Getting Started with RangeView Tools

Background  

RangeView's Dynamic Animation tools allow users to zoom in to an area of interest, overlay cartographic layers such as roads and cities, select satellite imagery of vegetation greenness, and then animate those images.

Tools

These instructions apply to either the AVHRR Dynamic Animation Tool or the MODIS Dynamic Animation Tool (links open in separate windows). Use the AVHRR tool to view greenness images at 1 kilometer resolution dating back to 1989. Use the MODIS tool to view images at 1 km or 250 meter resolution dating back to 2000.

To find the tool without the direct link:
     1) In your Internet browser, go to http://rangeview.arizona.edu.
     2) Click on one of the links in the "Tools" section on the home page.

Exercise

Step 1: Select Image Area to View -- The Zoom and Pan Options

At the top of the browser window, you will find navigation tools such as Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan. Pan moves up, down, right, or left on the image without zooming in or out.

1. Select the “zoom in” button and click in Arizona. Click three more times to zoom in to the interior of the state.

2. Select the “zoom out” button and click in the center of the image viewer to zoom back out to see all of Arizona.

3. Select the pan tool and click on the left side of the image viewer to see California. Now click on the right side of the image viewer to center on Arizona. Click on the right side of the image again to see New Mexico.

4. Notice that there is an overview map in the top left corner of the screen -- this shows the location of your map relative to the entire United States.

5. Select the “Zoom In” tool and click once. Notice the red box showing your location has changed.

6. From the “Zoom to:” menu, choose "United States" (AVHRR tool) or "Full Extent" (MODIS tool) to zoom out to the full extent of the map area.

Step 2: Select Map Features -- Overlay Reference

On the left side of the screen, you will see a list of map layers with two check boxes next to each item. Selecting the first checkbox makes the layer visible, and selecting the second checkbox displays the labels associated with the layer. You can display many reference layers at once, but only one set of labels can be viewed at a time.

1. Find the map layer called “Highways” and check the first box to select this map layer for display (layer will not be visible until the "Refresh" button is clicked).

2. Scroll down to find the layer called “States & Provinces” and check the second box to display the labels for this layer.

3. Click the "Refresh" button to see the map layers and labels you have selected appear in the image viewers.

4. Notice the “Cities” layer has red X’s where the check boxes should be. This means that you are not zoomed in far enough to see that map layer.

5. Choose Arizona in the “Zoom to” menu. Wait several seconds for the image viewers to refresh automatically. Now notice that there are check boxes (rather than red X's) next to “Cities.” Check the first box next to this layer and click Refresh.

6. Notice that the map layers you have checked appear in a legend at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Reset the Page

Now that you know how to use the navigation tools and map layer display, try to reset the page to the way that you had it before. Here is a list of things to do:

1. Uncheck the map layer called “Highways.”

2. Uncheck the labels for the layer called “States & Provinces,” but do not uncheck the layer box.

3. Uncheck the map layer called “Cities.”

4. Zoom out to "Full Extent" (MODIS tool) or "United States" (AVHRR tool).

5. Remember: to see the changes you make to the map layer list you must click the Refresh button.