**DRAFT**
Michigan Plants Online:
How to use the Interactive Map

Accomplishing Common Tasks | Map Tool Description | Technical Notes | Descriptions of Field Names used in the Data

The Interactive Maps for Michigan Plants Online allow users to view county-level distribution maps of plant specimens. Below is a description of how to use the map to do certain common tasks, a description of each of the tools available to you in the map interface, some other things you can do with the map, and a description of the field names used in the data.

Accomplishing Common Tasks

Display data for a particular species
1. Click on the 'query' tool:
2. In the "Field" drop-down list, select "NAME" (Note: this is the default, so you do not actually have to make a selection)
3. In the "operator" drop-down list, select "=" (Note: this is the default, so you do not actually have to make a selection)
4. Click on "Get Samples." This will generate a list of possible names to use
5. Select a name from the list
6. Click on "Add to Query String" (See below for example)

7. Click on "Execute." The result should be a map with dots displayed in each county unit in which the species has been recorded, as well as a table showing the list of counties in which the species has been recorded.

Other ways of constructing queries
If you prefer to type in a name rather than using the "Get Samples" button, do as follows:
1. Click on the 'query' tool:
2. In the "Field" drop-down list, select "NAME" (Note: this is the default, so you do not actually have to make a selection)
3. In the "operator" drop-down list, select "=" (Note: this is the default, so you do not actually have to make a selection)
4. Click on "Add to Query String"
5. In the query displayed in the box next to "Add to Query String," type the species name inside the quotation marks
6. Click on "Execute"

To display data using a wildcard character, do as follows:
1. Click on the 'query' tool:
2. In the "Field" drop-down list, select "NAME"
3. In the "operator" drop-down list, select "like"
4. Click on "Add to Query String." This will cause the query string to be displayed in the query box (i.e., the box to the right of "Add to Query String")
5. Inside the quotation marks in the query string, type part of the species name and include "*" as the wildcard character(s). For example, a legitimate query would be the following: Taxon like "Adiantum ped*"
6. Click on "Execute"

If you're comfortable with the syntax, you can bypass steps 2-4 above and instead do as follows:
1. Click on the 'query' tool:
2. In the query box, type in a query, e.g., TAXON like "Adiantum ped*"
3. Click on "Execute"
Note: The querying feature is unforgiving - it is case-sensitive and the syntax and spelling must be exactly right.

Print a map
1. Click on the "printer" tool:
2. Type in a title for your map (e.g., "Adiantum pedatum") in the text box next to "Title to display on map"
3. Click on "Create Print page"
4. From your browser's print menu, select File/Print and navigate through your browser's print interface just as you would to print other web pages

View a table showing species from a county or counties
You can view a list of taxa recorded in a county or counties. To do this, you would execute a query for the county of interest, e.g.,
COUNTYUNIT="Washtenaw"

Map Tool Description:

	Toggle the legend:  Click this icon to display or hide the legend.
	Toggle the overview map: Click this icon to display or hide the overview map [note: may not be available in all map interfaces].
	Zoom to full extent: Click this icon to zoom to the full extent of Michigan. Useful if you accidentally zoom in to individual records.
	Identify:  Click this icon and then click on a feature to display information about it (Note: By default, information about plants is displayed. If you wish to retrieve information about a county instead, you must change the 'active layer' to counties. To do that, click on the button next to 'counties' in the Layer list to the right of the map).
	Query: Click this icon to bring up an interface which will let you select and display records that fit criteria that you specify.
	Find a feature:  Click this icon to bring up an interface which will let you search for and select records that include a specified piece of text anywhere in the record [note: may not be available in all map interfaces].
	Clear selected records: Click this icon to unselect records.
	Print / Export:  Click this icon to convert the current map to a webpage that may be printed or saved.

Technical Notes:

Your browser must support java and frames for the map to function correctly.
Browsers tested successfully with the map interface include Netscape 4.78, Netscape 7.0, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.
If you are unable to load the map page, you may want to check the System Outages page for indications of any server problems.

Descriptions of Field Names Used in the Plant Data

NAME	Genus and species. Includes subspecies/variety when applicable. Includes synonym when name in Flora of North America differs from the name in Michigan Flora [e.g., 'Centaurea stoebe (C. maculosa)']
COMMONNAME	Common name, with apostrophes removed, e.g., 'dolls-eyes' (apostrophes were removed because a bug in the Solaris version of the mapping software prevents searches from including them)
FAMILY	Plant family name (e.g., Asteraceae, Guttiferae)
COUNTY	County name (e.g., "Washtenaw") or county unit (e.g., "Leelanau A") following convention of Voss's Michigan Flora Database in which large islands or island groups are assigned letter designations
URLNAME	For internal use only, this field is used with queries generated using the index pages listing species.

For further information, contact:

Tony Reznicek, Curator
University of Michigan Herbarium
3600 Varsity Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-2287
e-mail: reznicek@umich.edu

This website and interactive map were created by Tony Reznicek, University of Michigan Herbarium and Rachel Simpson, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-075

The interactive map and associated data are hosted by the University Library
Last update: