Publishing maps on the Internet with Manifold GIS
Today we will see how to create a map publishing service using the Manifold GIS IMS. If you have a storage provider, a Manifold Enterprise runtime license should be installed.
In this case I will use Mapserving, a website that provides hosting and publishing service for Manifold data. There are a good number of maps stored there, including some combined with Open Layers and others with Flash.
1. Preparing the map.
I have prepared a map, which has folders where are stored components, Data frames where some layers and shortcut style approaches are combined.
2. Uploading the published map.
There are two ways to upload maps to Mapserving, one is uploading the published asp web, as I explained it before; another is using a template wizard.
In this first case I will use this second, it only requires uploading the file with the components linked in a single tablet of .zip format, then indicate what is the name of the component that we expect to be visible by default ... frame size and if you want legends, views and other publishing options.
And ready, tell him that he is public for others to see.
Here you can see a similar example, which MapServing keeps visible.
3. Creating OGC services
In case of using the publication created by ASP, it is much better because you can customize the template, including creating WMS and WFS services that work wonderfully. Then it is possible to configure if you want access to be public or only for a group of controlled users.
For this you have to upload the folder created in Wwwroot, compressed in .zip format and you only have to change the address of the .map for the address of the server that publishes, “G:PrivateMaps686-641829333N5M-Prediosname of the file.map”
If they are fixed, this template has no panning control, nautical scrolling pink, the captions and views are the same, but the layers here do not appear grouped and the searches are more limited.
In case you want to stick to the wms services, the address would be the same, only the “default.asp” is replaced by “wms.asp”
In the case of wfs services, the same, it is replaced by “wfs.asp”, which can be accessed with any program that supports OGC standards.
4. How much
If we did it through an ISP, we would have to provide you with an IMS runtime license that goes for $ 95, plus the cost of hosting. Mapserving.com provides this service from a basic fee of $ 9.95 per month with a file upload limit of up to 25 MB and 1.5 GB of bandwidth. Not bad for a municipality that wants to have its data up there, it can even interact with more complex databases.
The next rate is $ 29.95, it allows publishing by controlled users, and the last one of $ 49.95 allows the publication service to be loaded on an external website. Although it is possible to request extension at the convenience of any of the plans.
Doing it with ESRI would cost an arm and a leg, even without using GIS Server.
There is also the option to take the service for a 30-day trial, so if you are going to see the maps, do it soon, lest I not keep the service for long… although I am coming up with several ideas.
Over time MapServing has integrated other hosting services, including GeoServer, however to consult for hosting data on Manifold GIS, you have to contact them.
