Overview
What is BlueView?
BlueView is MapGeoid's web GIS portal. It lets your organisation publish map apps and dashboards built on your own GIS services and data — without writing code. Administrators assemble each app in a visual builder; everyone else opens it in the browser and gets straight to work.
Map apps
Interactive maps with layers, a legend and a toolbar of tools such as search, identify, measure and trace.
Dashboards
KPI cards, charts, gauges, tables and maps that summarise live layer data at a glance.
Your data
GeoServer and ArcGIS services, plus files you upload — GeoJSON, KML, shapefiles, CSV, GeoTIFF and geodatabases.
Controlled access
Every app has an owner and is visible only to the people it is shared with.
Good to know
BlueView does not host or copy your GIS services. It connects to the GeoServer and ArcGIS REST endpoints you configure and draws them live, so your data stays in your own systems.
Basics
Getting started
Sign in
- Go to blueview.mapgeoid.com (or your organisation's own BlueView address).
- Enter the email address and password your administrator gave you.
- You land on the home page, which lists every map app and dashboard you have access to.
Your session is kept in a secure browser cookie. Use Log out in the user menu (top right) when you are done on a shared computer.
Open an app
Click any card on the home page to open it. Use the application search at the top of the page to find an app by name. Map apps open with the layer list on the left, the map in the centre and the toolbar along the edge; dashboards open as a grid of widgets.
Your changes while viewing
When you view an app you can switch layers on and off, change a layer's transparency or turn its labels on and off. These changes are yours alone and are not saved — reloading the page brings the app back to the way its author set it up. Only the owner of an app, or an administrator, can change it permanently.
Your profile
Open the user menu and choose Profile to update your name, change your password and pick a light or dark theme.
Access
Roles and permissions
Every user account has one of two roles — Admin or User. What you can do with a particular app then depends on your relationship to it:
| You are… | What you can do with the app |
|---|---|
| Administrator | See, edit, rename, delete and share every app in the portal. |
| Owner | Full control of the apps you created: edit, rename and delete. An administrator handles sharing. |
| Shared with you | Open and use the app and all its tools. You cannot edit, rename or delete it. |
| Anyone else | Nothing — the app does not appear on your home page at all. |
These rules are enforced on the server, not only in the interface, so an app that has not been shared with you is never sent to your browser.
Building
Building a map app
Map apps and dashboards are both created and edited in the Builder.
- On the home page, choose to create a new module and pick Map App.
- Give it a title, then add layers with Add layers (see Adding data).
- Arrange the layers: drag them into order, group related layers, and set symbology, labels and pop-ups from each layer's menu.
- Pick the tools the app should offer from the tool library and configure each one — for example, which layers and fields Search should look in.
- Save. The app appears on the home page of everyone it is shared with.
Safe saving
If two people edit the same app at the same time, BlueView will not let one silently overwrite the other. The second save is refused with a message, so you can reload the latest version and reapply your change.
Building
Adding data
GIS services
Service layers are drawn live from the server that publishes them:
- GeoServer — WMS layers, with WFS used for querying features.
- ArcGIS REST — Feature Server and Map Server layers.
Administrators can save frequently used servers under Settings → ArcGIS Servers / GeoServer so that app builders can pick them from a list instead of typing a URL each time.
Files from your computer
You can also add a file directly. Most formats are read entirely in your browser; geodatabases are converted on the BlueView server and the upload is deleted afterwards.
| Format | Extensions | Size limit |
|---|---|---|
| GeoJSON | .geojson, .json | 12 MB |
| KML / KMZ | .kml, .kmz | 12 MB |
| Shapefile | zipped .zip (with .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj) | 12 MB |
| CSV / TSV | .csv, .tsv, .txt with coordinate columns | 12 MB |
| GeoTIFF | .tif, .tiff | 20 MB |
| File Geodatabase / GeoPackage | zipped .gdb or .gpkg | 200 MB, up to 60,000 features per layer |
For larger datasets, publish them through GeoServer or ArcGIS Server and add them as a service layer instead.
Building
Working with layers
Every layer in the layer list has a ⋮ menu. BlueView only shows the options that the layer's source supports — for example, symbology is offered for vector layers but not for a pre-styled WMS image.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Zoom to layer | Fits the map to the layer's extent. |
| Attribute table | Opens the layer's records in a sortable, filterable table. |
| Symbology | Point, line and polygon styles — a single symbol or colours by unique value. |
| Labeling | Show a field (or an expression) as map labels, with font, colour and halo settings. |
| Configure pop-up | Choose which fields appear, and how, when someone clicks a feature. |
| Set visibility range | Show the layer only between two map scales, e.g. 1:50,000 to 1:500. |
| Set transparency | Make the layer partly see-through. |
| Layer information | Source, type and other details of the layer. |
| Rename, duplicate, refresh | Housekeeping for the layer. |
| Move up / down, move to group | Change drawing order, or organise layers into groups. |
| Remove layer | Takes the layer out of the app (the source data is not touched). |
The map can also show a legend, a scale bar and a north arrow.
