Digimap Roam

This help page details how to use the previous version of Roam. If you want to use the previous version, access it from the Digimap Ordnance Survey collection page.

• Start Roam
• Overview
• Navigating in Roam
• Searching for a location
• Understanding map views
• Controlling map content
• Drawing Tools
• Printing
• Map Information
• My Maps
• Measurement Tools

Start Roam

Select the previous version of Roam button from the Digimap Ordnance Survey collection page.

Overview

Digimap Roam enables you to view and print maps using Ordnance Survey data at one of 12 pre-defined scales.  Prints can be created at user defined scales, A4 to A0 size; landscape or portrait orientation and include annotations.

1. Map window - Where the maps are displayed.

2. View Name - Each scale of map has a View Name

3. Overview Map - Click to view a smaller scale map of the current map view.

4. Map content - Click to view map legend and customise map content.

5. Map Information - To view details about the current map view.

6. Open - Open save maps and annotations

7. Save - Store maps and annotations to retrieve at a later date.

8. Print - Click to go to print options.  Click to produce printable PDF, PNG, JPEG files of your map.

9. Map Tools - Drawing Tools and Measurement Tools.

10. Overlays -Click to access a menu giving options for overlays.

11. Zoom to area -Use to click and drag on the map to zoom to a specific area.

12. Zoom to full extent - Click to zoom out to GB view.

13. Previous/next map - Click to go back to previous views.

14. Search - Click to search for places, postcodes, grid references and coordinates.

15. Basemaps - Click to view choice of basemaps available at that scale

16. Navigation controls - Click to navigate the map.

17. Zoom slider - Use to zoom in/out.

18. Help - Click to view the Help Pages.

Note: To expand/collapse the left hand panel click the or icons.

Navigating in Roam

You can navigate in Roam by panning (moving the map in any direction) and by zooming in and out of the map.

To pan you can either:

• Click and drag the map i.e. click and hold the left mouse button, then drag to move the map.
• Use your keyboards arrow keys to move around the map.
• Use the navigation control to move north, south, east or west:

Click the relevant arrow to pan the map in that direction.

To zoom in/out of the map, you can:

• Double click to zoom in
• Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out.
• Use the plus (+) and minus (-) keys on your keyboard.
• Use the zoom slider bar to zoom in or out:

• Click the to zoom in and click the to zoom out.
  
  
• Click and drag the blue marker to zoom in or out.
  
  
• Or click anywhere on the slider bar to zoom to that scale.
  
  

Searching for a location

You can search for a location in Roam using a place name, postcode, grid reference, easting/northing or latitude/longitude. Click on the main menubar to expand the search box.

• Type the place name, road name, partial postcode or full postcode (e.g. EH9 1PR) in the relevant search box, and click
  
• If there is more than one match for your place name, the search results will be displayed below the search box. Click the place name you are interested in to view in the map window.

Notes:

• You will not find landmarks and places of interest such as Edinburgh Castle or Nelsons Column or county names such as Cornwall. These are not currently listed in the gazetteer.
• Only search for places in the UK.
• Partial Postcodes (e.g. EH9) only work if they are the only term searched for.

Coordinate / Grid Ref. Search (was Advanced Search)

To search using the Coordinate / Grid Ref. Search options:

• Type the Grid Reference (e.g. TL4685) in the relevant box and click . The map will automatically navigate to that location.
• Enter Easting/Northing defined by coordinates on British National Grid e.g. 545030 138305
• Enter Latitude/Longitude coordinates to go a specific location defined by geographicals. Formats accepted can be either decimal degrees e.g. 55.123456 -5.123456 or in degrees minutes seconds e.g. 55 07 24.3N, 05 08 04.7W

Understanding map views

Roam has a number of different pre-defined map scales, called views. The views consist of different Ordnance Survey map products which are appropriate for each view's scale (e.g. the Detailed view uses OS MasterMap) Once you have found your location of interest, you can zoom in and out to find the appropriate view for your map. Below are details of the scale and map product used for each view, and an example of the use of each map, to help you decide which view is appropriate for your purpose.

