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How to use MasterMap Download
NOTE: This service is only available to Early Adopter Institutions
Contents:
- Overview
- Choosing the Layers and Themes
- Searching to define your area of interest
- Refining area of interest to identify download area
- Summarizing your download request
- Extracting your data
- Getting your data
- Accessing your data from your E-mail
- Using your data
- Your Account
Overview
MasterMap Download allows you to search for, select and download OS MasterMapⓇ data for use within other Geographic Information System (GIS) packages.
MasterMap Download works through a series of pages that guide you through the downloading process. These help pages describe the stages of the process in the order that you will come across them in a typical session.
The process works in much the same way as an online shopping site might work, in that a number of requests can be defined that can be combined into a single Order that gets processed. Information about your Requests and Orders can be found on Your Account page.
Additional resources can be found from the Resources page at http://edina.ac.uk/mastermap .
Logging In
To be able to use MasterMap Download, you must log in with Personal Digimap Registration, not Class or Casual Reference Registration.
MasterMap Download can be accessed from the Ordnance Survey Data Collection homepage, select Data Download Services, and then MasterMap Download icon (see below). If the MasterMap Download link is not available, the most likely cause is that your institution has not subscribed to the OS MasterMap data collection.
The Download Process
To download data you must work through the following stages:
- Identify what Layers and Themes of OS MasterMap you are interested in
- Specify the area for which you want to download data
- Specify the Requests in your Order (optional)
- Set various parameters for the download process such as format and compression
- Download the data to your local computer
The Interface
At the top of every page in MasterMap Download is a header bar which contains links to Your Account, Help, Contact Us, Logout, and a breadcrumb trail (on the left hand side) which will link to the Ordnance Survey Data Collection homepage. Below the links there is a Start Again button, which you can click this at any point to go back to the first tab.
Across the top of the download facility there are a series of tabs showing your progress through the stages of MasterMap Download. Your current stage is coloured white, while completed stages appear in blue. To jump to a stage, click on its tab. You can only jump to a completed stage.
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Choosing the Layer and Themes
On the first tab of the interface (Selection) you can choose which Layer of OS MasterMap data you want to download and also the Themes within the selected Layer. For more information about OS MasterMap Layers and Themes, see the OS MasterMap User Guide.
The layers currently available are:
- Topography
- Integrated Transport Network (ITN)
It is only possible to download data from one Layer at a time. So, if you select any of the Topography Layer Themes, the ITN Layer will be greyed out and vice versa.
You can select any number of Themes from a particular Layer (as long as you select at least 1 Theme). Once you have selected the Themes that you want you can proceed on to defining the area for which you want to download the data. Click on Continue to move to the next tab.
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Searching
The search page of the interface gives you a range of methods for finding your area of interest. There are several options available to you:
- By place name
- By postcode
- By Ordnance Survey tile name
- By Grid Reference
- By Easting/Northing
- By Latitude/Longitude
- By clicking on a map of Britain
Each method allows you access to the same OS MasterMap data, but goes about finding that data slightly differently. Each of the different methods for identifying data will be appropriate in different circumstances:
To begin searching simply fill in the appropriate part of the form or click the location you want on the map. Only one search method is used at any one time, and this is indicated by the radio buttons on the left.
Identify using a place name
If you know the name of a town or settlement, use the gazetteer search to quickly go to that area. Enter the name you want to search for and it will be used to search a gazetteer containing all distinctive names from the OS Landranger (1:50,000) map series. The search will look for text you enter at the beginning of an entry in the gazetteer. The search will be carried out independently of your use of upper or lower case. Once you have entered your search text click on the Search button at the foot of the page, to query the online database.
The results of the place search are displayed in a scrollable box giving the name matched, the county and the National Grid coordinates for that location. Select the name from this list which is the location that you are interested in. If there is only a single result for your search you will be taken directly to the Refine Area tab.
Once you have selected a place, click on the Continue button at the foot of the page to move to the Refine Area tab.
Identify using a postcode
If you know the full postcode of the location you wish to search for data, then use the postcode search to quickly go to that area. Enter the full postcode of the area into the section on the search page. The search will not return any results for an invalid or incomplete postcode.
Once you have entered the postcode click on the Search button at the foot of the page, to query the online database. As the postcode search returns only an exact match, a successful search will take you directly to the Refine Area tab.
