New Version Installed

November 2006

A number of small enhancements have been incorporated in this latest version of the GeoConnections Discovery Portal. Use the "Web Mapping Tool (beta version)" to access the latest integrated catalog of OGC web services to search for layers and (eventually) feature types.

Link to the latest GeoGratis site to discover their new look. Major changes have been made, and the site architecture and search types have been completely redesigned. The result: a more enjoyable site, where it is easier to select and download geospatial data. GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) which provides geospatial data at no cost via your Web browser.

Note to Developers - Reusable Components (RUC) Switchover

August 2006

The GeoConnections Discovery Portal current reusable components (RUC) were turned off in September 2006. The technology has been replaced with similar tools using an open source project called MapBuilder. This improvement makes better use of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) services and avoids using Java applets. You can see working examples of its use on our Advanced Search Options page with the "Drawing on a Map", the "Find Place by Name" and the "Lookup Postal Code" tools, or the MapBuilder demo version.

In order to switch over to the new technology, you need to download a distribution of MapBuilder on your site and install it. (Until there is a new release of MapBuilder, these tools are available here.) This new technology will run in a PHP or Tomcat J2EE server environments.

For more documentation on how to use MapBuilder, refer to the project's wiki site: http://docs.codehaus.org/display/MAP/Home/

A technical manual will soon be available on our site to help you migrate to the new technology.

If you need more technical assistance, send your enquiries to: [email protected].