View	Basemap(s)	Scale
GB Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	GB Overview Maps Digital Chart of the World (country outlines)	Nominal scale of data = 1:1 million View scale = approx. 1:7 500 000   Default Print Scale = 1:8 000 000
National Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	Default representation Standard Alternate representations Relief Background All representations use MiniScale®	Nominal scale of data = 1:1 million View scale = approx. 1:1 500 000   Default Print Scale = 1:6 000 000
Regional Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	Default representation Standard Alternate representations Relief Background All representations use MiniScale®	Nominal scale of data = 1:1 million View scale = approx. 1:750 000   Default Print Scale = 1:800 000
County Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	Default representation Standard Alternate representations Relief Background All representations use MiniScale®	Nominal scale of data = 1:1 million View scale = approx. 1:375 000   Default Print Scale = 1:400 000
Metropolitan Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	Default representation Strategi   Alternate representations Strategi Background Raster 250k	Nominal scale of data = 1:250 000 View scale = approx. 1:189 000   Default Print Scale = 1:200 000
City Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2020	Default representation Strategi   Alternate representations Strategi Background Raster 250k	Nominal scale of data = 1:250 000 View scale = approx. 1:95 500   Default Print Scale = 1:100 000
District © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Raster 50k (1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster) Alternate representation Raster 50k Greyscale (1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster) VMD backdrop (OS VectorMap® District) Mid-scale Vector (Meridian™ 2 and OS Terrain™ 50) Mid-scale Backdrop (Meridian™ 2 and OS Terrain™ 50)	Nominal scale of data = 1:50 000 View scale = approx. 1:38 000   Default Print Scale = 1:40 000
Local © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Raster 50k (1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster) Alternate representation Raster 50k Greyscale (1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster) Vector Map District (OS VectorMap® District and OS Terrain™ 50) VMD backdrop (OS VectorMap® District Raster)	Raster nominal scale = 1:50 000 VMD nominal scale = 1:15 000 to 1:30 000 View scale = approx. 1:19 000   Default Print Scale = 1:20 000
Neighbourhood © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Raster 25k (1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster) Alternate representations Raster 25k Greyscale (1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster) OS VectorMap Local VML Standard VML Street View VML Raster 10k VML Plan Vector Map District (OS VectorMap® District and OS Terrain™ 50) Open Map - Local (OS Open Map - Local and OS Terrain™ 50)	Raster nominal scale =  1:25 000 VML nominal scale = 1:3 000 to 1:20 000 VMD nominal scale = 1:15 000 to 1:30 000 View scale = approx. 1:9 500   Default Print Scale = 1:10 000
Street © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation VML Raster Alternate representations OS VectorMap Local VML Standard VML Street View VML Raster 10k VML Plan Open Map - Local (OS Open Map - Local and OS Terrain™ 50)	Raster nominal scale = 1:10 000 VML nominal scale = 1:3000 to 1:20000 View scale = approx. 1:4 700   Default Print Scale = 1:5 000
Detailed © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Full Colour (OS MasterMap® Topography Layer) Alternate representations Line Drawing (OS MasterMap® Topography Layer) Full Colour Orig (OS MasterMap® Topography Layer) Open Map - Local (OS Open Map - Local and OS Terrain™ 50)	Nominal scale = 1:1250, 1:2500 and 1:10 000 scales in urban, rural and mountain/moorland areas respectively View scale = approx. 1:2 500   Default Print Scale = 1:2 500
Plan © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Full Colour Alternate representation Line Drawing Full Colour Orig All representations use OS MasterMap® Topography Layer	Nominal scale = 1:1250, 1:2500 and 1:10 000 scales in urban, rural and mountain/moorland areas respectively View scale = approx. 1:1 250   Default Print Scale = 1:1 250
Building   © Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey (100025252)	Default representation Full Colour Alternate representation Line Drawing Full Colour Orig All representations use OS MasterMap® Topography Layer	Nominal scale = 1:1250, 1:2500 and 1:10 000 scales in urban, rural and mountain/moorland areas respectively View scale = approx. 1:500   Default Print Scale = 1:500

Controlling map content

In several of the views in Roam (e.g. Metropolitan, District, City, Detailed and Plan View) it is possible to customise which features are displayed on the map (e.g. display only A class roads and railways)

To customise the map view:

1. Click the Map Content tab in the Side Menu panel. (The Map Content contains a list of the feature types that are included in the map)
   
   
2. Switch features (or groups of features, e.g. all roads) on/off by checking or unchecking the tick box next to the feature name.
   
   
3. All features can be switched off by unchecking the clear/select all layers tick box. NB: Clearing all layers will result in a blank map, so remember to switch at least one layer back on!
   
   

Note: The other views cannot be customised because the Ordnance Survey data used in these views are in raster data format, which do not allow selection of features. Therefore, all features in these views are always displayed.

