminology and provides the features GIS professionals would expect. At the same time, CanvasMap is a well written and documented software application that is based on Object-Oriented Programming methods. This makes it straightforward to extend CanvasMap to include just about anything that modern web browsers will support.

The first step for most folks is the Getting Started page and then move on to the "Tutorials". Then, create your own maps and let us know where you publish them!