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Search Utility

Link Link to COINAtlantic RSS feed
The URL for the RSS feed to keep in touch with changes on the COINAtlantic website
Document COINAtlantic Utility DISCLAIMER
Disclaimer to be read before use
Link Link to latest version of the Search Utility
This is a link to the COINAtlantic Search Utility. Please feel free to provide comment by clicking on the "Feedback" link at the top of the page just to the right of the "Search" button. For more info please feel free to send an e-mail to: COINAtlantic@dal.ca You can also interact with COINAtlantic through FaceBook at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=11502385069
Folder HELP FILES
 
Folder DOSSIERS d'AIDE
 
Folder COINAtlantic Utility Logger Results
This is a folder containing reports on what WMS/layers are being added by users. Note that "blank" indicates that the WMS getcapabilities was accessed. Layer names indicates that users accessed that particular layer. Potential uses of this information include checking to see if anyone is using your information, looking at how your layers are named for possible improvements, checking to see who else is providing similar info, finding information sources that you might not have otherwise found.
File Search Utility code - January 2009
Code for installing COINAtlantic Search Utility
Document Actions

Beta testing of COINAtlantic On-line Utility

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 10, 2008 11:46 AM
The beta testing is presently underway. Problems, comments and suggestions should be posted by close of business, October 22nd.

Please feel free to post any and all commments, bur please note that some issues will have to be addressed in future versions of the Utility.

Comments as of Monday, October 27th

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 27, 2008 11:23 AM
> The radio search buttons presently displayed in the Basic Search box should be moved to the Advanced Search box. Are there any problems with having the Basic search initiating a search of all three types of information? If not - then I would like us to tailor the starting window/Basic Search to the new user by providing the fewest impediments to their starting a search. Putting the radio buttons in the advanced window would still allow the advanced users the necessary functions.

> a problem has been identified with one of our high priority WMS:
 http://gdr.ess.nrcan.gc.ca/[…]mp;request=GetCapabilities. When I try to add a layer from the drop down list, such as the "Browns Bank 1996 and 1997, Gulf of Maine, Scotian Shelf, offshore eastern Canada" layer, the layer gets added to the Map Layers list, but the layer never gets added. The hourglass just keeps on being displayed. This happens whether I add it to the Utility through the "Add a layer" button on the top of the Map Layers window, or whether I try to add it from the search results of "multibeam". If it is a problem with the Utility, then we need DMSolutions to address it. If it is a problem with the WMS, then NRCan is ready, willing and able to make any changes that we need. This may be happening with other services as well.

> It is a real shame that this one does not work either; it works in other WMS Portals such as GOMOOS GoMap app:
http://gdr.ess.nrcan.gc.ca/[…]EQUEST=GetCapabilities&

> While I am on the subject of the multibeam data, would it be possible to have this hardwired into the drop down list of the "Add a layer" button? I don't think that we have ever discussed the services presently presented to the user, but I can see that this would be a great way to highlight the COINAtlantic "holy dozen" services as they become available.

> Can we drop the paging function from the Search Results window? I would prefer to have all results shown in a single window so that the user can scroll down a single continuous list. It also allows me to use the "ctr F" function in IE to search down through all of the text in the search window. This may only be useful for advanced users as I notice that one has to select the proper window before trying to search - but it is a powerful tool that is available if we do not page the results.

> I am already receiving questions that strengthen the need for a sorted list of search results in the Search Results Window. There are some data sources with very large bounding boxes that get returned for any area of Atlantic Canada. Many Newfoundland and Labrador database are returned for New Brunswick due to the large bounding box required to cover all of Newfoundland and Labrador. The solution is till to provide the users with a sorted list so that all of the North American wide sources will be at the bottom of the list, and all of the smaller scale relevant databases are shown at the top. Now that the WMS search is functioning and providing users with lots of information sources, this becomes a much higher priority to help users find what is relevant to their area of interest.

> Change "Bibliography" to "Other Sources" with a link to: http://coinatlantic.ca/othersources.html.

> There appears to be a limit to the zoom in function that should be removed.

> for map layers with long text titles it is not possible to remove the layer from the display because the "X" for removing it is displayed too far to the right in the Map Layers window for a user to select the "X".

Additional comments October 27th

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 27, 2008 11:42 AM
The default layer Province does not align with the GeoNova coastline or our multibeam layers. Don't know why but the "ocean coastline" layer from the Atlas has good alignment.

Colour rendering of our surficial geology maps and the multibeam layers is screwy. Sometimes it corrects itself after a couple of mouse clicks, there doesn't appear to be any consistency on when it is corrected. Also there was sometimes a blue shading cast over the display that behaved in the same inconsistent way the colour rendering did.

Can't zoom in close enough. There should be a numeric scale not just a scale bar. It doesn't seem to want to let me zoom in beyond a scale bar of 20 KM

When you add a service it should stay in the list and not disappear.

