WMS:Project Explorer Contents for GIS Module

GIS layers are organized and displayed in the GIS module. This module can be used for displaying and converting GIS data, but data in this module is not meant to be used for watershed analysis.

There are two general types of GIS layers that can be displayed, and there are various ways of reading GIS data. The two general types of GIS data include raster and vector GIS data. WMS can read either raster or vector GIS data into the GIS module and these data can be converted to various formats for use both inside and outside of WMS.

To understand how data is stored and projected under the GIS module, it is important to understand how WMS reads the various types of raster and vector GIS data.

First, WMS reads and displays point, line, and polygon shapefiles as GIS vector data. These data can be converted to feature objects and WMS has a rich set of options for preserving, modifying, and converting attributes and geometry from shapefiles to feature objects in the map module of WMS.

Second, WMS has tools for reading, displaying, and converting several formats of raster and vector GIS data to other formats. WMS uses the GlobalMapper library of functions to read and convert nearly all the formats that can be read and displayed by GlobalMapper. This functionality is available for all WMS users who have a license that includes the GIS module. The GIS vector data read as a GlobalMapper object can be converted to a WMS point, line, or polygon shapefile type so the data can be converted to feature objects and used in your hydrologic modeling projects.

Finally, if you have a current license to ArcMap that includes ArcObjects and you have enabled ArcObjects, WMS can read any data that ArcGIS can read. If ArcObjects is not enabled, WMS can still read several raster and vector data formats through GlobalMapper. However, some formats only supported by ArcObjects cannot be read.

A summary table listing the various types of data that can be read and displayed and some of the functionality available for the various types of data is shown below:

Description	Icon	GIS Data Type	Functionality	Licensing Requirements
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module
WMS Point Shapefiles		GIS Vector Data	Delete/Rename/Zoom To Layer Convert to Map Module feature objects View object and entire shapefile attributes Join .dbf file with the vector layer using a common ID Join NRCS data (joins tables specific to NRCS SSURGO data with the shapefile) Convert to Vector GIS Data (GlobalMapper)	WMS License with Map Module

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Right clicking on the main GIS Layers folder allows you to Add data (open new GIS layers) or Clear all data. If ArcObjects is not enabled then the only kind of data you can add are shapefile data.

Right clicking on a GIS layer allows you to Delete, Rename, Zoom to layer, view/set Properties, Open Attribute Table, or Set Layer Transparency. If the layer is a vector data layer then you can also Join Table to Layer, whereas if the layer is a grid you can Write DEM ASCII File or Convert to DEM.

The properties are the identical properties available from ArcGIS.

If ArcObjects is not enabled then you can only Delete, Rename, Coordinate Conversions, Open Attribute Table, or Join Table to Layer

Related Topics

• GIS Tables
• Coordinate Conversions