Identify by Ordnance Survey tile name
To use this method of data identification, you need to specify an Ordnance Survey tile name. You can enter a complete or partial tile name. The search will look for text you enter at the beginning of an entry in the database, and is not case sensitive. For example, entering "TG" would give all the data in the 100km square that includes Norwich and surrounding areas.
The results of the tile search are displayed in a scrollable box, only the tiles relevant to the product selected will be returned. Select the tile in this list which covers location that you are interested in. If there is only a single result for your search you will be taken directly to the Refine Area tab. Selecting a tile will automatically define that tile as your Area Of Interest in the Refine Area tab.
Identify by National Grid reference
If you know the National Grid reference you can enter them into this part of the search interface. National Grid references comprise of two letters followed by 2, 4 or 6 numbers; e.g. NT24, TQ6341, SU651952. If the reference is valid then you will be taken directly to the Refine Area tab.
Identify by Easting / Northing
If you know an Easting and Northing for the location you want, then you can enter them into this part of the search interface. If the values are valid then you will be taken directly to the Refine Area tab. Eastings and Northings are measured in metres and usually comprise of 6 or 7 digits each; e.g. 465300, 572400.
Identify by Latitude / Longitude
If you know the Latitude/Longitude for the location you want, then you can enter them into this part of the search interface. If the values are valid then you will be taken directly to the Refine Area tab. Latitude and Longitude values should be entered as decimal degrees; e.g. 55.9486, -3.2005 ( note: a negative longitude value indicates a location west of the Greenwich meridian). The datum used for these coordinates is OSGB 36
Identify using a map of Britain
This search option is for those users who know a general map location but who do not have a place name or grid reference for their area of interest.
Click on the map at the location you are interested in. This will take you to the Refine Area tab where you can zoom and pan to more accurately find the location you need.
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Refining Area of Interest
The Refine Area tab provides the ability for the user to specify the exact Area Of Interest (AOI) for the data they want.
The user can use the Refine Area interface to specify an area of data for download. At present this area is limited to a rectangular area. The MasterMap Download service is also currently limiting the size of area specified to 25km2 (e.g. 5km x 5km or equivalent) if the Topography Layer has been selected. This is to prevent excessively large files being supplied to the user at the moment.
The aim of the interface is for the user to define an Area Of Interest (AOI) which will be shown in red on the background map, either by using the interactive tools available or by entering specific details.
Once the user has defined a suitable AOI (red area) they can proceed to the next step in the MasterMap Download process.
Using the Interactive Tools
Initially a map will be displayed that corresponds to the location searched for using the Search interface. You can use the Navigation toolbar to move about the map and zoom in/out until you have the AOI you want displayed on the map.
In centre mode (click the cross-hairs button on the navigation bar), clicking on the map will cause it to be redrawn with the point clicked on as the centre of the map.
Once you can see your desired AOI on the map you can use the interactive tools to define your AOI.
Drag Bounding Box Tool
The drag bounding box tool allows you to interactively define a bounding box on the displayed map by using the mouse.
Click on the tool icon and the use your mouse to define a rectangle by clicking with the left mouse button and then dragging the opposite corner point. As you drag the mouse, you will see that the rectangular area will be generated and shaded in red. When you have defined the area you want, release the mouse button. The coordinates of the area shaded in red will automatically be updated in the Bounding Box panel. Once you have defined your AOI you can click on Continue and proceed to the next tab.
Manually Entering Values
As well as using the interactive tools, it is possible to manually enter values in both the Bounding Box and the Centre Point and Buffer panels. After manually entering values in either if these panels you should click on Apply to see the results generated as a red AOI on the map. Once you have defined your AOI you can click on Continue to proceed to the next tab.
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Summary Tab
The summary tab shows you information about the data you have requested. If any of the details provided are incorrect you can go back to one of the previous tabs to change your request.
The map window shows you the coverage of the AOI that you have defined. You will receive data for the area that is not greyed out on the map. Note however, the data that will be supplied will be hairy, that is, any features that extend outside the specified area will be supplied in full features will not be artificially split at the boundary.
The summary also tells you what Layers you have selected and the extents of the area. In the future, an indication of the size of the dataset will also be given, however that information is not available at the moment.
If you are satisfied that you have defined the area you want and the Layers that you want you can proceed to downloading the data.
