Help with Viewing Maps

With the image viewer available in North Carolina Maps, users can zoom in and out of large images, move the image available in the viewing window, expand the window to fit a larger screen, and determine what part of the map they are viewing.


Image Viewer Controls

Zooming In and Out

There are four different ways to zoom in on a map image:

  • Users can double-click on the map image to zoom in. The location where the user clicks will appear in the center of the viewing window when the resized image appears.
  • The image viewer controls (shown here), located in the upper left corner of the window, enable users to zoom in and out. To zoom in, click on the plus symbol at the top of the vertical bar. To zoom out, click on the minus symbol.
  • The horizonal slider, located above the "zoom out" button on the vertical bar on the image viewer control, can be moved up and down to zoom in and out.
  • Users with a scroll wheel on their mouse can use that to zoom in and out. When the scroll wheel is rotated up, or away from the user, the image will zoom in; when the wheel is rotated down, or toward the user, the image will zoom out.



Image Viewer Controls

Expanding the Viewing Window

To expand the viewing window, users can click on the button at the bottom of the image viewer controls. The expanded size of the window will be determined by the user's screen size.



Image Viewer Controls

Moving the Map Image

Users have three options for moving the image on the screen:

  • Users can click and drag to move the image around. Position the mouse pointer on the map, click once, and -- while still holding the mouse button -- drag the image to a new place on the screen.
  • The navigational wheel at the top of the image viewer controls can be used to move the image right, left, up, or down.
  • The map navigation window, described below, can be dragged to a different place, moving the map image on the screen.



Image Viewer Controls

Which Section of the Map Is Being Viewed?

The map navigation window can be accessed by clicking on the small arrow in the upper right corner of the image viewer. In the small screen that appears, the user can see the section of the map that is being viewed in the context of the larger map. The red box shows which section of the map is currently being shown. Users can move the red box to view a different section of the map. This window can be minimized by clicking again on the small arrow in the upper right corner.



Image Viewer Controls

Determining the Minimum and Maximum Zoom Levels

The notches on the vertical bar on the image viewer controls show how many "zoom levels" are available for each map. Some smaller maps may have only a few, while larger maps will offer many levels. Users can move the horizontal slider to go to a specific zoom level.