All Digimap services will be unavailable for at least 2 hours on Saturday 26th of January for some essential hardware maintenance. The service should also be considered ‘at risk’ for the rest of the weekend. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Category Archives: Service Availability
Digimap Data Download: New datasets coming in January!
In January 2013 the OS MasterMap®, Boundary-Line™ and Code-Point® data products will be available from the Data Download service. We have tried to keep the changes necessary to accommodate these products to a minimum as the current interface has proved so successful (190,000 map tiles and files downloaded Nov 2012).
Here is a list of the changes and additions you will see in the interface; please note that they may still be subject to some change prior to launch.
Both Boundary-Line and MasterMap have layers so we have had to make changes to the basket:
Instead of selecting Version and Format using drop-down menus there is a new pop-up for changing both these and the layers for each of the products in your basket. You can access this pop-up by clicking on the Change link in the Options column:
We have also improved the “My Account” section which is now called “My Previous Downloads”:
Once in the interface you can access any of your past downloads and reopen them at the basket stage:
It is now much easier to update your previous downloads to the latest version, get the same data in a different format or simply reorder data you have previously taken. In addition to these functions we have incorporated the ability to make Change-Only-Updates (COUs) to MasterMap Data:
Both Boundary Download and MasterMap Download will be kept in service for a transition period but as there are so many benefits to using Data Download we hope everyone will make the switch quickly. We expect to have switched off these services by the end of April.
Digimap Carto: We need your help!
Digimap Carto has been making maps for nearly 13 years now, though it last received a major facelift in 2006. Although it is still well used the underlying technology is no longer a viable platform to develop on. It has simply become too difficult to maintain in today’s environment of almost monthly changes to web browsers and the Java Runtime Environment.
Carto through the ages. All maps ©Crown Copyright
Thankfully these advances in browser technology, and our underlying GIS and web mapping software, mean that we can now provide a Carto like service without the Java applet. In 2013 we will be launching a replacement for Carto that will run directly in an up-to-date web browser and still include advanced functionality. Until the new interface is launched we will keep Carto running, please go here if you are having trouble getting it to work: Carto Notes
With work starting on the new advanced mapping application we would really like to know which functions you value most in Carto. We’d also like to hear your ideas for any new features you would like to see available. We can’t promise to include everything, but knowing what you want helps us to make informed decisions.
Please send your thoughts to: edina@ed.ac.uk
Carto not working in Mozilla Firefox?
If you use Mozilla’s Firefox as your browser then you may not be able to access Digimap’s Carto application. The reason for this is that Mozilla is now (from the 30th August 2012) automatically blocking Java. The reason that Mozilla has taken this stance is that a Java exploit has been added to the notorious Blackhole exploit toolkit. In simple terms, running Java applications through your browser opens your machine up to hackers, and we dont want that.
We are working on Carto’s successor which we hope to launch in 2013 and this will not rely on Java. If you need to use Carto, then it will still work in Internet Explorer and Chrome browsers. Hopefully Java will patch the breach soon and it will work again in Firefox.
For more information about this security issue please read this.
