Getting Started
With
eMapsPlus

Available Topics

Troubleshooting eMaps
Viewing Maps
  • Free Data Sets
  • Subscriptions
  • Sample Site
    Accessing Your eMapsPlus Account
  • Logging On to eMapsPlus
  • Register for eMapsPlus
  • Recovering a Lost Password
    Buying eMaps
  • Region Maps
  • Review Order
  • Place Order
  • Order Status
  • Sample Data
  • Metadata
  • View
  • Host Data
  • Subscriptions
    Contacting SDS, Inc.
    Warranty & Copyright Information

    Viewing Maps

    Free Data Sets
    Using the pull-down menu, you can select from a number of coverages available for free viewing on eMaps.

    Selecting one of these coverages displays a disclaimer that the user must agree to in order to proceed to view the free data.


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    Subscriptions

    This option allows you to view the pricing for any of the available subscription coverages. Select the available site and payment plan option that is appropriate for your needs, and the total cost is displayed.

    Note: You must be registered with eMapsPlus to order a subscription. See Place an Order below for information on processing an order, or Register for eMapsPlus for information on how to become a registered eMapsPlus user.

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    Sample Site

    Clicking on Sample Site opens an example coverage for Maury County, TN. This allows you to explore the functionality of eMapsPlus before placing your order, and to become familiar with the available tools for viewing the data that you order. It also provides a glimpse of the breadth and depth of information available from eMapsPlus.

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    Accessing Your eMapsPlus Account

     Select the My eMapsPlus option at the top of the page to log on and access all your subscriptions, place orders for new coverages, or review existing orders and check their status.

    Logging On to eMapsPlus

     If you are already registered with eMapsPlus, enter your User Name and Password in the appropriate fields, and click Log On to access your account. Remember: Both User Name and Password entries are case-sensitive for added security, so be sure to enter them exactly as they were registered. Also be sure to log off when you are finished using the eMapsPlus service. eMapsPlus does not allow for simultaneous logins using the same User Name and Password.

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    Register for eMapsPlus

    If you have not previously registered with eMapsPlus, you must do so in order to access My eMapsPlus. Click Register Today to access the registration form. All fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required for completion of your registration. When you have finished filling out the form, click Register to finish the registration procedure.
    Note: Your User Name and Password are both case-sensitive for increased security. Be aware of this when choosing a User Name and Password during registration.

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    Recovering a Lost Password

    In the event that you have lost or forgotten your password, you can have it sent to your e-mail address (if you provided one in your account information). Simply fill out the form and click Submit.

    If you did not provide an e-mail address in your account information, you need to click on Contact Us, and you can submit questions directly to SDS using the provided web form.

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    Buying eMaps

     Click on Buy at the top of the screen to access all the available purchasing options for eMapsPlus data.

    You can then select from the various purchasing options on the left side of the screen, or simply click on a region of the map to see information about data available for that area.

    • Region Maps will return you to the interactive map of the United States, allowing you to select your region of interest by clicking on the map.
    • Review Order lets you look over your current order before submitting it, to ensure that all the information for your order is correct.
    • Place Order submits your eMapsPlus order to SDS for processing.
    • Order Status
    • Sample Data lets you select from a number of options to see what types and formats of data are available.
    • Metadata. This functionality will be available in a future release.
    • View sends you to the main View Maps page. For more information, see Viewing Maps, above.
    • Host Data provides a form that you can fill out if you would like to employ SDS to host your GIS data on the web. Simply fill out the contact form and submit it.
    • Subscriptions returns you to the Subscriptions area of the map viewer. See Subscriptions for more information about using this functionality.

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    Region Maps

    Selecting Region Maps returns you to the initial buying screen, with an overview map of the United States, color-coded to represent the available data for each region. Click on the state and region for which you need to purchase data. You can purchase data either an entire county at a time, or, for certain regions, by selected areas within the county coverage.

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    Review Order

    Clicking Review Order takes you to the Order Data form, displaying all selected information in your current order. To remove an item from your order, check the box in the X column (the first column on the form), and click Continue to remove the checked items from your current order.

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    Place Order

    Once you have selected all the data and maps that you wish to purchase, and confirmed your selections using Review Order, click Place Order to submit this information to SDS and have the order processed.

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    Order Status

    Once you've placed an eMapsPlus order, you can use the Order Status function to check on the order and see if it has been processed or shipped. Simply enter your order number (received when the order was placed), and the first and last name of the individual whose eMapsPlus account was used to place the order, and eMapsPlus displays the current status of the order in question.

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    Sample Data

    Clicking on Sample Data provides you with a list of options in the lower left portion of the screen. These options represent the various kinds of GIS data that can be obtained from eMapsPlus. By selecting one of these options, you can see exactly what format this data takes.

    The available samples are as follows:
    • Sample Graphic Types - Available types include parcels and planimetrics. Clicking the View Graphics button will display the selected sample.

