How to use Aerial Data Download

• Overview
• Find Aerial Data Download
• How do I define my area?
• What data products can I get?
• Is my data product available for my area?
• How much data can I order?
• How do I add data to my basket?
• Basket options
• How do I get my data?
• What can I do with the data?

Overview

The Aerial Data Download facility in Digimap allows you to:

• quickly and easily define your area. Options include: dragging a box, entering coordinates, specifying a tile name, or selecting the whole visible area.
• order multiple aerial imagery data product(s) for that area.

Note: although we use a shopping basket, all data is free. There are Terms and Conditions that cover the use of the data.

Find Aerial Data Download

Aerial Data Download can be accessed from the Aerial Digimap page.

Select the Aerial Data Download button.

If the Aerial Data Download button is not available, the most likely cause is that you are at an institution that does not allow Data Download off campus.

How do I define my area?

Step 1: find your area

You can search for your area of interest by:

1. using the search box to search for a placename, postcode or geographic coordinates

2. panning and zooming the map.

3. there are reference grids (postcodes or national grid squares) you can switch on to help you identify your area. Select any grid using the Reference Grids menu on the left of the map.

4. Note: the maps you view in Data Download are only to help you identify your area. They do not reflect the data product(s) you will order.

Step 2: Define an area on the map

You must define your area on the map. There are several tools available, shown in this image:

Draw options

1. Select the Draw rectangle button,   click on the map, drag to highlight your area, release when you have finished drawing.

2. Select the Draw polygon button,  click on the map, clicking at each point you wish to draw. Double click when you have finished drawing.

3. Select the Buffer button,  you can create point or line buffers to select everything with a set distance of a point or line.

Other options

1. Select Visible area - this will select everything in the map window.
2. Use coordinates - use bounding coordinates, either Easting/Northing or Latitude/Longitude, to define your area.
3. Use tile name - input an Ordnance Survey National Grid tile name to define an area.

Delete your area

The delete button  can be used to clear the selected area and start again.

What data products can I get?

• High resolution Aerial Imagery, from 1998 to 2016 (not 1999 or 2004).

• You can select the latest imagery or select a particular year. Selecting Aerial Imagery (latest) provides you the most recent data for your area. The areas covered in the different years vary a lot.

• Select the down arrow next to any category to see the available data products.

Each category has:

• a list of the available data products
• a checkbox next to each product to order it
• an arrow on the right to view more information about any product
• a grid icon - select this to show the areas on the map covered by that data product

Need more information?

1. Click the arrow to the right of any product name.

2. The Product Information pop-up, see image below, contains information about the scale, formats, allowance, grid size, licence and uses.

3. Click More Info. on the box for a detailed help page.

4. Each pop-up has a link to the licence agreement for the product you are interested in.

Is my data product available for my area?

• Check the grid icon next to any data product listing to view shaded areas on the map covered by that product.

How much data can I order?

• There is a limit, noted beside each data product.  
• The limit is the number of tiles or area that you can order in a single order.
• We have set limits so that our system can process your requests as quickly as possible.

How do I add data to my basket?

• Check the box next to all the data products you require.
• Select Add to Basket at the bottom left.
• Please note that although the term "Basket" is used, all data is free to download.

Basket options

Data product options

These vary between collections, depending on the format of the data.

• Version - select the date you require.
• Format - these vary between data products.
• Layers - some vector data products may offer a choice of layers, e.g. you could choose to only download Buildings.
• Theme - you can select a map style for some data products, e.g. select between a colour or faded map.
• Clip - not offered for every product. Where Clip is selected, our system will merge the National Grid tiles that cover your area into one tile.

Adding More Data

Select Add more data to select more data products.  

You can then either add more products for the same area or make a new area selection and add products for it.

How do I get my data?

1. Select Request Download.

2. You receive a conformation of order email
3. The second email will provide a download link.
4. Click on the download link.
5. You will be asked to login to Digimap.
6. Select the Download button to download the files.

What can I do with the data?

There are separate Help pages that give you information about how to use the data in various GIS and CAD packages.