Table of Contents

1. Biodiversity GIS (BGIS) Online Maps
2. Getting Familiar with the BGIS Online Maps
3. Navigating Around the Maps
4. Using Intermediate Features of the BGIS Map Viewer
5. Using Advanced Features of the BGIS Online Maps
   1. Exercise using advanced features
   2. Measuring Distances
   3. Measure Area
   4. Upload Shape files
   5. Extract to Excel
   6. Extract GML
   7. Upload GPS waypoints
   8. The Markup Tools
   9. Working with Projects
   10. Save Session
   11. Save Markups to Shape File
   12. Extract Layer
   13. Downloading a layer
   14. Select by Buffer
6. Summary of built in functionality of the BGIS Web Map Service
7. Glossary of Terms

Extract to Excel

Use the Extract to Excel Tool to output a listing of layer information into an Excel file.

Clicking the will allow you to select the layer from which you would like to download, the extent of the data and whether you are only interested in downloading selected features. Once you have specified the Extract Layer parameters, click OK. You are able to download the extracted information as a zip file, or open the Excel file directly by clicking on the appropriate hyperlinks found in the Information Panel.

Exercise

We would now like to extract the threatened vegetation present on the farm to an Excel spreadsheet for reference. First we have to select the farm using select by polygon.

Choose the and make the "Renosterveld Ecosystem Status" and "Renosterveld Priority Clusters" layers visible in the "Renosterveld Layers" folder. Also make the layer "Renosterveld Ecosystem Status" selectable.

Choose the and choose Select by polygon in the Information Panel. You will receive a notice that you can now start drawing you polygon. Digitise the farm boundary, the points where you click will appear in the Information Panel. You can zoom into the farm to help you with your digitising. When you are finished click OK.

The attributes of all the selected features of the layer "Renosterveld Ecosystem Status" within the polygon will appear in the Information Panel and the polygon and the features will appear in yellow on the map.

You are now ready to extract the attributes of these features to an Excel spreadsheet. Click on the a form will appear in the Information Panel. Choose the layer "Renosterveld Ecosystem Status". Please note that some layers are not available for extract and only the layers that are available will be listed. Set Within visible extendsonly to No and Within selected features only to yes. 

Click OK and you will receive another dialogue box informing you that 73 features were written to the file and asking whether you wish to download the zipped Excel file or open the file.

You can choose either of these options. Open the file if you chose the first option to view the data. You can see all the patches of vegetation which intersect with the boundary of the farm and their Ecosystem Status either V- Vulnerable or CE Critically Endangered.