Overview

Maps are helpful in showing where a project's data comes from. A map draws the project's gage sites and any GIS layers you upload, such as watershed boundaries, stream lines, or structure locations, on top of a basemap. Maps belong to the project: they are saved in the project's .neptune file along with the uploaded layer files, so a project copied to another computer opens with its maps intact.

Maps in Neptune are for orientation and illustration. They are not a GIS: layers are drawn with fixed symbols, no spatial calculations are performed on them, and nothing on a map feeds into an analysis.

Two terms are used throughout this chapter:

• Project Layer — a GIS file uploaded to the project. A project layer is stored once and can be shown on any number of maps. Removing it from a map does not delete it; it stays in the project until you delete it from the project.
• Gages layer — a built-in layer that Neptune creates from the project's datasets. Every dataset with a site location appears as a gage marker. The Gages layer can be shown on or removed from any map, but it cannot be renamed or deleted.

The Project Map

The first time a dataset with a gage site is saved to a project (for example, through Import from USGS), Neptune automatically creates a map named Project Map showing the Gages layer. The Project Map is an ordinary map in every other respect: it can be renamed, deleted, and given additional layers.

If you create your own map before the project has any gage sites, Neptune creates the Project Map at the same time, so the project will contain two maps.

Opening and Creating Maps

The Maps menu

The Maps menu provides the following options:

• New Map — opens the New Map drawer to create a map.
• Open Map Window — lists every map in the project; select one to open it. If the project has no maps, the only choice is Empty Map, which opens a basemap with no layers.
• Add Map Layers — opens the Add Map Layer drawer (see Uploading a Layer) for the map you opened most recently.
• Zoom to Map Extents — opens the most recently used map and zooms to fit all of its gages and layers.

The Maps section of the project tree

The Maps section of the project tree lists the project's maps. If the project has none, it shows (No maps). From this section you can:

• Click the + button (New map) to create a map.
• Double-click a map to open it.
• Right-click a map and select Open, Rename, Save As, or Delete.
• Expand a map to see the layers it shows. Each layer row has a checkbox that shows or hides the layer on that map (see Working with Layers from the Project Tree).

You can also open an empty map by typing Map in the search box (Ctrl+K).

Each map opens in its own tab in the center panel, titled Map - map name. Opening a map that is already open brings its existing tab forward rather than opening a second copy.

Creating a map

To create a map, select Maps | New Map, or click + beside Maps in the project tree. The New Map drawer opens.

1. Enter a Map name (e.g., Russian_River_Basin). The name defaults to New Map, and it must be unique within the project.
2. Under Layers, check the layers the map should start with. All layers checks or clears every layer at once. The Gages layer is listed first and is not checked by default; check it if the map should show gage sites.
3. Click Create map. The new map opens immediately.

Layers are placed on the map in the order they are listed, with the first layer drawn on top. You can add, remove, and reorder layers later from the map's Layers Panel.

Renaming, copying, and deleting maps

To rename a map, right-click it in the project tree and select Rename. Type the new name in place and press Enter to save or Esc to cancel. If another map already uses the name, Neptune appends a number, for example Flood Study (2). A blank name is ignored.

To copy a map, right-click it and select Save As. In the Save Map As dialog, enter a Name for the copy (e.g., Russian_River_Levees) and click OK. The copy shows the same layers in the same order, with the same visibility and view, and can then be changed without affecting the original. The layers themselves are shared, not duplicated. If the name is already in use, Neptune appends a number.

To delete a map, right-click it and select Delete, click the red trash icon on its row, or select it in the project tree and press the Delete key. Use Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select several maps. A confirmation dialog warns that This cannot be undone; click Delete to proceed. If the map is open, its tab closes.

Deleting a map never deletes the layers it showed. They remain in the project and can be added to other maps.

Project Layers

A layer is uploaded to the project once. It can then be shown on any number of maps, in a different position and with a different visibility on each. Renaming a layer changes its name on every map; deleting it from the project removes it from every map.

Supported formats

Other formats, including KML, raster files (GeoTIFF, DEM, ASC), DXF, and HEC-DSS, cannot be added as map layers. A layer in an unsupported format that was added by an earlier version of Neptune stays in the project but is not drawn, and a message is written to the Messages panel.

Uploading a Layer

To upload a layer, click Upload layer in a map's Layers Panel, or select Maps | Add Map Layers. The Add Map Layer drawer opens.

1. Optionally, use the Format filter to limit the file chooser to Shapefile (.shp) or GeoJSON (.geojson, .json). The default, All formats, allows both.
2. Drag the layer file onto the drop area (Drag a layer file here), or click Choose file and browse to it.
   • For a shapefile, choose only the .shp file. Neptune automatically adds the companion files (.shx, .dbf, .prj, and so on) that have the same base name and sit in the same folder.
   • The selected files are listed with their sizes, and the .shp is marked (primary). Use the remove button beside a file to take it out of the list.
3. Enter a Layer name (e.g., MyWatershedBoundary). The name is filled in from the file name and can be changed.
4. Under Add to map, choose the map the layer should be drawn on. The layer is placed on top of that map. Choose None (project layers only) to add the layer to the project without showing it on any map yet. Either way, the layer joins the project and becomes available to every map.
5. Click Add layer.

If a shapefile's .shx, .dbf, or .prj is missing from the folder, a yellow warning appears in the drawer before you upload. The layer can still be added, but it may be missing attributes, fail to draw, or appear in the wrong place. Locate the missing file and place it beside the .shp before uploading if you can.

