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Getting Started with MapHub

Table of Contents

Welcome to MapHub! In this beginner-friendly guide, we'll walk you through creating your first interactive map.

Prerequisites

  • A web browser with internet access
  • GIS data file (optional, for uploading your own map)
  • Basic understanding of map data (helpful but not required)

A "map" on MapHub refers to a single GIS data file. This can be either raster data (grid-based images like satellite imagery) or vector data (points, lines, and polygons).

1. Create an Account

If you do not already have an account, Sign up or Log In with either your Google account or an E-mail.

2. Exploring and Downloading Maps

Have a look around the Hub and explore the public maps uploaded by other users. You can sort them by popularity and recency as well as filter them based on search terms. Once you find a map that looks interesting and you click on it, you will see the "Map" page.

On this page, you can see all details of a map such as its description, tags, colormap, available versions, and the preview of the map. The preview can be expanded to fit the whole page (sharing the URL of the whole page preview will always open the full page preview).

If you are logged in, you can also download the map in different file formats depending on the map type.

Available Download Formats

Different file formats serve different purposes and are compatible with various GIS software. Choose the format that best suits your needs:

RasterVector
.tif.fgb
.geojson
.shp
.gpkg
.xlsx

If you are missing a format contact us and we will add it ASAP.

3. Upload Your First Map

To upload your own map, all you need is some GIS data. You can use data you're already familiar with or download some from the Hub.

Follow these steps:

  1. Go to your My datasets page and create your first folder (optional). Name it whatever you like. Folders help you organize maps into collections, but you can also create maps directly in your root folder.

  2. Click on the newly created folder and then on "Add new map".

  3. Fill out the dialog with information about your map and wait for the upload to complete.

Now you can click on your newly uploaded map to inspect it, customize its visualization, or share it with others.

Next Steps

Now that you've learned the basics of MapHub, here are some suggestions for what to explore next:

Sharing Maps