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WMS as data source

Web Map Service is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet. A map server generates images from a GIS database and serves the map in a bitmap format (e.g., PNG, GIF, or JPEG), while vector data can be included as an addition. WMS can also be added from an external source to the map.

Web Map Service, just like the other web services, may be accessed through the Datasource Manager.

To add WMS into the Datasource Manager:

  1. Select the Datasource Manager from the Tools tab.
  2. Click Add WMS in the Source Browser.
  3. Write a WMS name and URL of the dataset.

Note: in the WMS URL delete a part from question mark to the end of the URL e.g.,
original: http://wms.ess-ws.nrcan.gc.ca/wms/toporama_en?VERSION=1.1.1&request=GetCapabilities&service=wms
modified: http://wms.ess-ws.nrcan.gc.ca/wms/toporama_en

  1. Click Get Info button.
  2. Select one of available WMS versions (1.0.0, 1.1.1 or 1.3.0)
  3. Click Save and add a WMS to the map.

Adding layers

WMS is added to a map as shown below:

  1. Select Add Layer from the Layer tab or Map tab.
  2. Select Web Feature Service in the Source Browser. 
  3. Select WMS from the Source Browser and select the WMS sublayer.
  4. If you have a basemap (Mapbox, Bing, OSM, etc.) on the map, adjust the projection to EPSG:900913.
  5. Click the Select button.

Add password protected WMS

It is possible to add password-protected WMS layers in GIS Cloud, but it has to be organized in a way the system can recognize it. Username and password have to be included in the WMS URL and saved in the GIS Cloud Source Browser.

  1. Open Map Editor and Source browser.
  2. Click add WMS.
  3. In the URL box add WMS URL together with username and password. The URL has to have a structure like this:
  • http://username:password@wms_url_example.com
    • “username” username of the user which has access to WMS
    • “:” delimiter
    • “password” password of the user which has access to WMS
    • “@” delimiter
    • “wms_url_example.com” URL of the WMS
  1. Example of the password-protected WMS: http://test:12345@wms.ess-ws.nrcan.gc.ca/wms/toporama_en
  2. Click Get info button.
  3. Save the layer and add it to the map.

Apart from adding a WMS to your map, you can share your GIS Cloud map on a third party software as a Web Map Service (WMS).

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