# Web maps

Map backgrounds provide context for your data. Instead of adding your own background images and potentially viewing out of date information, you can add a web map that uses up to date information from a web map provider. Available map data may include cadastral layers, land topography, or roads. Choose the appropriate service based on availability for your location, your information needs, and your workflow.

If the web map provider requires sign in credentials such a username and password or additional URL information to access the service, you can select and configure the appropriate Sign in method in Trimble Access when you set up the web map, so that your sign in information is passed onto the service when you connect.

Web map services (WMS) and web map tile services (WMTS)

The connection to the WMS or WMTS must be configured while the controller is connected to the internet.

When working offline, you can use map data from the WMTS in the Trimble Access map for up to 7 days, but you will be able to zoom or pan only to the same data as when the controller was connected to the internet. To use map data from a WMS in Trimble Access the controller must be connected to the internet.

To use a WMS or WMTS, in Trimble Access create a new web map and enter the URL you use to retrieve data from the service. Trimble Access saves the configuration information for each WMS or WMTS in a .wms or .wmts configuration file in the C:\ProgramData\Trimble\Trimble Data\System Files folder.

Control the visibility of data from the web service (including sublayers) in the Map files tab of the Layer manager screen.

You can use data from more than one WMS or WMTS in the same job, and you can use them in addition to Trimble Maps. Use the Base layer and Request transparent PNGs check boxes to determine the order and transparency of web map layers. See To configure WMS or WMTS settings.

Web feature services (WFS)

Once you have created a web map using a web feature service, you can save the data as a .json file so that you can use it in the field when the controller is not connected to the internet.

To create the web map, connect the controller to the internet (for example while the controller is in the office) and configure the WFS settings so that Trimble Access connects to the WFS. The software then prompts you to zoom the map to the map extents you want to use and then to select the georeferenced vector layers available from the WFS. You can then save the data you have selected as a .wfs file so that you can use the data in the field without an internet connection. You can set up as many instances of the WFS data as you need - for example you can select the same layers in different instances but have different map extents to cover a different area.

In the field, you can select lines or polylines from the WFS file in the map and stake them. You can also create points at the ends of lines and at all points along a polyline, by selecting the Create nodes (DXF, Shape, 12da & LandXML) check box in the Map settings screen. The created points can then be selected for stakeout or Cogo calculations.

When staking WFS data make sure you understand the accuracy of the WFS data provided, and make sure it is in the same coordinate system as the job.

Trimble Access supports the following online feature services:

- Esri Feature Service

- Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web feature service (WFS) in the following standards:

  - OGC WFS 1.1.0

  - OGC WFS 2.0.0

Trimble Access supports feature service data delivered as .json or .gml files:

The following data types are supported for each format:

GeoJSON (.json) | GML (.gml)
--- | ---
point, XYZ point | point, XYZ point, multipoint
linestring, multilinestring | linestring, multilinestring
polygon, multipolygon | polygon, multipolygon
| curve, multicurve
| surface (boundary only), multisurface (boundary only)

Before you can add a web map

- To add a web map, the controller must be connected to the internet. For information on connecting the controller to the internet, see Internet connection setup.

  The controller must also be connected to the internet whenever you want to use a web map service (WMS). An internet connection is not required to view web feature service (WFS) data once you have saved the data to a file.

- You must know the URL to use for the web map. To ensure you receive the latest web map data, do not include the version number in the URL.

  To use a specific version, add the version number as a parameter appended to the URL, for example: https://examplewms.org/wms?version=1.1.

- Whenever possible, you should select an EPSG code that matches the coordinate system and zone of the job.

  If Trimble Access is able to detect a matching EPSG code, it will add "(default)" after that entry in the list, and will select that EPSG code by default. In some cases Trimble Access cannot detect a matching EPSG code, and you may have to select one yourself. If you are not sure of the correct EPSG code for the coordinate system and zone you are using, visit the EPSG.io website: epsg.io/.

  Some WMS or WMTS services may include "EPSG:3857 - Web Mercator" or "EPSG:4326 - WGS 1984" in their list of supported coordinate systems. These are "universal" coordinate systems that can be used with any job, regardless of its coordinate system. It is still preferable to select an EPSG code that matches the job coordinate system when one is available, as the web map can be positioned more accurately and reliably when the coordinate systems are identical. However, Web Mercator and WGS 1984 will still produce accurate results in most cases. Note that Trimble Access supports the use of Web Mercator with both WMS and WMTS services, but WGS 1984 is supported only with WMS. WGS 1984 will not work with WMTS services.

