ShapeWiki is for making and sharing shapes

ShapeWiki provides three things: 1) a point-and-click interface to make it easy to define shapes on top of a map; 2) a tagged repository of shapes anyone can browse; 3) import / export mechanisms so you can use the shapes in your own application.

Data License

All shape data in this system is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution License. This is the least restrictive of the Creative Commons licenses, and it means you are free to share and adapt the shapes for you own needs, commercial or otherwise. See the License text for more information.

When you add shapes to ShapeWiki, you agree the to share them according to the Creative Commons license.

Importing

ShapeWiki will import shapes from GeoRSS and KML feeds. In both cases the import will *only* take the shapes from the feed; it will ignore single points and other structures.

Specifically, in GeoRSS, the import is looking for georss:polygon elements. In KML, it's looking for polygon elements.

When importing KML, the system will infer tag names from the folder hierarchy, if any folders exist. The GeoRSS Import does not set tag names.

Creating new shapes

On the "new shapes" page, begin clicking on the map to outline a shape. When you are satisfied with the shape, title and tag it (in the right sidebar), and click save. After the shape is saved, you can return and edit it as many times as you like.

Tagging: try to tag your shapes so others can find them easily. Tags are space delimited (not comma).

Deleting Points: to delete a point, click on it and select the "Delete" link.

Moving Points: You can drag any point to change its position.

Reference Images

Sometimess it is useful to overlay an image onto the map while you are creating a shape (for example, an image outlining neighborhoods in a city). ShapeWiki lets you do this with Reference Images. The process involves supplying an image URL, positioning the image on the map, and pinning the image to the map.

1. Paste the URL to an image in the "reference image" field in the sidebar, and click 'add'.
2. Position and/or resize the image (by dragging the red top handle or lower-right resize handle) so the it lines up with the features on the map.
3. When the image is all lined up, click "Pin Image" on the sidebar. The image will now move with the map as you pan and and resize the map.
4. You can adjust the opacity of the image with links in the sidebar.
5. When you are done with the image, click "Remove Image." You can add another image, but only one image at a time.

The reference image does not get saved with the shape. It is only there to guide you while you outline a shape

Reference Shapes

ShapeWiki lets you overlay other shapes on the map for reference while you are creating new shapes. There is a list of shapes in the sidebar; click on any shape to show it on the map. If you can't see the shape after adding it, the shape probably isn't in the map's current view. Click on the "zoom" link which shows next to the shape link to move the map to where the shape is.

If you are editing an existing shape, the Reference Shape list will include shapes that share at least one tag with the shape you are editing. If you are creating a brand new shape, the Reference Shape list will contain recently created shapes.

Exporting Shapes

Links to export shapes are in the main browsing table. You need to save your shape before you can export it.

You can also export an entire tag. Navigate to the tag; there is an export link near the top of the page.

Currently, you can export in JavaScript, JSON, and GeoRSS. The difference between JavaScript and JSON: JSON is raw data; JavaScript includes "starter code" to help you get the shape added to a map.

Tools/Platform

ShapeWiki was built with care using . GeoKit (my open-source Rails plugin) provides geocoding and distance calculations.

Comments and Feedback

Send an email to andre {at} earthcode.com, or visit me at earthcode.com.