PRISM | GeoMapNW | ESS Spatial Data Servers

PRISM Spatial Data Servers

Using ArcIMS

Viewing ArcIMS Data with a Web Browser

If a map service fails to display in your browser, try quitting the browser completely and restarting, or just empty the browser cache:

  • Internet Explorer   Tools: Internet Options: Delete Files + Delete all offline content.
  • Safari   Safari menu: Empty Cache
  • Firefox   Tools: Options: Privacy: Cache: Clear Cache Now
  • Mozilla   Edit: Preferences: Advanced: Cache: Clear Cache

ArcIMS allows you to view dynamic maps and GIS data. The locator map in the upper left corner of the window is an overview map; the red box indicates where you are in the bigger window below. Specific layers can be made visible/invisible by checking the appropriate boxes in the Layers menu and clicking the Refresh Map button. The icons in the toolbar (upper left) are for navigation, allowing you to change the map by panning, zooming in and out incrementally, zooming out to the entire extent of all the map layers available, etc.

Using the ArcIMS Toolbar

Toggles the right column (Table of Contents) between Legend and Layer-List mode Toggles Overview Map on and off
Zoom in on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box. Zoom out on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box.
Zoom to the full extent of all the layers in the map. Zoom to the full extent of the currently active layer.
Zoom to the last extent you were viewing. Pan the map by clicking and dragging.
Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance North. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance South.
Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance West. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance East.
Identify Tool. Will present attributes of the layer that is currently marked Active in the Table of Contents. Query Tool. Query the layer that is currently marked Active in the Table of Contents for individual features based on its attributes.
Simple search for features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents based on any string found in any attribute. Measure Tool. Click at start and end points to measure distance between the two.
Set Units Tool. Use to change the distance units used in the scalebar and elsewhere. Buffer Tool. Highlights features from one layer within a chosen distance from features in another layer.
Select by Rectangle. Select features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents by clicking and dragging. Select by Line/Polygon. Select features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents by drawing a line or a polygon.
Hyperlink Tool

The IMS toolbar (usually in the upper left corner of an IMS project web page) will contain some or all of the tools below. A description of the tool appears in the status bar (bottom bar) of the browser when you hover over it, if you use Windows Internet Explorer (sorry). Windows IE also displays map coordinates and scale factors in the status bar as you hover over a map; other browsers regrettably don't seem to do this.

Toggles the right column (Table of Contents) between Legend and Layer-List mode Toggles the right column ("Table of Contents") between Legend and Layer-List modes. Toggles Overview Map on and off Toggles Overview Map (in upper-left corner) on and off.
Zoom in on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box. Zoom in on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box. Zoom out on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box. Zoom out on map. Can either just click on map, or click and drag to define a box.
Zoom to the full extent of all the layers in the map. Zoom to the full extent of all the layers in the map. Zoom to the full extent of the currently active layer. Zoom to the full extent of the currently active layer.
Zoom to the last extent you were viewing. Zoom to the last extent you were viewing. Pan the map by clicking and dragging. Pan the map by clicking and dragging.
Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance North. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance North. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance South. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance South.
Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance West. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance West. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance East. Automatically pan approximately one screen's distance East.
Identify Tool. Will present attributes of the layer that is currently marked Active in the Table of Contents. Identify Tool. Will present attributes of the layer that is currently marked "Active" in the Table of Contents. Query Tool. Query the layer that is currently marked Active in the Table of Contents for individual features based on its attributes. Query Tool. Query the layer that is currently marked "Active" in the Table of Contents for individual features based on its attributes.
Simple search for features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents based on any string found in any attribute. Find Tool. Simple search for features in the layer currently marked "Active" in the Table of Contents based on any string found in any attribute. Measure Tool. Click at start and end points to measure distance between the two. Measure Tool. Click at start and end points to measure distance between the two.
Set Units Tool. Use to change the distance units used in the scalebar and elsewhere. Set Units Tool. Use to change the distance units used in the scalebar and elsewhere. Buffer Tool. Highlights features from one layer within a chosen distance from features in another layer. Buffer Tool. Highlights features from one layer within a chosen distance from features in another layer.
Select by Rectangle. Select features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents by clicking and dragging. Select by Rectangle. Select features in the layer currently marked "Active" in the Table of Contents by clicking and dragging. Select by Line/Polygon. Select features in the layer currently marked Active in the Table of Contents by drawing a line or a polygon. Select by Line/Polygon. Select features in the layer currently marked "Active" in the Table of Contents by drawing a line or a polygon.
Clear Selection Tool. Clears selected features. Print.
Hyperlink Tool Hyperlink Tool. Click on this tool and then any data layers that have hyperlinks embedded in them will be clickable and will launch a new browser page or window.

The data layers (usually displayed in a list on the right side of the page) can be made visible/invisible by checking and unchecking the checkboxes next to the data layer in the list, and Refreshing the map. If a data layer is a vector data set, it can be queried for attributes with the Identify Tool (see toolbar description, above) if the "Active" radio button next to the data layer is selected:


If a data layer is a raster data set, the Legend/Layer List toggle button in the top left of the toolbar will display information about the raster layer in the right column: