Michigan Imagery Solution (MIS) &
Michigan Statewide Authoritative Imagery and Lidar (MiSAIL)
MIS Hosted by Michigan State University - RS&GIS – through
MI Center for Shared Solutions (CSS)
Introduction: The MIS server allows State of Michigan employees to view ortho-photography
(aerial imagery) on the web or through WMS compatible software like GIS.
Contents –
Do this first… Set up MIS Account! Also see Method 1 instructions below.
MiSAIL
General Imagery Notes
View MIS Imagery on the Website
Import MIS Imagery into TransCAD
Import Google Imagery into Maptitude/TransCAD
Stream MIS Imagery into ESRI Software
How to Subscribe to the MICH_IMAGERY Listserv
MIS Imagery Servers paths
Arc Bing Layer
Contacts
ArcExplorer
The N US 31/W Sternberg Ramp in MGF v9 with a backdrop of Muskegon County 2008 6”
Map of best available hi-res aerial imagery by year flown.
Michigan Statewide Authoritative Imagery and LiDAR (MiSAIL)
The 2013 – 2015(+ optional 2 year extension) Imagery Contract with Sanborn has been secured.
In addition to imagery, the contract also includes Lidar. The Sanborne contract is known as the
Michigan Statewide Authoritive Imagery and Lidar (MiSAIL) program. Authoritative is meant to
convey that we know all about the imagery, its date, accuracy and have full access to the original
data for further analysis.
Muskegon County partnered with MiSAIL for LiDAR collection, currently, MIS does not have a
method for serving out LiDAR.
For any MIS/Imagery/LiDAR questions including contractor specifications for imagery and
LiDAR or to request a county preference for MDOT purposes, contact Mike Toth, MDOT
[email protected] , (517) 335-2932 or Everett Root, CSS, [email protected], (517) 3357180.
General: The imagery can be viewed on the MIS website or through GIS software. With Hiresolution imagery (smaller pixel size), more detail can be seen and Bing imagery has a
horizontal positional tolerance spec of +/- 2 meters, MiSAIL +/- 1 meter. Base NAPP/NAIP
imagery of 1 m resolution color leaf-on is available for the entire state in 1998, 2005, 2009 and
2010 and has less positional accuracy. The “Best Available” is a mosaic of the most recent hi-res
available.
Directions: Alternate Methods available at MDOT to view MIS data.
Method 1: Setting up your MIS account and viewing the imagery on the Web.
1. With your internet browser go to http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/mis
2. The first time you will need to click on “Create New Account”. Follow the directions.
When creating your password, be sure to include ALL the following, letter, number and
special character (*#?!).
3. You will need to reply to the sent email to activate your MIS account.
4. To view the imagery in GIS software, go to the specific software directions below.
5. To view the MIS imagery on the web, click back to the above site and login.
6. Click on “Imagery Catalog” ~ Check out what’s Available.
7. This default to the imagery is a seamless statewide image, the “Best Available Mosaic” is
a great one to start out with. If you want to see a specific county and what years and types
are available, click on the “County” tab at the top.
8. Select the county you want from the dropdown and the available imagery will update
below.
Method 2: To view imagery in TransCAD
1. Complete steps 1-3 above first to create your MIS account.
2. Make sure you have TransCAD Ver 6.0 Alpha build 4015 or later, Ver 5.0 build 1935
and greater can work with a separate WMS add-on install.
3. Have a map open with at least one layer in it.
4. Invoke the WMS tool by going to the “Tools/Imagery” menu and selecting “WMS Image
Toolbox”.
5. The first time you use this, you will see the “WMS Server and Layer Chooser” dialog
box.
6. Click on “New Server” icon that looks like a piece of paper..
7. In the “Server URL:” box, paste http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MIS?
And in the “Name” box paste “Public”, then click “Ok”.
8. Next click on the blue down arrow icon “Refresh Layers”, the directories and imagery
available will appear.
9. Browse and in the white “Layers” area, click on the imagery desired and click “Ok”.
10. The smaller toolbox will appear, click on the far left icon to download imagery to your
map. The magnifying glass icon will zoom to the extents of the imagery.
11. The far right icon will bring back the “WMS Server and Layer Chooser” to add servers.
12. You must re-click the far left icon to update the imagery whenever you zoom in/out or
pan the map.
13. This is best for viewing; generally, it will not print well if enlarged greater than shown on
the screen.
14. Repeat steps 6-9 for the MIS Plat Maps and MIS Restricted Imagery servers. See “MIS
Servers” below.
Method 3: Google Earth. Caliper Only. Another option using TransCAD or Maptitude is
installing Google Earth on your PC. Currently, Google is restricted from being installed on SOM
computers, however a license agreement is in the works and Google Earth may once again
become a possible option. Within TransCAD or Maptitude, go to “Tools/ Imagery/ Google Earth
Toolbox”. You will be able to import Google Earth imagery into TransCAD/ Maptitude.
However, it will be only B&W and it will have less resolution than appears in Google.
Method 4: Using ESRI ArcMap software 10 or later. To stream the imagery directly from the
MIS server.
1. Complete steps 1-3 above first to create your MIS account.
2. Make sure you have Arc v10 or newer.
3. Click on “Add Data” and import a layer of your GIS data in Mi Geo Ref projection.
(MDOT GIS layers are generally in Mi Geo Ref).
