1 Reply by TeresaF

  • TeresaF
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  • Registered: 12-05-2008
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Re: Free map tiles?

So... OS raster data up to 1:10k is free to download from 10 a.m. today if I've understood correctly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/01/ordnance-survey-maps-download-free
Does this mean the Recorder map tiles will also be free, or is there another way to get this data into Recorder? I wasn't going to bother with the map tiles on my home copy of Recorder but if it's free I might have a go. (I've never managed to get them to work on my machine at work, but haven't missed them as we have full GIS there, which I don't at home.)

-----------------
Teresa Frost | Wetland Bird Survey National Organiser | BTO
Other hat  | National Forum for Biological Recording Council
(Old hats  | NBN Board, ALERC Board, CBDC, KMBRC)

2 Reply by charlesroper

  • charlesroper
  • charlesroper
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Re: Free map tiles?

Sadly the 1:10k, 1:25K (Explorer) and 1:50K (Landranger) weren't released. You can see what datasets were released here:

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendatadownload/products.html

For a comparison of what was released versus what what not released, see here:

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/

As you can see, most of the really good stuff is not part of OpenData. That's a shame because what they have released is not very good for rural uses and therefore not ideal for biological recording or LRC use.

Having said that, the Gazetteer is proving quite useful already.

Charles Roper
Digital Development Manager | Field Studies Council
http://www.field-studies-council.org | https://twitter.com/charlesroper | https://twitter.com/fsc_digital

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3 Reply by johnvanbreda

  • johnvanbreda
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Re: Free map tiles?

Shame. The OS MiniScale map might make a suitable backdrop for some distribution maps in Recorder, but its not really detailed enough for making records.

John van Breda
Biodiverse IT

johnvanbreda's Website

4 Reply by charlesroper

  • charlesroper
  • charlesroper
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Re: Free map tiles?

The Gazetteer (place names), Code Point (postal codes) and OS Locator (road names) will be useful for geocoding in online apps. Perhaps they could also be accessed via web services in Recorder?

Strategi looks like it could come it handy:

Comprehensive range of feature types, including railways, airports, ferries, water features, ceremonial boundaries, cities, towns and other settlements, woods and land use, and geographic names.

Here's a nice mirror of OpenData which saves the hassle of going through the OS 'order' process and provides direct downloads:

http://parlvid.mysociety.org:81/os/

Charles Roper
Digital Development Manager | Field Studies Council
http://www.field-studies-council.org | https://twitter.com/charlesroper | https://twitter.com/fsc_digital

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5 Reply by charlesroper

  • charlesroper
  • charlesroper
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Re: Free map tiles?

I just spotted OS VectorMap Disctrict is going be released in May:

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/vectormap/district/

It looks gorgeous (check out the demo downloads). Not as detailed as Explorer (1:25k) maps, but possibly the best of the OpenData bunch. The raster version looks like it could work well in Recorder.

Charles Roper
Digital Development Manager | Field Studies Council
http://www.field-studies-council.org | https://twitter.com/charlesroper | https://twitter.com/fsc_digital

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6 Reply by kbalmer

  • kbalmer
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Re: Free map tiles?

OS VectorMap District does look to be an interesting product, but at first glance it appears that field boundaries are missing, which will be frustrating for mapping habitats.  (They have plotted woodland compartments though). I have emailed OS to check. I expect that MasterMap will be required to get these though?

Keith

kbalmer's Website