JMap Istanbul

The new version of JMap, JMap 7 Istanbul, is finally here!  This new update contains visual improvements as well as stability and performance optimizations. Here are a few of the changes.

What's new in forms

JMap forms are used to add or modify data related to layer objects. These forms are available in JMap Survey, JMap Web and JMap Pro.

With JMap 7 Istanbul, it is now possible to configure multiple levels of nested forms. In other words, a form may contain a subform, which may in turn contain another subform. This allows you to handle more advanced cases with more complex data structures. For example, here is the data structure for bridge inspection:

Level 1: Work (bridge attributes)

Level 2: Inspection sheet (inspector names, weather)

Level 3: Inspection of a bridge beam (photos, description of condition)

Also new, you can now add comments to photos created with JMap Survey. For each photo, you can write a short text to add a description, such as details on the photo, context, measurements, etc. These optional comments can later be easily viewed or included in custom reports.

Edit your own things

JMap 7 Istanbul adds a new way to restrict data modification. With this new option, each user will only have the ability to edit what they have created. For example, if multiple users are making an inventory of trees with JMap Survey at the same time, they would not be able to move, edit, or delete trees created by their colleagues.

Temporal data

Sometimes data has a limited existence in time. For example, a construction project or festival has a start date and an end date, or a cadastral polygon can have an end date when it is subdivided.

JMap 7 Istanbul now offers an easier way to visualize temporal data by creating temporal filters. A temporal filter is defined for a layer using one or two Date type attributes and a date of reference. Each layer object is displayed only when the reference date is after the start date and before the end date of the object. By varying the reference date, we can view the data for the present, past or future date.

Mapbox data format

JMap can now produce tiled vector data in Mapbox Vector Tiles format, a very compact and optimized data format for publishing spatial data on the web. Displaying this data in web browsers is very fluid and allows great interactivity as well as stylization on the client side.

JMap Survey is already using this data format, and future versions of JMap Web and JMap View will also use the same Mapbox format.

With JMap 7 Istanbul, any JMap project can be published using Mapbox tiles and all project settings and layer styles are reproduced as accurately as possible.

Mapbox tiles can also be cached and JMap has an API to precisely control this cache. For example, it is possible to cache tiles for a specific region and levels.

Last thing about Mapbox, we added support for Mapbox base maps. Just enter your Mapbox API key in JMap Admin, and base maps become available when you deploy JMap Web.

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