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How to add geospatial metadata

Geospatial metadata is only available to those using a Figshare account maintained by their institution (where the institution has chosen to enable this functionality). Free personal accounts do not have the option to add geospatial metadata.

If you see a geospatial metadata field in your edit item page while entering metadata, this page is relevant to you! The geospatial metadata field provides several ways to add information, it gives end users the ability to interact with a map and see the information in different formats, and provides this information in the API for programmatic applications.

Use the tool tip on the field to see specific help information from your institution and contact your administrator with specific questions around using the field at your institution.

Data input and map interaction 

The geospatial metadata input allows users to enter or edit location data either by manually drawing on a map interface, editing the ‘Features’ table or by directly inputting GeoJSON data. This flexibility caters to users who prefer visual interaction as well as those who work directly with geospatial data formats.

GeoJSON is a widely used, open-standard format designed to represent geographic data structures using JSON. Ensuring that GeoJSON is available helps with machine-readability and reuse of location data.

Map interface  

When inputting data via the map interface, users can choose from drawing tools for creating different geospatial features. The map interface supports two distinct modes. A ‘Create’ mode allows users to add new geospatial features by drawing, and a ‘Modify’ mode allows users to modify existing features once they are selected. 

Drawing tool 

These allow users to add new geospatial features. The map offers several tools:

  • Points – Mark specific locations.
  • Line – Represent linear features, connecting two or more points.
  • Rectangle – A rectangle is a specific type of polygon. A rectangle can be defined by two points, representing the southwest and northeast corners of the feature. 
  • Polygons – Represent areas with multiple connected points forming a closed shape.

Selection tool  

Users can directly select a feature and use multi-select (Shift + Mouse). Once selected, a feature can be modified (note: the modification options available depend on the type and number of features selected:

  • Create vertex – Place a point between two existing points.
  • Move vertex – Select and drag vertices to reshape a feature. 
  • Remove vertex – Allows the removal of selected vertices. 
  • Rotate – Rotate the feature around a point. 
  • Scale – Scale the feature in the vertical or horizontal direction. 
  • Translate – Move the feature across the map. 
  • Merge – If multiple features of the same type are selected, union them into a multi-feature.
  • Split – If a multi-feature is selected, explode it into component features. Tooltips should be added to each edit tool.

Other options  

  • Delete – Delete the entire feature.
  • Undo/Redo – Functionality to undo/redo changes. 

Navigation within the map interface is achieved through standard interaction patterns. Users can Zoom using the relevant icons or mouse scroll. Users can Pan by clicking, holding, and moving the left mouse button. A ‘Go to location’ feature allows zooming to the user’s current location.

Features table  

The ‘Features’ table provides a tabular representation of the features defined by the user. Data added here automatically renders on the map when valid. For each feature, the table displays:

  • Expand – Opens a sub-table showing the individual points within a feature.
    • Each point is a row with the ability to reorder (via drag and drop and menu).
    • Point path (sequential numbering, e.g. 1.1)
    • Latitude and longitude. 
    • A menu option per row supports the ability to ‘Duplicate’, ‘Move up/down’, ‘Move to top/bottom’ and ‘Remove’ points. Note: Moving points to a new feature is not possible when features are merged. The last point of a polygon is not editable and always reflects the first point.
  • # (Feature ID) – A sequential ID assigned to features. 
  • Type – The type of feature – Line, Point, Polygon. 
  • Description – The description for a given geometry. 
  • Related file – The file associated with the Item that relates to the feature. 
  • Action.
    • Edit – Opens a modal for the selected feature. Includes a ‘Description’ field and a ‘Related file’ field. ‘Related file’ supports a lookup against loaded files.
    • Locate on map – Centres the map view on the corresponding geometry and selects it.
    • Delete – Allows a feature to be deleted.

GeoJSON tab  

The GeoJSON tab displays the raw GeoJSON representation of the geographical data for advanced users.  As a user edits features on the map, the GeoJSON in this tab will dynamically update. Users can paste GeoJSON data directly into a text box. Valid data will automatically render on the map. If invalid GeoJSON is entered, an error message will prompt the user to correct it. An import button opens an import dialogue that supports the import of a valid GeoJSON file.

Data validation  

When editing or adding features, all latitude and longitude inputs will be validated to ensure they are within valid ranges (latitude between -90 and 90; longitude between -180 and 180).

The custom metadata field is stored as text in the database and therefore the input is restricted to a maximum GeoJSON size of 64kb. If this limit is exceeded, a warning message will display advising the user to upload the file separately and provide a link instead. Large geospatial files can be stored as files in independent Items. The Related Materials field can then be used to link the Items, allowing spatial context to be provided. 

API and Batch management  

  • The API supports read and write of geospatial metadata in the same way as any custom field of the type ‘text’.
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