9 replies to this topic

[CommEn Space]

We've recently put together an interactive mapping application for The Trust for Public Land. I'm interested in getting feedback from people who don't know what the application is supposed to do. We weren't in charge of writing up the intro & documentation, but I could incorporate feedback to make that better.

You can find the link to the application on this page.

Thanks for any feedback.

[Hans van der Maarel]

Purely from a cartographic/GIS point of view:

It runs rather smooth, no problems at all on FireFox. The texts in the legend are a bit too small though, not quite readable. The scrollbar in the legend pane is a couple of pixels too far to the right though, but that's not very noticeable.

When it started, I had to watch a blank browser window while it was loading. Perhaps it's possible to show a "Loading..." message, or something like that. Just some feedback to the user that something is indeed happening.

What map-server software did you use for this?

[CommEn Space]

Hans-

Thanks for the feedback

The texts in the legend are a bit too small though, not quite readable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I realize this is an issue for some viewers. What is your screen size? Also (though this isn't a good solution for all), I assume you know that you can increase the text size in firefox with a ctrl & roll of the mouse wheel. All text on the site is in relative font sizes, so it should scale (relatively) well.

The scrollbar in the legend pane is a couple of pixels too far to the right though, but that's not very noticeable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for this heads-up. I've changed it to be better aligned with the edge of the TOC.

When it started, I had to watch a blank browser window while it was loading. Perhaps it's possible to show a "Loading..." message, or something like that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Our server is painfully slow today. We'll be improving this in the near future. Also a good idea to put some sort of loading message.

What map-server software did you use for this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is all put together in a custom MapScript application (JavaScript on the client side, PHP on the server).

[Rick Dey]

The first thing I noticed was that the site is not functional in Safari (2.0.1 on 10.4.2). The window opens and some elements load (very quickly I may say, at first I didn't understand Hans' comment) but then the map never shows and many elements are never rendered properly. However using Firefox on the Mac it does work as does Camino. I didn't have much trouble with it taking long to load and I had feedback from the status bar at the bottom of the browser showing things happening. Reloading the page with a resize did take quite a while and at that time there was no feedback.

The Map info window with tips changing based on the tool is very nice. Overall the map works well and seems rather intuitive, however that impression may be tainted by using map browsers regularly. I must admit though it is one of the better I've used.

My only quibble would be with the choice of colors. I seemed to find it difficult to determine the differences between some of the greens especially with the small swatches in the legend. The type can be made larger in the browser but the swatches stay the same size. I donn't know if larger swatches alone though will help with differentiation. You also have a duplication of County or Municipal and Private Conservation at the bottom of the legend.

[CommEn Space]

The first thing I noticed was that the site is not functional in Safari (2.0.1 on 10.4.2). 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've heard of this problem and haven't had a chance to fix it - no access to a Mac. I know it's an issue with detecting the browser page size. I'll find a Mac user soon.

You also have a duplication of County or Municipal and Private Conservation at the bottom of the legend.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yikes, I can't believe you were the first to notice that. I'll fix it shortly.

Thanks for the feedback (will pass on color comments too) - it's great to have more eyes scrutinizing this.

[Rick Dey]

Until you can get to the Safari issue you might consider adding something in the first page where you note that a modern browser is needed that "Safari is not currently supported but Firefox and Camino on Macintosh will function" or something like that so that users will know right up front what to expect. We are a small but vocal community (the Mac users in the world).

[CommEn Space]

Until you can get to the Safari issue you might consider adding something in the first page where you note that a modern browser is needed that "Safari is not currently supported but Firefox and Camino on Macintosh will function"  or something like that so that users will know right up front what to expect.  We are a small but vocal community (the Mac users in the world).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll make that change as soon as possible. We're not in charge of editing the "launch" page, so it may be that I can fix the problem before they get their page edited. If you're interested in helping me troubleshoot the Safari issue, I'd be glad for the assistance (I can set up a site for testing).

[Nick Springer]

I realize it's not peanuts, but for $500 I bought a Mac Mini for the explicit purpose of testing web sites on Mac browsers. I had a old monitor, keyboard, and mouse laying around so there was no cost for those. I still don't use the Mac for map work as the machine doesn't have the oompf for that nor do I want to spend thousands buying Adobe software and others.

[Rob]

all n all the site works well and was pretty responsive and I like the overall design and color. used IE 6.

I'd second the earlier comment about the number of shades of green for the conservation areas. The private conservation is also way more saturated than the other colors for this class. If you weren't trying to draw it out intentionally, I'd suggest you make it sit back down with the others.

When the distance to public shoreline is turned on, you get even one more green to look at. I do like the green/orange contrast.

Not knowing the area, what are the light gray/white thick lines? Counties?

I'm in shock how much shoreline has no access. In hawaii we have, by law, access every 1/4 mile, even in the rich hoods, and the state/public owns the beach to the high-high water debris line.

rob

[RonInNJ]

Wow! Nice work. The NGOs here would love this application.