When Neptune is run in a web browser instead of the desktop application, companion files cannot be found automatically. In that case the button reads Choose files, and you must select the .shp and all of its companion files together.

The Layers Panel

Each open map has a floating Layers Panel that controls what the map shows. The header gives the map name and the number of layers on the map. Click Collapse to shrink the panel to a small label, and click the label to expand it again; Neptune remembers whether the panel was collapsed.

The panel has three sections:

• On this map — the layers the map shows, top layer first.
• Available — project layers (including Gages) that are not on this map.
• Basemap — the background map (see Basemaps).

Adding and removing layers

To add a layer to the map, click + (Add to map) on its row in the Available section; it is placed on top. Alternatively, drag the row by its grip handle into the On this map section at the position you want.

To take a layer off the map, open the layer's options menu (⋯) and select Remove from map. The layer moves back to Available and stays in the project.

Ordering layers

Layers higher in the On this map list are drawn on top of those below. Drag a layer by its grip handle to change its position.

Showing and hiding layers

Click the eye button (Show / Hide) on a layer's row to turn it on or off without removing it from the map. Hidden layers are shown dimmed in the list. Visibility is saved separately for each map, so a layer can be visible on one map and hidden on another.

Layer options

The options menu (⋯) on each layer row contains:

• Zoom to layer — zooms the map to the extent of the layer. Not available while the layer is hidden.
• Rename — edit the name in place; press Enter to save or Esc to cancel. The new name applies on every map. The name cannot be blank, and if another layer already uses it (ignoring capitalization), Neptune appends a number such as (2).
• Remove from map — takes the layer off this map only.
• Delete from project — deletes the layer and its files from the project. A Delete layer dialog lists every map that shows the layer; click Delete to confirm. The layer is removed from all of those maps.

The Gages layer cannot be renamed or deleted from the project.

Delete from project cannot be undone. To stop showing a layer on one map, use Remove from map instead.

Working with Layers from the Project Tree

Each map in the Maps section of the project tree can be expanded to list its layers. Uploaded layers are shown with their file type, for example Watershed (.shp). From the tree you can:

• Check or clear a layer's checkbox to show or hide it on that map.
• Double-click a layer to open the map and zoom to the layer.
• Drag a layer to a new position under the same map to reorder it.
• Drag a layer onto another map in the tree, or onto an open map window, to add it to that map as the top layer. The layer also stays on its original map.
• Right-click a layer and select Remove from map.

Layer Appearance

Layers are drawn with fixed symbols, and their colors, line widths, and fills cannot be changed:

The map has no separate legend. A color swatch on each row of the Layers Panel identifies the symbol color.

Basemaps

The Basemap section of the Layers Panel selects the background drawn beneath all layers:

The basemap choice is remembered on your computer and applies to every map in every project; it is not saved with the project.

Basemaps are downloaded from the internet as you pan and zoom. Without an internet connection the background is blank, and a message in the Messages panel says the basemap could not be loaded. Gages and uploaded layers are stored in the project and still draw normally.

Coordinate Systems

Maps are displayed in latitude/longitude. Neptune positions each layer as follows:

• Shapefile with a .prj file — the layer is converted from the coordinate system described in the .prj file and lines up with the basemap.
• Shapefile without a .prj file, already in latitude/longitude — the layer draws in the correct place.
• Shapefile without a usable .prj file, in projected coordinates (for example, State Plane or UTM in feet or meters) — the layer's shape is kept but it is placed at an arbitrary location near Davis, California, sized about 50 km across. A message in the Messages panel states that the layer is drawn for illustration only and will not line up with the basemap.
• GeoJSON in latitude/longitude — the GeoJSON standard requires WGS 84 latitude/longitude, and such a layer draws in the correct place.
• GeoJSON in projected coordinates — GeoJSON carries no projection file, so Neptune cannot convert it. As with a shapefile that has no .prj, the layer's shape is kept and it is placed near Davis, California, for illustration only, and a message in the Messages panel says so.

A layer placed for illustration does not show its real location and does not line up with the basemap, the gages, or other layers. To place it correctly, reproject a GeoJSON file to WGS 84 (EPSG:4326) in a GIS application before uploading it, and upload a shapefile together with its .prj file.

Gages and Feature Information

Gage markers

The Gages layer shows one marker for each site that has datasets with coordinates. Hover over a marker to see the site name. Click a marker to open a popup containing:

• The site name.
• For data imported from USGS, a Site link to the site's USGS Water Data page.
• Each dataset at the site, with its name and group, and Plot and Table buttons that open the data. Plot is available for time series only.

Uploaded features

Hover over a feature on an uploaded layer to see its name, taken from the feature's name, NAME, or title attribute, or the layer name if it has none. Click a feature to open a popup that shows the layer name and up to eight of the feature's attributes. There is no attribute table; to review all attributes, use a GIS application.

Saving and Map Views

The following are saved in the project file when the project is saved:

• Each map, its name, and the layers it shows, with their order and visibility.
• Each map's view (center and zoom level), recorded shortly after you stop panning or zooming.
• The uploaded layer files themselves. No separate folder of GIS files needs to travel with the project.

When a map opens, it returns to its saved view. A map that has never been viewed zooms to fit its gages, or its layers if it has no gages. A map with neither opens centered on Davis, California.

The basemap choice, whether the Layers Panel is collapsed, and the most recently opened map are remembered on your computer only and are not saved with the project.

Maps cannot currently be exported, printed, or saved as images, and uploaded layer files cannot be downloaded back out of the project. Keep your original GIS files.