Dynamic Map Tutorial Text Version

To get started with the US Atlas of Renewable Energy, open a web browser and visit www.nrel.gov/gis/.

This is the main page.

Click the word "Maps" on the left hand side of the screen.

Information about many of the maps we produce can be found on this page.

Click on the link at the bottom that says US Atlas of Renewable Resources.

The US Atlas of Renewable Resources is now loaded in your browser.

Notice the book icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

This takes you to the help menu, and it's a great resource if you have technical questions.

Click the help icon now.

The Help menu explains what the Atlas is, has a description of the tools available for you to use, and simple instructions that tell you how to get information from the Atlas.

You’ll notice on the right side of the Atlas window is the Layers palette.

This is where you turn on or off the different layers available in the Atlas.

The folder icons can be expanded to reveal individual layers available in each group.

Checking the gray box next to a group will turn on or off all layers in that group.

By default, the elevation layer is checked.

Click the folder icon next to the elevation group to see all the layers available for this group.

Let's click the check mark in the gray box next to the layer called "Lower 48 Elevation." This turns the layer off, and the map will redraw without this layer.

You can see that the map now displays without the elevation data for the lower 48 states.

Checking the box next to "Lower 48 Elevation" will turn the layer back on.

One simple way to find an area of interest in the Atlas is to enter a zip code. You can do this in the search box on the lower left corner of the screen.

Simply enter a valid 5 digit zip code and click the "Go" button.

The zip code will be drawn and highlighted in the map window.

Sometimes you will want to find information using criteria other than zip codes.

Let's look at the layer group called Reference Data.

Expand the group by clicking on its folder icon.

Again you will see a gray box next to each layer for turning the layers on and off.

There is also a gray circle next to each layer. Clicking on the circle will make the layer active. Only one layer in the Atlas can be active at one time.

You can activate a layer even if the layer is not turned on. If you wish to see the active layer, you must make sure the gray box is also checked.

Let's make Counties both visible and active by checking the box and circle next to that layer.

Just below the map window you will see an message telling you that Counties is now the active layer.

Making a layer active is necessary before using our next tool, the Find function.

The Find tool is an easy way to locate many geographic features within the Atlas.

To use the Find tool, click on the binocular icon from the toolbar above the map window.

You'll notice a new search box appears in the lower left corner of the screen that allows you to search fields in the active layer, in this case the Counties layer.

Let's search for Jefferson county.

Be aware that the search IS case-sensitive.

After you type the county name, press enter or click Find String.

The results of the search will be displayed below the map window.

Our search returned several counties with the name "Jefferson." We're interested in Jefferson County, Colorado.

Click the number next to this county and it will be drawn and highlighted for you in the map window.

End of Tutorial.