The zoom out action happens when you press the button, to be consistent wit the other actions it should happen when you click on the map.

We should have more marine themes in the choosen layers

The listing of layers uses extraneous information for the services Get Capabilities leading to repetitions and unintelligible listings. It should only use the Title.

Assistance for first time users

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 28, 2008 10:57 AM
Would it be possible to highlight the zoom in tool on the page? In developing something that engages first time users, not GIS literate folk, could you put the zoom in tool in the Search Window next to the search box? The first things that I expect a new user to do is to type is a word and zoom into an area. The zoom in tool is now buried in the middle of the tool bar of the Map View Window - and this is not very eye catching.

Lost interest in the site.

Posted by John Legault at Oct 10, 2008 03:01 PM
I went to the site - zeroed in on the Baie des Chaleurs and typed in aqauculture to search on - results in 4 pages, only one visible - would not advance to the others. Displayed department of aquaculture web site but not aquaculture sites or where I could see the sites. If there were any sites with data, I couldn't tell nor are there instructions on how to bring data to the map.

I tried another query - shorebirds and got only one site - that of the CWS web site. No data to be found except the description of E.C.s efforts.

Even though the map showed bathymetry or roads - I could not point the information icon to a polygon and determine what the line meant. I loaded a WMS layer from NRCAN about populated sites and could not point to any points for data about the communities.

After that, I gave up. I has to be simple with clear instructions and results.

Thanks

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 14, 2008 04:34 PM
Hi John,

Yes, I now notice that the results windows doesn't advance to the other pages. The contract is now working on it. If the Department of Aquaculture hasn't registered any WMS in the GDP, then all COINAtlantic and the ACZISC can do is put in a request that they do this. I will follow up with Mike.

There are no sites with on-line data for aquaculture in the Baie des Chaleurs, so one can't add any. If there were, then there would be an "add to map" button displayed in the search results. Hopefully this will become more apparent as more services are available and found. This is true for both aquaculture and the shorebirds.

I will have to check on the bathymetre and roads layers to see if they can be queried. I haven't played alot with the "query WMS layers" button and will followup in the morning.

Have you checked out the instructions page yet:

http://www.marinebiodiversity.ca/[…]/file ?

Tips for using the COINAtlantic Utility

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 28, 2008 11:17 AM
Please post your tips on using the Utility - anything from less-than-obvious features to useful types of searchs to information sources relevant to your work

Comment - October 28th, 2008

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Oct 28, 2008 01:58 PM
My searches were from a marine perspective and got some hits on catch, cod, fish....search engine works well and I like the tags associated with each dataset (ie free, agency providing data, agency collecting data, format, etc)

Test of RSS feed

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Nov 07, 2008 01:14 PM
The COINAtlantic Administrative PLONE site tracks changes made to the site and produces an RSS feed that can be used by participants to see is changing. This is a comment to see if it this will be included in the RSS feed. If it is, then it is an excellent way for users to be notified of the addition of comments so that they can check the them out.

Status of Beta version - November 17th

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Nov 17, 2008 11:52 AM
> Searching of all three aspects of the GeoConnections Discovery Portal (GDP) have been integrated.
> The Search Results list now shows results in three sections, starting with the results of the layer search, then the services search and finally the data search.
> We are still working on limiting the search results from the layer and services search. There are no bounding boxes in the GDP to use in selecting a geographic area of interest. As a result, users will be presented with a lot of data sets that are not related to the map selected in the Map view.
> Note that the DFO/CHS's GeoPortal (http://public.geoportal-geo[…]alBrowser.jsp?1226933471872) seems to be working well with the COINAtlantic Utility.

Don't do silly things with WMS URLs

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Nov 18, 2008 04:11 PM
Hi Paul:
 
These both work fine for me. The "remove layers" is fixed now, too. I added and removed layers from both of these services with no problems. (Please forgive me if you know this...) these URLs must be entered only up to and including the "?". You do not include the SERVICE and REQUEST parts.
 
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: Boudreau, Paul R
To: Robert Leeman
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 11:08 AM
Subject: FW: COINAtlantic beta testing continues - latest update will search WMS - GSCA Surficial Geology WMS


Hi Bob,
 
In spite of the recent improvements to the "add" function, the following links still don't work:
 
http://gdr.ess.nrcan.gc.ca/[…]EQUEST=GetCapabilities&
http://gdr.ess.nrcan.gc.ca/[…]amp;request=GetCapabilities
 
Cheers,
 
Paul
 
Project Manager
COASTAL AND OCEAN INFORMATION NETWORK
ACZISC Secretariat
1226 LeMarchant Street, Halifax NS B3H 3P7 CANADA
Phone: 902-494-7452 Web: COINAtlantic.ca

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Comments from ACZISC meeting January 2009

Posted by Paul Boudreau at Feb 02, 2009 10:23 AM
> Need to add a "View in GoogleEarth" button.
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