By Collin Welbon, Esri Document Editor
Everyone loves maps; whether it’s using them to get us to our destination, studying them to gather particular information about a region and its attractions or features, or just looking at them for their intrinsic beauty. Wouldn’t it be great to have a place where the maps we create and would enjoy sharing with others can be put on display? This is where wiki.GIS.com can come into play!
Wiki.GIS.com is a new platform for the GIS community to share conceptual knowledge of GIS. The real value of wiki.GIS.com stems from its ability to allow new geographers, cartographers, developers and GIS professionals to benefit from the vast knowledge available from your contributions.
The main page of wiki.GIS.com has a Featured Map section, which displays a different map on a weekly basis (see the area outlined in red below). Each map has a caption that gives some explanation as to what the map displays.
When you click on the featured map, you are taken to the wiki page that is associated with it. We want to see this area grow and develop by having you share your maps with the GIS community.
Sharing your maps on the GIS wiki
Sharing a map that you have created with the GIS community via wiki.GIS.com only takes a few minutes. Here are the steps:
- Upload the map by clicking on “Upload file“, which is located in the left hand side toolbox navigation box.
- Click the “Browse…” button.
- Locate and select the file you want to upload from the “Choose file” dialog box and click “Open”.
- If you want to modify the filename, add a summary, or watch this file, you must change or add that information in the appropriate places on the Upload File page.
- Once all the information is correct or how you want it, click “Upload file”. NOTE: Write down or remember the destination filename, because this is the name that you will use when you add the file/image to a wiki page.
Once you have uploaded the file, you can create a new wiki page, and add the newly uploaded map as well as all the appropriate and necessary information about the map to wiki.GIS.com. Be sure to add the map as either a thumbnail in the top right corner of the page or somewhere else on the wiki page where it is appropriate. Once there is a wiki page associated with the map, we can then take your map and add it to our Featured Map section on the main page and to our list of Featured maps.
To create a new page:
- Click on the Create new page link on the left hand side “Site Management” navigation box.
- Type the title of the wiki page into the provided text field and click the “Create New Article” button. NOTE: Be sure that your title is accurate and written in proper case (UPPER and lower case letters). You only get one chance to title your wiki page! If you make a mistake, create a new page with the right title and send us a feedback comment alerting us to delete the erroneous page.
Creating a new wiki page can be made much easier by utilizing the Help pages within wiki.GIS.com. When you are creating your page, you may want to refer to the following links for help:
Creating wiki pages can be fun, and the best way to do it is to jump in head first. Don’t worry too much about making mistakes (except titling your page!) They can always be fixed later. If you want to work with the wiki a bit before you create your first page, go to the Sandbox. This is a place where you can get comfortable with the wiki and wiki formatting without any qualms.
Take a look, create an account, upload a map that you want to share with the GIS community, create a page associated with your map, and you may see it as one of our featured maps! We will review the new pages to find your great maps and sufficient associated information.
There are also other ways that you can contribute to wiki.GIS.com. You can edit or add content to existing pages, create pages about GIS-related topics, use it as a resource for GIS-centric information, and the list goes on. Come on in and see what you have been missing! Collaboration is the key to building a GIS wiki community!
