1. Map Tools

These tools are used for map navigation and to make selections and queries. Click on each tool to select it.

Zoom In:  Zooms to the position you click or the box you define on the map. This tool allows you to view a smaller portion of the map display. Click the map display or drag a rectangle over the place you would like to zoom to.

Zoom Out:  Zooms out from the position you click or the area you define on the map. This tool allows you to zoom out and view a larger portion of the map display. Click the map display or drag a rectangle over the place you would like to zoom out from.

Full Extent:  Zooms back to the Spokane City Limits.

Pan:  Pans the map display in the direction you click. The position you click will become the new center of your map display.

Select:  Selects map features and returns descriptive information about them.  Only features of the "Active" layer are selectable.  Click on the button beside each layer in the layer list to set it active.  Selected features will be highlighted on the map and associated tabular data will be displayed. See More Info...

Clear:  This tool clears any selected or highlighted features.

Add Point:  Add a graphic point to the map display by clicking on the desired location. Geographic coordinates information will be display for each point.

2. Table of Contents Tabbing

The Layers, Legend, Info and Settings tabs control what is displayed below them in the table of contents section of the viewer.

Layers:  Map information is organized into layers and all layers are grouped into categories.  Hover over the layers tab and a drop down list of all the layer groups will appear.  For example: by clicking on the "Environment" layer group all the natural environment data will appear in the table of contents area below.

Legend:  Clicking the legend tab will display an extensive list of how all layers in the map viewer are symbolized.  Please note that not all layers in the legend may be active at any one time.

Info:  Contains current or previously selected tabular information about map features.

Search:  Clicking on the "Search" tab will display demographic querying and reporting tools.

3. Tables of Contents

This area is controlled by the Table of Contents Tabbing and has four major functions:  1. It displays the layer lists which are used to select which information is displayed on the map.  2. It displays the Legend.  3. It is used to display attribute information about the geographic features you select.  4. It is used to display map viewer settings.

4. Map Display

The map display changes as you "zoom in," "zoom out,"pan", etc... You can manipulate the map display by using the Map Tools.  The active tool affects how the map display will change when you click on it.

5. Quick Search Bar

Quickly locate a parcel number, find a street address, or zoom to some common city landmarks.  Results of your queries will be displayed in the table of contents area.

Parcel#:  Enter a valid Spokane County Assessor parcel number (also referred to as a property number).  The property number consists of two sets of digits separated by a period (For Example: 35183.1501).  Your property number can be located on a current tax assessment bill.  If a valid parcel number is entered the search results will be returned to the table of contents area.  You can also retrieve County Assessor records by following the link to the Spokane County Parcel Data Locator.

Address:  Enter a street address.  Please note: there are 4 parts to an address: Number, Direction, Street Name, and Street Type.  (For Example: 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd.)  Entering all address parts will results in better matching results.  A list of address search results will be returned to the table of contents area.  Results with higher scores are more closely matched to your search input.

Landmarks:  Select common city landmarks from the drop down list and zoom to that location.

Turning Layers On and Off and Making a Layer Active

A layer is visible on the map if there is a check in the square next to it under the heading 'Visible'.  You can turn layers on or off by clicking in the square.

After you turn a layer on or off, hit the Redraw Map button to update the map.

By default, some layers may be turned on and others may be turned off when you initially open the map.

In the example above, you can see that the "Tax Parcels" and "Water Bodies" layers are turned on.  You can also see that "Tax Parcels" is 'Active'.  Setting a layer "Active" enables you to find out descriptive information about that layer using the Select tool.  Only information about the active layer is displayed when performing selections.