Order/Request
At this point you have a choice between creating a Request which you can order later or ordering the data immediately. If you create a named Request and save it, you will be taken to Your Account page where you will be able to select a number of individual Requests to run as a single order. This has the advantage that if you need data for a number of separate areas you can define all the areas as separate requests and then order them all in one go and only get a single email and download file. Clicking on Save Request will take you to Your Account page where you can either select Requests to order or go back and define other Requests.
If you only want data for a single area then you do not need to define individual requests but instead you can order the data immediately using the Order Request Now button which will take you directly to the Download Tab.
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Download Tab
The download tab allows you to define a number of characteristics of the downloaded data order.
Delivery Details
The first thing you must do, is to check that the Delivery Details are correct. It is vital that we have your correct email address as this will be used to email you a link to your data. If we do not have your correct email address you must go to your Your Account page and update your details.
Please note, we will not use your details for any purposes other than to send you a link to your OS MasterMap data and other purposes directly related to the Digimap service.
Download Type
The Download Type refers to whether an Initial Supply or a Change Only Update is required. At the moment only an Initial Supply is available, but in the future it will be possible for you to request Change Only Updates. Change Only Updates will give you only the changes in the data since your last Initial Supply or previous Change Only Update for the area requested.
Data Format
This defines the format of the downloaded data. Currently the only format available is GML (Geography Markup Language). This is the same format as the Ordnance Survey supplies the data in and can be read by a number of GIS systems. All data will be compressed using Gzip and will have a .gz extension. These can be uncompressed to extract the raw GML files.
Archiving
This defines how the data should be packaged when it gets delivered to you. As well as the data files, a number of other files will be supplied with the data including:
- TOID_List.txt - this file contains a list of the TOIDS, version numbers and change dates of all features in the datasets
- conditions.txt - this is a standard file that describes the Terms of Use of the data
- contents_order.txt - this file contains information about the data in the order.
The archiving options available are:
- Single files
- Zip archive
- Tar Archive
- Tar Archive, Gzip compression
If single files are requested, the data is supplied as individual GZip compressed data. More than one file may be supplied if the data request has been split to accommodate chunk sizes.
If Zip is selected the data will be supplied in a Zip archive file. This will be a single .zip file that will contain one or more .gz data files.
If Tar is selected, the data will be supplied in a Tar archive file. This will be a single .tar file that will contain one or more .gz data files.
There are common utilities available that can open these files e.g. WinZip, ZipGenius and ALZip. Once you have selected all the options you can click on Extract Data which will queue your order ready for extraction.
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Download
Once you have selected Extract Data the download tab will change to the following:
This tells you that the order has been successfully placed and that an email with details of how to download the data will be sent to the email address that you have specified.
There is also a link on this page to Your Account where you will be able to examine the status of your order (including cancelling it if it hasn't already been fulfilled). You will also be sent an email at this stage confirming your order has been received. In due course you will receive another email informing you that your data is ready to be picked up and giving you details of how to access your data.
The email you receive will look like the following:
This email gives you the necessary information to download the data. This can be done either by:
- Clicking on the link or pasting the link provided into a web browser
- Going to Your Account and pasting the given code into the appropriate place.
Either way, you will need to be logged in to Digimap using the same username and password you used to request the data. This will take you to a page where you can download your data, depending on which archiving option you chose, it will either be a single archive file or multiple files, e.g.
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Downloaded Data
Once you have downloaded the data you should be able to load it into a GIS of your choice. Please see the documents on the EDINA Digimap MasterMap web site resources page for more details.
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Your Account
At any time in the Download Process you can access Your Account. This gives you information about your details, including the ability to change your email address (NOTE: changing your email will not take effect immediately, but will approximately 24 hours).
Data Delivery
The data delivery section provides a text box into which can be pasted the code provided in the email sent to you informing you that you data is ready.
Saved Requests
These are Requests that have been created but have not yet been converted into Orders. To convert these into Orders you should select the Request(s) and then click on the Order Request button.
Current Orders
The Current Orders table shows those orders which have been submitted but have not yet been collected. An order that has not yet been processed can be cancelled. Once the Status of an order is COMPLETE then you should receive an email informing you that the data is ready for collection. Once an order has been collected it will be moved to the Completed Orders table.
Completed Orders
This table shows you the orders that have been collected.