Tips on Using NZTopoOnline
Use the following tips and instructions to make the most of NZTopoOnline.
Make your own map
Using NZTopoOnline you can make up your own map by choosing an area of New Zealand and our offshore islands.
Select the nearest road or place name to your desired area using the query tool, or click and drag your mouse over an area of the map, and zoom in to the scale you choose. Then create your map. NZTopoOnline allows you to cut across the map sheets you've been used to with paper maps.
Click once & wait for the map view to download
When you open NZTopoOnline you open a map viewer in your browser. Each time you make a selection using the zoom tool or search, your map request is sent back to the LINZ web mapping server, which then sends the map back. Over a modem this can take a while. If you keep on clicking before the map comes back you'll send more requests to the server. This will slow the whole process down.
Features
This table lists the features available in NZTopoOnline and how to access them.
| Feature | Toolbar icon | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom to reveal more detail on each map. |
|
Use the zoom tools to zoom in and out |
| Pan around each map view to reveal the adjacent area |  |
Use the pan tool |
| Search the Topo database by place name or road name and zoom straight to that location |  |
Select the search button to bring up the search box and enter a location |
| Pan to a user-specifed location |  |
Select the pan to coordinate tool. Enter a coordinate then click the Centre Map button. Note - You'll need to use the right type of coordinates. If you need to convert co-ordinates from another projection, use the Co-ordinate Calculator |
| Zoom to user specified scale |  |
Select the Zoom to User Specified Scale tool and choose a scale from the pop-down menu. |
| Create and print out customised maps |  |
Select the Custom Print tool. Create A4-A1 (Landscape) customised maps in a variety of formats and scales. Note: What you see on the screen is what you will get. To change the data viewed onscreen use the Table of Contents tools and refresh the map. |
| Extract Vector Data |  |
Select the custom extract tool to download NZTopo vector data in ESRI Shapefile format. |
| View data in a choice of coordinate systems |
|
|
| Help |  |
Access a detailed description of the NZTopoOnline toolbar and main functions from within the map viewer. |
| Advanced features | ||
| Extract and download NZTopo vector data in ESRI Shapefile format (see extract vector data above) |
|
Select the Custom Extract button to extract the GIS vector data. Note: You'll need a GIS system to manipulate the data. To view the map you can download a free viewer - ESRI Arc Explorer http://www.esri.com/software/arcexplorer/index.html You can get help from hotline@eagle.co.nz for Arc Explorer only. |
Interoperate with other data using the web map server (WMS) (see How to use WMS services) |
|
WMS complies with Open GIS Consortium (OGC) standards for interoperability. |
The NZTopoOnline toolbar is located on the left hand side of the map viewer. The toolbar gives you access to a range of functions.
There is another set of links along the bottom of the screen. These are:
| Feature | Toolbar icon | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Notify errors |  |
Fill out the online form on the LINZ website to report map errors |
| Webmaster |  |
Send us your comments about the website |
| Coordinate calculator |  |
Online conversions between the most commonly used coordinate systems in New Zealand |
| Projection information |  |
All about datums and projections |
| Data dictionary |  |
Metadata about the NZTopo features |
| Download orthophotos |  |
Orthophotographic images based on NZMG for free download. |
