Help - Map Images viewer

This viewer allows you to explore all of our map images in detail. With the viewer you can zoom, pan or rotate the map.

You can download a PDF of any part of the map, as well as save and copy links to the map or to specific parts of it. For series maps, it is also possible to view the location of the map, or view the map as a georeferenced layer.

You can draw, edit or delete features and also save the results as an image or JSON file.

Navigation

Navigate to the home pages for the particular map series or groups you are looking at:

Map Finder with Outlines navigation panel

To zoom in:

To move sideways or pan:

To rotate:

  • Hold the [Alt] and [Shift] keys down, and drag with your cursor to rotate the map. Click on the blue arrow to the upper right, or refresh the page to return to the default rotation.
Illustration of rotation graphic
Illustration of rotation graphic
  • Pinch with two fingers on a touch screen to rotate the map. Tap on the blue arrow to the upper right to return to the default rotation.

To print / capture screen image

Further information is available on printouts, images and photocopies on our Enquiries & Copies page, as well as on How to order map copies.

Full-screen view

This displays the zoomable image without the header and footer.

To link to the page or specific view

  • Tap the More... button (lower left), and then tap on the Link to this page link to view the URL of the page (and part of the map) you are looking at.
  • A suffix will be added to the standard URL (ie. maps.nls.uk/view/[map ID] ). This includes zoom=, lat= and lon= parameters to link to a specific part of the map.
  • You can also copy this to the clipboard.

To link to the page or specific view

  • By default, the standard URL for each map (ie. maps.nls.uk/view/[map ID] ) presents the initial view of the whole map on the screen.
  • To save or send a link to a more specific part of the map, zoom and pan to the area you are interested in, then select the Link to this view tab (circled in red below). A suffix will be added to the standard URL. This includes zoom=, lat= and lon= parameters (highlighted in pink below in the address bar) which relate to the original image and pixel dimensions. If you copy this longer URL, it will link to the specific part of the map - useful for sharing this specific part of the map with others.

    'Link to this view'  graphic

Show location

When viewing a series map, click on the Show location tab in the footer, to bring up options to view its real-world location:

Illustration of 'Show location' graphic

When viewing a series map, tap on the More... button (lower left) and then choose your option:

Show IIIF

Illustration of the IIIF information popup box

This shows the IIIF Image API base URI or info.json for the specific image. This identifier includes details about the specific image, including its width and height in pixels, image format, and the way it is tiled, allowing the image to be easily re-used in other applications. For example, you can copy this info.json URI into other viewers such as Georeferencer or the AllMaps Editor (to georeference the image), or into transcription software such as Recogito to record and share annotations. See Awesome - IIIF for a more complete list of tools, resources, and demos using IIIF.

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is a group of standard APIs intended to support the sharing and reuse of media.

Drawing Features

Illustration of the dialogue box for drawing features

If you select Draw, it will display a dialogue box on the right with options to draw features, select a colour, edit or delete features and also save the results as an image or JSON file:

  1. Choose a feature type to draw with - a point, line, polygon or circle.
  2. Choose the colour of the feature you want to add. By default this is dark blue. You can click on the colour chart or type numbers into the HEX or R,G,B boxes below. For each feature you choose to draw, you can specify a different colour.
  3. Once you have drawn a feature, you can move it by moving your cursor over the feature and dragging it. It is also possible to delete the last feature you have drawn by selecting the Delete last feature button.
  4. To save the image as a PDF, select Print PDF to the lower left and a PDF will be generated including the features you have drawn. You can also right-click on the map image and choose "Save Image As" to save just the current map view as a .png image. You can also export the features you have drawn as a JSON (Javascript Object Notation) file by selecting Export JSON. The JSON file can be easily edited with a text editor, and it has details of the features you have drawn and their pixel locations. X and Y coordinates of pixel locations are given from the upper left-hand side.

If you wish to trace georeferenced images, so that the features you trace can be overlaid on the real world or used in geographic information software, then please use the Georeferenced Maps - Full Screen/Draw viewer.

Compatible browsers

This viewer is a customised version of the open source IIIF Image API Viewer for OpenLayers 6, and is compatible with all modern standards-compliant web browsers. Viewing but not printing is also possible in Internet Explorer 9.

Please email us if you have any queries about this viewer.

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