Map, image and color backgrounds

Each page of your maptionnaire can have a different background –  you can use any of the four different types of backgrounds:

1. Upload any images and maps of your own that you want to feature to Materials. If you want to use the maps we offer (system maps) or a simple color background, you can skip this step.

2. Go to the first page of your survey. Select Settings on top of the page.

   

3. In Page type, choose the type of background you want to have on this page. If you want to use the same background on all pages, make the selection on the first page and click Set as default.

4. For the next steps, click the appropriate section below:

   Map

   Next, you need to select the map(s) that you want to use on this page. You do this by clicking or typing into the field that says Type to search.

   

   A drop-down menu will open with all the maps available to you. Click the one you want to add.  It is important to add the map under the correct map category. There are three different map categories in Maptionnaire:

   System maps

   Maptionnaire comes with a number of pre-uploaded map options provided by Mapbox and MapTiler. They are free for you to use. Maptiler Streets is included in every draft by default, but you can switch it off here.

   Own basemaps

   Maps you upload to Materials. If the map contains a limited number of features (e.g. a shapefile), then it is a Map overlay.

   Map overlays

   Map overlays contain a limited number of features (such as roads or houses) and need to be presented with a system or basemap as their background. Map overlays are maps you either upload to Materials (e.g. shapefiles) or create in Maptionnaire with the Create a map function.

   If you want to use a shapefile or similar layer with a limited number of features, you need to select both a system map/basemap and a map overlay.

   

   Then, choose whether to use metric (km) or imperial (miles) as the map scale measurements. 

   Finally, set the starting/default view of the map from the window on the right and click Set to save it.

   Optional settings:

   

   The Actions menu allows you to select different options. Hide by default sets the map overlay to be initially hidden from view and only shown if the respondent chooses it from the map layer menu. Hide from layer menu shows the layer on the map but hides it from the layer menu so the respondent cannot toggle it off.

    

    

   Background image

   A background image is any image file (e.g. PNG, JPG) that you want to have on the background of a survey page.

   

   You need to upload it first to Materials (keep the size under 1 MB). When you’ve done that, click or type where it says Add image and select the image from the drop-down view.

   You can set the same image to be used on all pages from Actions.

   Interactive image

   Interactive images are image files (e.g. PNG, JPG) that you want the respondents to comment on by placing map points or drawing on top of the image. These could be for example building blueprints or visions of a plan change. In contrast to maps, interactive images do not contain any coordinate data. You can analyze the data collected in this way in Maptionnaire's built-in analysis tool. The recommended dimensions for the image are max. 1920×1080 (the most common laptop screen size), min. 1280×800 (budget laptop screen size). The recommended max. size for the image file is 500 kb.

   First, upload the image file to Materials (keep the size under 1 MB). When you’ve done that, click or type where it says Add image and select the image from the drop-down view.

   

   Then, find the view/extent you want to be shown by default (Default view) and click Set to save it.

   Color

   This setting enables you to use a simple color background instead of a map or an image. It can be a smart choice to use a color background on pages where you're not asking map questions, especially if the maps you are using are quite heavy.

   Simply choose the color from the color selector or by using a color code.

Layout and alignment

You can choose between two widths for the area or 'question box' that contains the questionnaire elements. Regardless of the width you choose, it won't affect the way that the questionnaire is presented on a smartphone. 

You can also decide on the alignment of the 'question box' or form on pages where a non-interactive image background or a color background is used. With maps and interactive images, the form is always on the left side of the screen.

If you want to use the same layout and/or alignment throughout the survey, click Set as default.

When the questionnaire is accessed with a smartphone, we automatically use a different, mobile-friendly layout.