Mapping in Ecobot Manager

Maps in Ecobot Manager let you set up your survey area before field work, review everything your team mapped in Ecobot Collector, build map views with exactly the layers you need, and export print-ready maps as a PDF or PNG. This article covers mapping in Manager. For mapping in the field, see Mapping in Collector.

Maps is in beta: you'll see a BETA tag next to Maps in the survey's sidebar while we add features.

How mapping fits into your survey

1. Before field work: import one or more survey boundaries in Manager, so your crew has the survey area on their phones.
2. In the field: your team maps polygons, lines and points in Collector and syncs them to the survey.
3. Back in the office: open Maps in Manager to review what was mapped, build map views, and export a PDF or PNG.

Survey data and map views

• Survey boundaries, survey features and sample points belong to the survey. They appear on every map you make for the survey, and on every phone that pulls the survey in Collector.
• Map views are saved views. Each map saves its own choice of visible points, polygons, lines, reference layers, basemap and display settings. You can make as many maps as you need for one survey without changing the survey's data.

Import a survey boundary

A boundary gives your field crew the survey area in Collector, and frames every map you build later.

1. Open the survey in Manager. On the Overview tab, scroll down to Spatial coverage.
2. Select Import survey boundary.
3. Choose a file, or drag and drop it onto the upload area.

Accepted files: a zipped shapefile, KML, KMZ, GeoJSON, Esri JSON or a zipped file geodatabase, up to 25 MB.

Spatial coverage counts the survey's boundaries, polygon features, line features and points of interest. It lists each boundary with its acreage, who imported it and when. To rename a boundary, select the ⋮ menu next to it. To go to the survey's maps, select View on maps.

You can import more than one boundary to a survey, such as a parcel boundary and a separate study area. Each one shows on every map of the survey as a Survey Boundary. You can also import a boundary from a map: select the Boundaries icon in the left toolbar, then Import boundary.

Open the survey's maps

1. Open the survey in Manager.
2. In the survey's sidebar, select Maps. The number next to it is how many maps the survey has.

3. Select a map to open it, or select New Map to make one.

Each map saves its own layers, basemap and display settings, so it's often easier to build several focused maps than to fit everything into one. For example, make a map of just photos, one of just survey features, or, for a large site, several maps zoomed in on different parts so each is shown at a readable scale.

Build your map view

The Layers panel on the right of the map decides what shows. Each group shows how many of its items are on, for example 2 / 7. To fold a group away or open it again, select the arrow next to its name. To hide or show the whole panel, select the icon at its top right.

To jump to a place, type an address or coordinates in the search box at the top left of the map.

Points, polygons and lines

• Points: turn each point type on or off, such as Wetland Points, Upland Points and Photos. To show only favorite photos, select the star next to Photos.
• Polygons: turn each polygon type mapped on the survey on or off, and the Survey Boundary.
• Lines: turn each line type mapped on the survey on or off.

Only the polygon and line types mapped on this survey are listed.

Map layers and basemap

Under Map layers, turn on any of the ten reference layers: NWI Wetlands, NRCS Soils, Section, Township, Range, MLRA/LRR, HUC8, USACE Districts, States, Counties, Cities and Mitigation Banks.

Under Basemap, choose Satellite (aerial imagery), Streets (a road map) or Outdoors (topographic). Turn on 3D to show terrain relief and buildings, where the basemap has them.

Labels and print preview

• Feature labels: show names on points, lines and areas.
• Photo labels: show photo titles, or the name of the point a photo belongs to.
• Print render: turn the map gray with black outlines, to preview how it will look printed in black and white.

Move around the map

To zoom, use the + and − buttons at the top right, or scroll. To turn the map north-up again, select the compass. The scale bar at the bottom left changes as you zoom.

Measure a distance or area

1. Select the Measurement icon in the left toolbar.
2. Select Distance or Area.
3. Click the map to place points. You need at least two; double-click to finish.

To remove your measurements, select Clear Measurements.

Review and add survey features

When your team syncs from Collector, their polygons, lines and points show up in Manager automatically. You can also add features in Manager.

Select the Survey Features icon in the left toolbar. The panel lists the survey's polygons, lines and points of interest. To add one:

1. At the bottom of the panel, select Add polygon, Add line or Add point.
2. Choose a type.
   • Polygons: Wetland, Water Body, Upland, Impact Area, Managed Area, Buffer
   • Lines: Wetland Boundary, Watercourse, Bank Line, Corridor, Erosion Control, Transect, Property Line, Other
   • Points: Flag, Monitoring Station, Vegetation Plot, Structure, Observation, Other
3. Select Draw Polygon, Draw Line or Draw Point, then click the map to place each vertex or the point.

Survey features belong to the survey, so anything you add in Manager reaches your team's phones the next time they pull the survey in Collector.

Name and save the map

1. To rename the map, select its title at the top of the screen. New maps start as Untitled Map.
2. Choose what the map shows when it opens, from the menu next to Save:
   • Frame all content: fits the map to every point, photo and feature each time it opens, so data synced later still shows.
   • The view I'm looking at now: saves the current view, and the map always reopens there.
3. Select Save. The status next to it changes to Saved.

Every saved map is listed on the survey's Maps page, with a preview, the date it was last changed and who changed it.

Tip: because layers and basemap are saved with each map, you can keep several views of one survey. For example, a Soils map with NRCS Soils on the Streets basemap, a Site overview on Satellite with only survey features, and a Photos map with photo labels on.

Export a PDF or PNG

The export shows whatever is turned on in the Layers panel, so set up your view first.

1. Select the Print / Export icon in the left toolbar. The Export map window opens, with a preview on the left and settings on the right.
2. Under Sheet, choose the paper Size (for example, Tabloid, 17 × 11 in) and Landscape or Portrait.
3. Under Framing, choose a Scale (for example, 1 in = 200 ft), or select Fit to features to frame everything on the survey. Below, Manager shows the ground area the sheet covers and the ratio scale.
4. Under Elements, turn the Legend, North arrow, Scale bar and Title block on or off.
5. Under Title block, change any field. Title starts as the map's name, Project as the survey's name, and Drawn by as your company's name. There's also Date and Datum.
6. Under Output, choose PDF or PNG, Colour or Black & white, and a Resolution such as 300 DPI.
7. Check the preview, then select Export PDF (or Export PNG). The file's name is shown at the bottom left of the window.

Delete a map

On the survey's Maps page, select the trash icon under a map. This deletes only that saved view: your survey boundaries, survey features and points aren't affected.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import a boundary after field work has started?
Yes, at any time. Your team sees it the next time they sync the survey in Collector.

Does deleting a map delete features my team mapped?
No. Survey features and boundaries belong to the survey, not to a map.

What's the difference between a Survey Boundary and a Property Line?
A Survey Boundary is an imported file that marks out the survey area. A Property Line is a line feature, drawn in Manager or mapped in the field like any other.

Can I export in black and white?
Yes. In the Export map window, set the render to Black & white. To preview it first, turn on Print render in the Layers panel.

Why isn't a polygon or line type in the Layers panel?
The Polygons and Lines groups only list types mapped on this survey. Add or sync a feature of that type and it appears.