To add a web map

1. Map services are delivered based on your current map location and scale. Before adding the web map:
   1. If there are no points in the job, key in a point with coordinates that match the job coordinate system and that are in a location you would expect to see on the map.
   2. Zoom the map to a reasonable scale, for example 100m or 1000m works better than 2m or 20,000km.

To open the Layer manager, do one of the following:

- Tap in the Map toolbar or the Video toolbar.
- In the Job properties screen, tap the Layer manager button.

2. Select the Map files tab.

3. Tap Web maps.

   (In portrait mode, swipe right to left along the row of softkeys to view the Web maps softkey.)

4. In the Web maps screen, tap New.
5. Enter the Name of the web map.
6. In the Service type field, select the service type.

7. Enter the URL of the web service and tap Enter.

   If the URL includes parameters for sign in credentials such as a username and password, Trimble recommends removing them from the URL and instead enter the sign in credentials by selecting Basic HTTP Authentication from the Sign in method field. For more information, see To configure the sign in method for the web service below.

8. Select the Sign in method and configure the required settings. See To configure the sign in method for the web service .

9. If the software does not automatically test the connection to the configured server, tap Test.

10. When the test is successful, additional fields appear in the Web maps screen. Configure settings for the selected web service. See the following sections:

    - To configure WFS settings

    - To configure WMS or WMTS settings

    - To configure the sign in method for the web service

11. Tap Accept.

    The name of the web map you have added is shown in the Map files tab of the Layer manager.

12. To make data from the web map visible in the Trimble Access map, tap the name of the web map in the Layer manager.

    To show or hide layers from the web map, tap the arrow next to the layer name and then tap the individual layers to show or hide them.

13. To exit the Layer manager and return to the map, tap Accept.

When displaying WMS data:

- To view data from the WMS in the map you may need to zoom to an appropriate level. Different levels of map detail may be shown at different zoom levels.

- Internet connection issues can affect the display of web maps. If the map does not show any data from the web map, return to the Web map screen, select the web map from the list and then tap Test to check the software is able to connect to the configured server.

- To provide better contrast with features in the job or in other linked files, use the map Transparency slider to increase the transparency of WMS data. See Map data transparency.

To configure the sign in method for the web service

The Sign in method field provides options for signing in to the web map. Depending on the server setup, your authentication credentials may be encrypted when passed to the server.

While many publicly available services have no authentication requirements, this can be quite technical to set up. You will need to enter the sign in details supplied to you by the web map provider.

If you are using a URL that includes sign in credentials as parameters, you can keep the sign in credentials as part of the URL and select None in the Sign in method field. However sign in credentials that are part of the URL are never encrypted. To ensure that your credentials can be encrypted if supported by the server setup, Trimble recommends that you remove the sign in parameters from the URL and select Basic HTTP Authentication in the Sign in method field and then enter the Username and Password.

1. To select the authentication approach, at the end of the Web map screen, select the appropriate Sign in method from the drop-down list.

   - None: Many services do not require any authentication.

   - ArcGIS Token Server: Requires a Token Server URL and an account Username and Password.

     If you select the Save account details check box, the Username and Password are saved to the configuration file on the controller. For more information, refer to the note below.

   - Basic HTTP Authentication: Requires an account Username and Password.

     If you select the Save account details check box, the Username and Password are saved to the configuration file on the controller. For more information, refer to the note below.

   - OAuth: Is the most secure type of authentication and requires quite extensive inputs. Contact your OAuth service provider for these details.

     Once configured, tap Fetch to open the server sign in page in your web browser. Depending on the server setup, this page may open and automatically accept the sign in credentials and then close without being visible. Alternatively, the web page may prompt you to sign in using multifactor sign in.

   - ArcGIS Online: Effectively a pre-populated OAuth connection, this may require some server side configuration to allow Trimble Access to successfully connect.

     Once configured, tap Fetch to open the server sign in page in your web browser. Depending on the server setup, this page may open and automatically accept the sign in credentials and then close without being visible. Alternatively, the web page may prompt you to sign in using multifactor sign in.

   The ArcGIS Token Server and Basic HTTP Authentication sign in methods provide a Save account details check box:

   - Select the Save account details check box to save the Username and Password in the configuration file.