    • Sample Data Type - This allows you to examine exactly what level of detail is included with the available ownership and assessment data. Simply select the type of information you would like to preview, and click View Data.

    • Orthophotography - This option provides a sample orthographic aerial photo.

    • Download Samples - Using this option, you can obtain an ArcInfo coverage or ArcView shapefile of eMapsPlus data for viewing off-line. Both types are available as self-extracting .zip files.

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    Metadata

    This functionality will be implemented in future releases of eMapsPlus.

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    View

    For more information, see Viewing Maps above.

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    Host Data

    For further information about contacting SDS, Inc. for data hosting services, please refer to Contacting SDS, Inc. below.

    Subscriptions

     For more information, see Subscriptions in the Viewing Maps section above.

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    Troubleshooting eMaps

    Q: Since the new version of eMaps plus was released, there have been many problems either just getting to the site, or getting into a subscription. Some of the problems are eMaps saying that the account is in use, you need a subscription to view the site, and when going to the eMaps website, the old version/site pulling up. Other problems may include any other function of eMaps not responding like it had in the past.

    A: The problem is the cookies and history have not been cleared out. The following steps must be taken to resolve their problems:
    NOTE: The user must be the administrator of their machine for these changes to take affect.

    1. Pull up your browser (Internet Explorer must be version 5.5 or higher).
    2. Select Tools > Internet Options.
    3. Click the Delete Files button. The following message will appear. Check the box that says "Delete all offline content" and hit OK.
    4. Next click the Settings button. The following screen will appear. Make sure that "Every visit to the page" is checked, then click on View Files.
    5. In the View Files window, go to the Edit menu, and click Select All.
    6. Select File > Delete to clear all files in the View Files window, and then exit out of the View Files window.
    7. Click OK to exit the Settings window.
    8. Next, click the "Clear History" button. Windows will prompt you with the following message, please click YES.
    9. Click OK to exit the Internet Options Window.
    10. Exit your browser and then re-open it. Go to www.emapsplus.com. Click on My eMaps Plus, log in , and you should not have any more problems.

    Q: My account says that it is someone is already logged in. What does this mean, how can I bypass it, and avoid it happening in the future?

    A: If the system informs you that someone is already logged in, it probably means that the last user never logged off when they left the eMaps plus website. Follow the instructions below to correct the problem.

    1. Select Log Off and eMaps automatically logs off the existing session, and logs back in using the ID and password you entered. This will bring you directly to subscription page.
    2. To log off, so as to avoid this problem in the future, click Home in the upper right hand corner of the page while looking at the county map. This will take you to the initial subscription page with the map on the right and the buttons on the left.
    3. Click Log Off on the left.

    Q: I cannot see the word "Home" in the upper right-hand corner of the county page which takes me to the page where I can log off.

    A: Your screen display options are not set to the proper resolution for viewing the eMaps Plus website. Follow these steps to adjust your display settings.
    NOTE: In order to change your screen display, you must be a system administrator for your machine. Do not make any changes without consulting your IT personnel, because your video card and monitor must support these changes. Changes made to your resolution could result in damage to your monitor or computer. SDS is not responsible for any such damage.

    1. Right-click on your desktop and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
    2. On the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box, adjust the slider under Desktop Area to "1024 x 768 pixels." Note: On some systems, the slider may appear under the heading Screen Area.
    3. Click OK when the system prompts you. With the browser maximized, you should now be able to see all the command options in eMaps Plus.

    Q: I cannot access any of the county websites. Why?

    A: The most likey cause of this problem is your browser settings. The following procedures should help you get your browser preferences correctly configured.

    1. In Internet Explorer, select Tools > Internet Options from the pull-down menu bar.
    2. Click on the Security tab.
    3. Click Default Level in the lower portion of the dialog box.
    4. Select the Advanced tab on the Internet Options dialog box.
    5. At the bottom of the tab, click the Restore Defaults button.
    This will set your security settings to accept the necessary cookies and certificates from the eMapsPlus website, so that you can view maps normally.

    Another potential cause of this problem is the absence of the Microsoft Virtual Machine, a script file that allows for the viewing of the maps on eMapsPlus. You should be prompted upon your first visit to eMapsPlus to download this plug-in, but the prompt will not appear if you do not have Administrator privileges on your machine. In this case, your IT personnel will have to log on to your machine as an Administrator, and then browse to the eMapsPlus county websites, where they will be prompted to download and install Microsoft Virtual Machine. Once this download is complete, any user will be able to utilize it and the eMapsPlus website.

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    Contacting SDS, Inc.

     Click on Contact Us, and you can submit questions directly to SDS using the provided web form. Fill out your contact information, and be sure to select the products and services in which you are interested, and click Submit to send your requests and questions to the eMapsPlus staff at SDS, Inc. You may also e-mail Customer Support at emapssupport@sds-inc.com.

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    Warranty & Copyright Information

     The material in this document is Copyright SDS, Inc. November 2001. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without prior written permission from SDS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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