4. Click on “Add Data” and from the dropdown list select ‘GIS Servers’.
5. Select “Add WMS Server” then click on “Add”..
6. In the prompt for “URL of server:” enter in one of the 3 MIS Servers from below and
click ‘Get Layers’ and then click “Ok”.
7. Scroll down the list and select your desired county and imagery type. The hi-resolution
imagery - if available - is listed near the bottom starting with
“PARTNER_countyname_typeyear_res.
8. Make sure any solid colored polygon layers that are “on top” of the imagery are moved
below or are made hollow or transparent.
9. When zooming and panning, the software will cache the imagery on your local drive, it
may be necessary to go into the folder C:\Documents and
Settings\your_MDOT_username\Local Settings\Temp and delete all the IMS****.png
files. Otherwise they can accumulate and take a lot of space.
10. Repeat steps
Method 5: Bing Layer – In ArcMap, click on the dropdown in the add data icon, choose “Add
Basemap” then choose “Bing Maps Aerial” (or any other option you would like).
Method 6: ArcGIS Explorer – ArcGIS Explorer ver 2500 is free software that can stream MIS
imagery. This is a viewer like Google Earth and simple to use, you do not need to load any paths
like the other software listed. Contact DTMB to have the software installed on your pc.
Method 7: Bentley’s MicroStation Power GeoPack SS2 has a known bug that does not allow it
to import correctly. Version Power GeoPack Select Series 3 does have the bug corrected and will
connect to MIS correctly. Contact MDOT Bentley staff for connection instructions once SS3
becomes the standard MDOT installs.
MIS Servers: be sure to include the ? at the end in the path! For ArcMAP, TransCAD and
Microstation (Power GeoPack select series 3).
1.
2.
3.
4.
Public Imagery - http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MIS?
Restricted Imagery - http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?RESTRICTED?
Restricted Plats - http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MISPLAT?
ROW – loaded by TSC. Due to the large number and size of ROW files, the ROW files
have been broken into smaller TSC connection paths. They each take about 15 seconds or
so to load. Each county has an “index” file or “Sheet” which shows the location in the
county of each numbered ROW. Use the sheet image to determine what “number” you
wish to view.
Name: Alpena TSC
Counties: Alcona, Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Oscoda, Presque Isle
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Alpena?
Name: Bay City TSC
Counties: Arenac, Bay, Saginaw, Tuscola
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Bay_City?
Name: Brighton TSC
Counties: Livingston, Monroe, Washtenaw
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Brighton?
Name: Cadillac TSC
Counties: Lake, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Osceola, Wexford
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Cadillac?
Name: Coloma TSC
Counties: Berrien, Cass, Van Buren
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Coloma?
Name: Crystal Falls TSC
Counties: Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, Menominee
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Crystal_Falls?
Name: Davison TSC
Counties: Genesee, Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Davison?
Name: Detroit TSC
Counties: Wayne
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Detroit?
Name: Gaylord TSC
Counties: Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Ogemaw, Otsego, Roscommon
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Gaylord?
Name: Grand Rapids TSC
Counties: Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm,
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Grand_Rapids?
Name: Ishpeming TSC
Counties: Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, Marquette, Ontonagon
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Ishpeming?
Name: Jackson TSC
Counties: Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Jackson?
Name: Kalamazoo TSC
Counties: Allegan, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Kalamazoo?
Name: Lansing TSC
Counties: Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Shiawassee
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Lansing?
Name: Macomb - St. Clair TSC
Counties: Macomb, St. Clair
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Macomb_St_Clair?
Name: Marshall TSC
Counties: Barry, Branch, Calhoun
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Marshall?
Name: Mt. Pleasant TSC
Counties: Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Mt_Pleasant?
Name: Muskegon TSC
Counties: Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Ottawa
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Muskegon?
Name: Newberry TSC
Counties: Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac, Schoolcraft
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Newberry?
Name: Oakland TSC
Counties: Oakland
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Alpena?
Name: Traverse City TSC
Counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau
URL: http://mis.rsgis.msu.edu/ecwp/ecw_wms.dll?MDOT_TSC_Traverse_City?
Subscribe to the MICH_IMAGERY Listserv: The MICH_IMAGERY Listserv list provides a
method for efficient communication about the imagery available to State of Michigan users. All
State of Michigan employees who work with aerial imagery are encouraged to participate.
Notices will also be sent out when new imagery is added to the MIS.
How to subscribe to the ListServ
1. If you wish to subscribe to the ListServ, send an email message to
[email protected]. In the body of that email enter the
following: SUBSCRIBE MICH_IMAGERY
2. You will then receive 2 email messages, one with a general description of the
MICH_IMAGERY ListServ and another with some commands you can send to the
ListServ to modify your subscription.
How to unsubscribe to the ListServ
1. If you wish to have your name removed from the ListServ, send an email message to
[email protected] and in the body of the email enter the
following: SIGNOFF MICH_IMAGERY
2. You will then be removed from the ListServ.
Contacts: For MDOT employees to get TransCAD, ESRI, ArcGIS Explorer ver 2500 contact
Melinda Ball [email protected] For ArcMap 10 training contact Kevin McKnight
[email protected]. For Maptitude or TransCAD training, contact Mike Toth
[email protected]. For questions on using either software or accessing GIS data, contact
Kevin or Mike.
The Mackinaw City Welcome Center in MGF v9 with a backdrop of Emmet County 2008 6”