Reference
Tools reference
App builders choose which of these tools each map app offers, and configure them — for instance, which layers a tool may work on. Tools are grouped by what they help you do.
Query
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search | Find features by value, across every layer and field the builder allows. |
| Query | Build a condition on attributes (e.g. diameter > 100) and list matching features. |
| Filter | Narrow a layer on the map to only the features that match one or more conditions. |
| Select | Drag a shape over the map to pick features, then open them in a table. |
| Select by location | Pick features that intersect, lie within, contain, or are within a distance of other features. |
| Identify | Click the map to read every attribute at that point. |
| Attribute table | Open a layer's records in a sortable, filterable table. |
| Connected trace | Follow a pipe or cable through everything it is joined to, and report the assets along the run. |
| Buffer | Draw a ring at a set distance and list what falls inside it. |
| Density | Show where a point or line layer clusters most, as a heatmap. |
Navigate
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bookmark | Save map views and return to them in one click. |
| Near me | Find features within a distance of a point on the map. |
| Coordinates | Read the cursor's position and jump to a typed coordinate (decimal degrees or DMS). |
| Basemap | Switch the background map — street, satellite, terrain and more. |
| Directions | A driving route between two places, with turn-by-turn directions. |
Measure
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Measure | Measure distance and area in metric or imperial units. |
| Coordinates readout | Live latitude and longitude under the cursor. |
Edit
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Draw | Sketch points, lines and shapes over the map. |
| Add data | Let viewers drop their own GeoJSON, KML, shapefile or CSV onto the map. |
| Edit | Change feature attributes — written back to the service, or to the file layer itself. |
| Swipe | Drag a divider across the map to compare two layers. |
Share
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Export the current map view as an image or PDF, optionally with the legend. | |
| Share | Copy a link that reopens the map at the current view. |
| Export KML | Save a layer's features as KML, to open in Google Earth or another GIS. |
Building
Dashboards
A dashboard turns layer data into a page of live figures. Create one from the home page by choosing Dashboard, then work through its four panels:
- Data sources — connect the layers the dashboard reads, from a saved GeoServer or ArcGIS connection or a manual URL.
- Widgets — add and configure the widgets listed below.
- Filters — add filters viewers can use to narrow every widget at once, by category, number or date.
- Layout and settings — arrange widgets on the grid, and choose the theme and refresh interval.
| Widget | Use it for |
|---|---|
| KPI / Indicator | One headline number — a count, sum or average. |
| Charts | Bar, column, line, pie and donut charts grouped by a field. |
| Gauge | Progress of a value towards a target. |
| List | A scrolling list of individual features. |
| Table | Records in rows and columns. |
| Map | A map of the dashboard's layers. |
| Text | Headings, notes and explanations. |
Dashboards can refresh automatically every 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes, or only when a viewer asks. Frequent refresh puts continuous load on your GIS services, so choose the slowest interval that suits the use.
Admin
Administration
Open Settings from the user menu. Administrators see every section; other users see the ones that apply to them.
| Section | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Home Page | Edit the portal's home page — text, images and layout. |
| App Gallery | Every app in the portal in one list: show or hide it on the home page, set its thumbnail, lock it against accidental deletion, and share it. |
| Layers | A registry of layers that app builders can reuse. |
| ArcGIS Servers | Saved ArcGIS REST connections. |
| GeoServer | Saved GeoServer connections. |
| User Management | Create users, reset passwords, set roles and disable accounts. |
| Roles & Permissions | What each role is allowed to do. |
| User Groups | Organise users into groups such as departments or regions, and give a whole group access to apps at once. |
Disabling a user
When someone leaves, disable their account rather than deleting it. A disabled user can no longer sign in, but the apps they own are kept. Deleting a user also permanently deletes every app they own.
Help
Frequently asked questions
I can't see an app my colleague is using.
It hasn't been shared with you. Ask an administrator to add you in the app's Share dialog.
My layer changes disappeared after I reloaded.
Changes made while viewing an app are temporary by design. Ask the app's owner to make the change in the Builder if everyone should see it.
A service layer isn't drawing.
The GeoServer or ArcGIS server behind it may be unreachable or may require a login. Use Refresh layer, and if it still fails, check the service URL with your GIS administrator.
My file is too large to upload.
See the limits in Adding data. Publish larger datasets through GeoServer or ArcGIS Server and add them as a service layer.
Help
Support
Need help, training or a new feature? Contact the MapGeoid team at info@mapgeoid.com or +91 7011536999.