     This allows your organization to choose between a common shared sign in across all users, so that users don’t need to manage individual credentials.

   - Clear the Save account details check box to prevent the Username and Password fields being saved in the configuration file and instead require the user to enter these details when prompted each time the software attempts to load the WMS or WFS data.

     This allows your organization to use the improved security associated with each individual user being required to sign in and have access provided to each feature service at an individual level.

2. After inputting the appropriate credentials, tap Test to confirm receipt of a valid sign in token. A message confirms if the software can communicate with the server or if there is an issue.

To configure WFS settings

After entering the URL for a WFS, configure the remaining settings for the web map:

1. Make sure the Coordinate system field shows the correct EPSG code. The EPSG codes in the list are provided by the WFS. Trimble Access selects the most likely EPSG code to use, based on data already in the job.

   The EPSG code must match the coordinate system and zone of the job. If you are not sure of the correct EPSG code for the coordinate system and zone you are using, visit the EPSG.io website: epsg.io/.

2. In the Bounding box type field, select the format and order of the coordinates used by the bounding box function.

   Web feature services using the older OGC WFS 1.1.0 standard commonly require bounding box coordinates in reversed Latitude, Longitude coordinate order.

3. The Send bounding box EPSG field determines if the bounding box coordinate EPSG is appended to the bounding box fetch request. Only rarely should this setting need to be adjusted and if you are unsure then leave it set to Yes (default).

4. Select the Invert axis order check box to reverse the coordinate order of received feature data.

   Web feature services using the OGC WFS standard that serve data in GML format commonly require reversed coordinate order.

5. If the WFS requires users to sign in to use the service, select the authentication approach in the Sign in method field and then enter the required details. For more information, see To configure the sign in method for the web service
6. Tap Next.
7. Enter the name of the .wfs file you want to create from this instance of the WFS and then select the georeferenced vector layers from the WFS to include. Tap All or None to quickly select all or deselect all layers and then tap individual layers in the list to toggle the selection. Tap Next.

8. Use the map toolbar to zoom and pan the map to the extents required, and then tap Start to download the data to the file.

   The software shows the progress of the download. To view more information about each layer you selected, tap Results. If any layers have exceeded the feature limit or time out limit, you could choose a smaller map area and try again.

9. Tap Save to save the downloaded layers.

   The .wfs file is saved to the System Files folder and metadata about the downloaded layers is saved to the .wfs Files folder in the <project> folder.

Internet connection issues can affect the display of web maps. If the map does not show any data from the web map, return to the Web map screen, select the web map from the list and then tap Test to check the software is able to connect to the configured server.

To configure WMS or WMTS settings

After entering the URL for a WMS or WMTS, configure the remaining settings for the web map:

1. Make sure the Coordinate system field shows the correct EPSG code. The EPSG codes in the list are provided by the service. Trimble Access selects the most likely EPSG code to use, based on data already in the job.

   The EPSG code must match the coordinate system and zone of the job. If you are not sure of the correct EPSG code for the coordinate system and zone you are using, visit the EPSG.io website: epsg.io/.

2. If you select Web Mercator as the coordinate system for a WMS or WMTS, the Use job datum check box is shown. If you know that the WMS or WMTS server uses Web Mercator coordinates referenced to the same datum as your job rather than WGS 1984, then select the Use job datum check box.

   The Use job datum setting corrects for a possible misalignment in the image data of up to 1-2 meters when the Web Mercator coordinate system is based on an underlying datum that is not WGS 1984. You may need to contact the provider of the WMS or WMTS service to determine whether the server's Web Mercator coordinates are referenced to WGS84 or to some other datum.

3. Select the Base layer check box if you want data from this web service to be displayed below other web map layers.

   If you are using data from more than one web map in the job, the layers are displayed in the following order: Trimble Maps imagery (if used) is the bottom layer, web maps that have Base layer selected are displayed above that, and web maps that do not have Base layer selected are displayed above those.

4. Select the Request transparent PNGs check box to request transparent PNG files instead of JPG files from the web service.

   This is useful if you are using data from more than one web service in the job and you want data from this web service to appear on top of data from other web services.

   PNG files are higher resolution images than than JPG files and may consume more data. Not all WMS services provide transparent PNG files. Many WMTS services provide transparent PNG files by default.

For more detailed information on setting up or troubleshooting a web map, refer to the support note Web map support in Trimble Access, which can be downloaded from the Support bulletins page of the Trimble Access Help Portal.