Creating Basemaps for FieldMove and FieldMove Clino
One of the advantages of using touchscreen devices for digital mapping is that you can have quick and easy
access to a wide range of different basemaps in the field.
Figure 1: Touchscreen device being used for digital mapping in the field.
If you are using FieldMove Clino on your smartphone or the new FieldMove 2015 on your tablet then you will
already know that you can use the street map or satellite images from Google Maps (Clino) or Mapbox
(FieldMove 2015) as your chosen basemap.
The iOS and Android phone operating systems used by Clino mean that you need to have connectivity to
download these maps in the field. However, if you are using FieldMove 2015 then the application will store the
maps that you want to use in the internal memory of the device (this feature is known as caching). In
FieldMove 2015, you simply zoom into the area of interest while you have a WiFi connection and the maps will
be cached automatically. You can find out more information on using Google Maps and MapBox in Clino and
FieldMove 2015 by downloading the User Guides from: www.mve.com/digital-mapping/documentation.
To avoid any concerns over data connectivity in the field, or losing basemaps that have been cached in the
internal memory, it’s much better to preload your own basemaps into the applications before you go into the
field. You can then work offline in remote locations without having to worry about whether your basemaps will
load into Clino or FieldMove 2015. Basemaps can only be imported into Clino as MBTiles, but in FieldMove you
can import MBTiles and GeoTiffs.
In this feature we will explain how to use Move to generate MBTiles and GeoTiffs and then load these into Clino
and FieldMove 2015.
Exporting Georeferenced Images from Move
1. MBTile
The MBTile file format allows the map image to be visualized with the appropriate level of detail for the zoom
level it is being viewed at (i.e. the number of metres per pixel). The quality of the image at different levels of
zoom is controlled on export from Move, by defining the Minimum Zoom level (the lowest detail the map will
display) and the Maximum Zoom level (the detail at higher zoom levels). A conversion table can be found in
the Move help pages.
The zoom levels chosen for an MBTile file will depend on the objectives of the mapping study. For detailed
mapping, having the image saved at a higher zoom level will allow for finer details to be preserved on the
basemap.
To export a map image as an MBTile from Move:
1. Select the image.
2. Right click and from the context menu choose Export As and then MBTile.
3. A dialogue box (Figure 2) will ask for the zoom settings to be defined, it will also state the expected
size of the file. The higher the number of zoom levels, the larger the file size will be.
4. When happy press OK and choose a location to save the file.
Figure 2: MBTile export dialogue.
2. GeoTiff
A GeoTiff is a raster file that contains georeferencing information. These files have larger file sizes than a
similar MBTile export so the amount of free space on your device should be considered. A GeoTiff is also
treated differently to an MBTile in FieldMove. The GeoTiff image is processed as the view changes, potentially
making the file slower to load.
To export a map image as a GeoTiff in Move;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select the image in the Model Browser or active view.
Right click and from the context menu choose Export As and then Export Image...
A window to choose where to save the file will open. Ensure GeoTIFF is chosen as the file type.
Save the file.
Importing Basemaps into FieldMove and FieldMove Clino
The MBTile and GeoTiff image files will need to be transferred to the device running FieldMove or Clino prior to
going out into the field. The method of data transfer varies between operating systems.
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Apple devices - iTunes must be used
Android and Windows devices - file managers may be used to add the files to the device.
For more information on importing maps to a device see the Maps section of the FieldMove and FieldMove
Clino User Guides, or the Maps page within the inbuilt help.
Image files can be imported into FieldMove or Clino projects using the Maps page. In FieldMove, the import
button can be found in the top left corner of the map page (Figure 3) The georeferencing information saved in
the image file will be used to ensure it is correctly positioned. When working in FieldMove, multiple maps can
be loaded and displayed together and their transparency adjusted using the commands in the Maps page
(Figure 3).
Figure 3: Images loaded into FieldMove
Positioning Georeferenced Maps in Move
Any images which are to be exported from Move for use in Clino or FieldMove need to be georeferenced. Move
can be used to geo-position images that have been obtained from scanned historic maps, or downloaded from
other sources such as satellite data prior to export.
1. Using Referencing Information in the image File
Move projects can be spatially referenced using a co-ordinate system or by loading referencing information
from a separate file. This may be done at project creation stage or later via Document Properties (from the
Data & Analysis panel). The dialogue window for setting coordinate systems is the same in both scenarios
(Figure 4).
Figure 4: Co-ordinate referencing options within Move.
Any image may be imported into Move and if it is already georeferenced it will automatically be positioned and
projected correctly; georeferencing can be checked by opening the image in a Google Map view.
2. Geopositioning Data in Move
This method should be used for images that do not contain georeferencing information (i.e. scanned images),
they can be repositioned in Move using the Advanced Transform tool. The image should initially be imported
into a Move project pre-set up with the correct co-ordinate system. Move will not modify the shape of images
to correct for projection. Several types of transformation are available:
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Translate and Scale Using Two Points – This option can be used to select two points on the map
image and define their referenced position. These UTM coordinates may be from map information or
using Google Maps data. (Figure 5).
Scale Using Line/Two Points – An image can be resized using any scalebars present on the
image.
Rotate Horizontal – This option will allow the map to be rotated horizontally using an already
digitized line (or a line created by picking two points) such that the line is parallel to the X axis.
Rotate Vertical – This option will allow the map to be rotated horizontally using an already
digitized line (or a line created by picking two points) such that the line is parallel to the Y axis.
Figure 5: Image being transformed using Transform and Scale using 2 Points of the Advanced Transform tool, points could be picked
on map image or exact coordinates typed in.
3. Map Snapshots
It is also possible to create geo-referenced images in Move that include data such as historic dips or line data
visualized on a map. These images may be created when working in a Map View and by using the Image tool.
By toggling on Map Snapshot, the area of the image can be defined using corner coordinates and the quality
can also be defined as pixels, the image will include all objects that are currently visible within the map view
(Figure 6), once created the image will be georeferenced in the correct position.
Figure 6: Map Snapshot functionality (a) Creation of the Map, image size is being defined in pixels, this will control the quality of the
image and (b) the final map image.
The Map Snapshot functionality can also be used to create composite maps by using the Move controls on
transparency to adjust different map layers (i.e. combine a satellite and topological map). In order to create
one image and combinations of objects that are already present in the model.
If you require any more information on generating basemaps for digital mapping, then please contact us by
email: [email protected] or call: +44 (0)141 332 2681.