You can always use maps in Maptionnaire surveys.
You have two options:
- Use the maps that we offer as part of each subscription (found in Survey settings > Background > System maps) or that you have generated yourself with the Draw map functionality
- Upload your own map files (shapefiles, geoJSONs) or connect to a WMS/WMTS/WFS server. The maps should be in the coordinate system WGS84 – EPSG:4326 or 3857 (unless they are shapefiles or WMTS). You can also use Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF files on Maptionnaire – if this is something you'd be interested in, please contact support@maptionnaire.com
You can use several maps in one survey, and have a different map on the background of each page.
How to use the maps we offer (system maps)
- Go to Survey settings > Background.
- Under System maps, there is the text Add layer and a search field next to it. Click where it says Type to search. A drop-down menu with all the available map options opens up.
- Choose the map you want to use by clicking it.
- The name of the map should appear above the search field with a series of numbered checkboxes following it. The boxes represent the pages in your questionnaire. Tick the ones on which you want to use the map. You can also change the name of the map by clicking Edit names.
- Go to the first page in your survey where you want to use the map. You should be able to see the map in the window on the right. Find the preferred starting location for the map. To set it as the starting location/map view, go to Maps and click Set.
If the same map is used in the following pages, the same starting location will be automatically copied. You can also change it in each page's Maps tab.
How to use your own background map
- Go to Materials.
- Click the purple Map button. Select the map type from the drop-down menu. Upload the map file or connect to the map server via a URL. For instructions on how to upload different map types, click here.
- Go to the survey.
- Go to Survey settings > Background
- Depending on whether your map is a basemap (a 'complete' map that can be used on its own, e.g. Google Maps) or a map overlay (a map containing only simple vector features that needs to be presented on top of a basemap), click the search field next to Add layer.
- Choose the map from the drop-down menu that opens up.
- The name of the map should appear above the search field with a series of numbered checkboxes following it. The boxes represent the pages in your questionnaire. Tick the ones on which you want to show the map. You can also change the name of the map by clicking Edit names.
- Go to the first page in your survey where you want to use the map. You should be able to see the map in the window on the right. Find the preferred starting location for the map. To set it as the starting location/map view, go to Maps and click Set.
If the same map is used in the following pages, the same starting location will be automatically copied. You can also change it in each page's Maps tab.
Can I use multiple different maps in the same survey?
Each survey page can have a different map background. You do not need to set anything up differently. If you want to set different starting locations for the maps, you can do that on each survey page under the Maps tab.
Can I use several maps on each survey page?
Technically, yes. However, when it comes to system and base maps, we strongly recommend using only one per page. Multiple maps can make the survey less easy to load. You can have multiple map overlays (e.g. shapefiles), but with those it's recommended to keep their size max. 500 kb in total.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Yes, you can! For more information on the specific requirements for the shapefile, please see this article.
Most likely yes, you can provided your city's maps are publicly available and you know the URL address of the service. For WMS and WFS, we support maps in WGS84 – EPSG:4326 or 3857. For WMTS, any coordinate system is usually possible, but please contact us at support@maptionnaire.com first.
This could be due to several reasons. Here are some of the most common:
- Check that the server URL is correct.
- Check that the WMS is in or supports the coordinate system WGS84:4326 or 3857.
- Choose a map layer(s) that you want to show. You can do this under Layers in the map editing window in Materials.
- Check that you are zoomed in close enough. Sometimes WMS servers only produce map tiles when you zoom in closer to the location on the map.
- Check with the person(s) responsible for that WMS server that the server allows web-based platforms such as Maptionnaire to use its maps. What they should be looking at are CORS settings and specifically the 'Access-Allow-Control-Origin' setting, which should be set to "*".
Technically, yes. However, when it comes to system and base maps, we strongly recommend using only one per page. Multiple maps can make the survey less easy to load. You can have multiple map overlays (e.g. shapefiles), but with those it's recommended to keep their size under 500 kb altogether.
Since October 2023, it has been possible to use cloud optimized GeoTIFFs on Maptionnaire. Contact support@maptionnaire.com for more information.
Yes it is, with the Click map element.
You can do this by going to Page settings and to the Maps tab. Then, simply zoom to the map view you want and click Set. This location will be repeated on each page featuring the map if you don't set another starting location for them.
Yes it is, if you have included each route as a separate feature within the shapefile. You can then choose the color for each route when you upload the shapefile to Maptionnaire.
The previous version of Maptionnaire had some of Google's maps as default system maps. Unfortunately, due to Google's terms of service, we can no longer offer this option, as it would mean that you could use only Google Maps in Maptionnaire. For more information, please see Google Maps' Terms of Service (see in particular #3 License).
First, check that the shapefile contains all the correct files and is in a compressed .ZIP format. If these are correct, then the problem may be caused by a z-dimension in the shapefile. To fix this, simply remove it from the file. On QGIS, you can do this by saving the features again, and in the section called Geometry choosing the feature type (point, line or polygon) instead of Automatic. Finally, uncheck the z-dimension.
Not to worry, for this purpose we have created the Draw map functionality. It allows you to place features on a map and thus create a map layer (in GeoJSON format) that you can add to your surveys.
Yes you can, simply define the Label key (the name of the column in the file that contains the names of the different features) in the file's settings when you upload it to Maptionnaire.
Unfortunately no, not at the moment.
Instead of a more traditional legend, respondents can always open a menu with all map layer options from the upper right corner of the map. You can edit the names of the map layers in Survey settings > Background > Edit names. You can also add a legend as an image file to the question field.
We use WGS84 (EPSG:4326/3857), but it's possible to use WMTS maps and shapefiles with other coordinate systems. If your map is not in WGS84, contact us at support@maptionnaire.com.
The accuracy of the location depends on both the location and the device. If you are using a laptop/desktop computer (i.e. devices that do not have GPS), geolocation is done through Wi-Fi network data. Essentially, the companies that provide the location search (Google, Apple etc.) record all Wi-Fi networks within for example a city, and where they are located there. When you search for a location, the system (a third-party provider with access to the Google/Apple data) locates your approximate position by looking at what Wi-Fi networks are the nearest to you and where their data tells these networks are located. By finding a matching 'network cluster', the service is then able to tell your approximate (never the absolutely exact) location, with a certain error margin (this is the see-through 'halo' around the location point).
In urban areas where there's a dense concentration of Wi-Fi networks, the location is usually fairly accurate. In rural areas it may not be as accurate due to those areas being more sparsely populated and hence having a lower density of Wi-Fi networks. The error margin in rural locations is therefore usually always bigger.
Finding your location is usually more accurate on mobile phones, as they use GPS. In the case that the location isn't accurate, the address search (magnifying glass symbol) can help. Respondents can use it to find different places if they know the address.
There are a couple of function within the maps that can help stakeholders with this. First, they can click the compass/arrowhead symbol to locate themselves on the map. They can also search for specific addresses using the address search (the magnifying glass symbol).
Locating yourself within the map and locating places through their addresses can be helpful in navigating the map, but of course there will always be individual differences with how people read / understand maps, as they always represent space in a two-dimensional mode that is very different from our every-day spatial experience. If you are worried about respondents having a difficulty finding places on the map, perhaps featuring images of the location in the instructions and/or in pop-ups on the map (e.g. respondent clicks a building and a photo of it opens up) could help? You can also always include follow-up questions in a pop-up after each map marking that the respondent has made, so to ensure that they have marked the correct spot on the map you could always ask them to provide some further details.
Comments
Hi,
Can the respondents also locate themselves on the background map of the survey using their device's GPS?
Hi,
Yes, they can by clicking the compass needle symbol on the map:
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