Drawing Tools

The drawing tools in Digimap Roam allow you to draw symbols, lines, polygons and text on your maps. You can add labels to these features and have the ability to select colours and styles for them too.

There is a short video showing you how to use the drawing tools:

Below is a summary of main Drawing Tools and how to use them.  Detailed help on all the tools and functions available can be found in the How to use the Drawing Tools help page.

Click on the Drawing Tools option under the  menu above the map to open the Annotations Toolbar.

Add features using the Draw & Create set of tools on the toolbar.  Select from the point, text, line or area tools, and click on the map to start drawing.

Text colour and font size can be set using the Text Settings options.

Area style settings can be set using the Fill and Stroke settings, to select the colour and opacity of the fill and the colour, style and width of the outline.

Line style settings can be set using the Stroke settings.

Use the modify tools to add labels, reposition, resize and reshape features drawn.

To edit the colour and styling of text, line or areas drawn, click on the Select tool (or the drag to select tool) and then click on the feature you want to edit to select it, it will be highlighted.  Next, change the colour and style settings you want to change.  Then deselect the feature(s) by clicking away from the feature in an area where you have no annotations.

Saving and Opening Annotations

To save a set of annotations you have drawn, use the Save My Maps.... tool on the main menu bar Give your map set a name and click save and the map along with any annotations wil be saved.  

To open a saved set of annotations, click on the Open My Maps... tool on the main menu bar and select the map together with annotations you want to view.

You can import a dataset you have and want to add as features to the map using the Open --> Annotations from file... function on the main menu bar.  Select the Open annotations from file tool, choose a file to import and click upload.  

Supported formats are:

• Shapefile (in zip)
• KML
• GPX
• CSV
• GeoJSON

To export a set of annotations you have created to a file suitable for use in a GIS, click the Save --> Annotations to file.. tool on the main manu bar, choose a file format, give your file a name and click export.

For more detail help on the Drawing Tools, please see the How to use the Drawing Tools help page.

Printing

Roam allows you to create printable maps in A4 to A0 size and in portrait or landscape layout in a variety of formats and at user defined scales.

To create a printable map:

1. Click the print button on the main menu bar.
2. Enter a map title.
3. Enter the Scale that you want to print the map at.
4. Select the print format.
5. Select the page size using the drop down menu.
6. Select orientation (landscape or portrait)
7. Check the box if you want to add National Grid Lines.
8. Check the box if you want to include any Annotations you have drawn on the map.
9. Check the box if you want to include Hill Shading.
10. Check the box if you want to Add Legend. Note the legend will be created as a separate PDF file and placed in a zip file with your map.
11. Click Generate Print File, this will produce a PDF file which you can save or print.

Use the tab (shown above) to view a small area of the map content that you will get; use the tab (shown below) to show the extents of the area your map will cover based on the paper size and scale of the map.  Drag the map in either preview window to change the location of your map.

Map Information

The Map Information tab displays spatial reference information about the current map view. The information will update as you pan and zoom the map.

1. Click Map Information on the Side Menu tab to open.
   
   
2. Displays the top right and bottom left coordinates of the current map view. NB: The bottom left coordinates relate to the corner hidden by the left task panel when it is expanded.
   
   
3. The scale the current map will be printed at.
   
   
4. Hover over any point on the map to view the coordinates.
   
   

My Maps

My Maps enables you to open and save maps you have previously saved.

Save My Maps...

You can save your existing map, and any annotations on it, using --> My Maps...

Note: any annotations you have on the map will be saved with the map.

Open My Maps...

1. Click --> My Maps menu in the main menu bar.
   
   
2. Click to select any saved map to view in the map window.
   
   
3. Sort the list of saved maps by clicking the column headings.
   
   
4. Click Delete Selected to remove the map from your saved maps.
   

If there is a in the Annotations column this indicates that there are annotations present in the saved map.

If you already have annotations present on your map and you try and open another map that also has annotations on it, you will be asked to either delete your existing annotations or to merge existing annotations with ones on the selected map.

Note: You should save your existing annotations before opening another map using --> My Maps...

Measurement Tools

Roam's Measurement Tools enable you to measure distances and areas on your map.

1. Click the --> Measurement Tools button on the main tool bar to open.

1. Click once on the map to start measuring.  

2. Move the mouse pointer along to the next point.  Clicking once on the map will add a point.

3. Double click to finish measuring.  The total distance or area measurement is displayed in the measurement tools window.

   
   

4. Closing the measurement tools window will clear the line or area from the map.

NB:  Measurements less than 1km in length or 1km2 in area are given in metres and metres squared.