Using the Footprint Map

The Map page in the Footprint module shows the location of entries, resource locations, and other elements like entries, team locations, and task boundaries. This map also has panes and menus used to modify or work with the map. The following table describes these elements.

Footprint elements and descriptions
Element Description

Map

Displays aggregated data for your administrative region.

A map with several navigation elements and example data represented by various symbols

You can click map elements like entries to view more information about them. Clicking the home icon Home icon focuses the map on the outer boundaries of your region. Pan the map by left-clicking and dragging, or rotate it by right-clicking and dragging. You can also pan with the arrow keys.

The numbers in the lower left indicate the map's scale, which changes as you zoom in or out. You can also set the scale by clicking these numbers and entering a value.

The numbers in the lower right indicate the coordinates for the location where your cursor is positioned. By default, the coordinates are displayed as latitude and longitude, but you can select other units with the Map Settings feature in the Tools menu.

By default, if there are many data points for certain types of data, those data points are grouped as cluster pins. For example, when many entries are close together on the map, the group of entries is represented by a red cluster pin. The number on the pin indicates how many entries it contains.

If a pin contains less than 5,000 entries by default, you can click it to expand the cluster and display each entry. You can also zoom in to a smaller area with fewer entries to view the individual entries in that area.

Structures and reentry permits are clustered in the same way as entries, except the pins are different colors as indicated in the left pane. In the Settings module, administrators can enable or disable clustering, set the maximum number of data points in a cluster, and set the maximum number of data points for click-to-expand functionality.

Left Pane

Allows you to show or hide map elements representing the following types of data. You can expand or collapse the left pane by clicking the expand icon Expand Right Icon on the left.

Rows of map elements in the left pane with options to show or hide each element

  • Annotations are shapes or text for map outputs added with the Annotations feature in the Tools menu. You can use features in the left pane to edit, delete, or zoom to each annotation. When you hover over an annotation's row in the left pane, the annotation is highlighted in yellow on the map.

  • Entries are the result of using forms to collect data about the selected incident. In the left pane, entries are organized by task and form type, and entries with certain form types are further organized by other parameters, such as the amount of damage. If you use jurisdictions, you can also view entries for each jurisdiction.

  • Tracks show the areas each team has covered. Tracks are organized by task in the left pane. Each track's row displays the track's color, and you can click the zoom icon An icon depicting a magnifying glass to focus the map on that track.

  • Structures are addresses within your administrative boundaries added to Crisis Track based on data you choose to share from tax assessment records. In the left pane, you can organize structures by Public Assistance categories, flood zones, or type. For more information, see FEMA's documentation about Public Assistance categories and flood zones. When you add or edit structures Type is an optional field with no predetermined values. Therefore, the Type categories you see here vary by organization.

  • An Area of Concern is a selection of structures relevant to the selected incident, added through the Footprint module.

  • Boundaries are administrative borders for your region and jurisdictions. Boundaries are added when your Crisis Track account or jurisdictions are created. You can show or hide labels with jurisdiction names.

  • Resource locations are listed here if you have the All Hazards Emergency Management product tier. These are important structures or locations added through the Footprint module.

  • Reentry permits are listed here if you have the All Hazards Emergency Management product tier. This feature is used during a controlled reentry process of an evacuated area.

  • Analytic Layers and Additional Layers may also be listed here. These map layers display additional elements on the map and are added through features in the Tools menu. You can edit, remove, or refresh a layer by clicking the actions icon Actions Icon.

    Some layers can be queried, meaning you can click an element on the layer to view information about it. To enable this feature, select the query icon An icon depicting a question mark for the layer. You can only query one layer at a time, and you cannot query the base map while the query icon An icon depicting a question mark is selected.

    If there is an issue with an additional layer, such as an error or expired token, a red exclamation point appears next to the layer's name. Hover your cursor over the exclamation point to view text about the issue. If the token is expired and you have another valid token, you can edit the layer and add the token.

    Depending on the type of service used to add an Additional Layer, you can expand the layer in the left pane to view a legend or sub-layers for that layer.

Search Bar

Allows you to search for specific entries.

A text box with a search icon

When you enter your search terms, Crisis Track searches through in all the text fields in entries for this incident. Entries with matching text appear in the left pane. You can click an entry to view more information about it, or you can click the zoom icon An icon depicting a magnifying glass to focus the map on that entry.

Tools Menu

Allows you to edit or work with the map in various ways, such as adding elements, changing the map settings, or measuring distances. For more information, see Using the Footprint Map Tools.

An expanded Tools menu showing various options

Map Menu

Allows you to change the appearance of the base map. This does not affect other map elements.

An expanded Map menu showing multiple options