Understanding Imagery Layers

Conceptual Information about the Geography profile layers, types of imagery layers, and creating new layers.

Types of Imagery Layers

Data workbench Geography enables you to view the following types of imagery layers in data workbench:

• Terrain image layer: This type of layer displays terrain imagery of the Earth, over which geographical data can be displayed. The globe visualization in data workbench is an example of a terrain image layer. See Working with Terrain Image Layers.

• Element point layer: This type of layer displays one point on the globe for each element of a dimension. See Working with Element Point Layers.

• Vector layer: This type of layer displays vector data (line art) on the globe. See Working with Vector Layers.

In data workbench, you can select which of the these layers you want to display for a particular analysis task.

Geography Profile Layers

The Geography profile provides you with a set of default imagery layers, which are stored in the Profiles\Geography\Maps folder within the data workbench server installation directory:

• Blue Marble 2km: This terrain image layer creates a 3-D map of the world, which is what displays when you add the globe visualization to a workspace. When this layer is not selected, the globe is not visible but the other layers still display. The Blue Marble 2km.layer file references the Blue Marble 2km.tsi file.

  For information about working with the globe visualization, see the Data Workbench User Guide.

• Zip Points: This element point layer enables you to map locations in your dataset using a United States ZIP Code. The Zip Points.txt lookup file (provided by Adobe) contains a list of all United States ZIP Codes and each ZIP Code’s latitude and longitude. The Zip Points.layer file references the Zip Points.txt file and the Zipcode.dim file and contains the configuration parameters needed to display the locations on the globe. Each element of the ZIP Code dimension ( Zipcode.dim) that you define within your dataset is mapped on the globe using the latitude and longitude listed for that ZIP Code in the Zip Points.txt lookup file.

  For information about defining dimensions, see the Dataset Configuration Guide.

• Boundaries: This vector layer provides the major world political boundaries, such as countries, as well as the boundaries of natural physical features of the Earth, such as lakes and islands. The Boundaries.layer file references one or more of the mwcoast.vec, mwisland.vec, mwlake.vec, mwnation.vec, mwriver.vec, mwstate.vec, US states.vec, and world boundaries.vec files.

• IP Coordinates: This element point layer uses dynamic points to enable you to map locations in your dataset using IP addresses. The IP Coordinates.layer file references the Coordinates dimension ( Coordinates.dim) and specifies the Visitors metric as the metric to use to determine the size of the points on the globe for each coordinate.

Your Geography profile or other profiles in your installation may contain additional imagery layers that Adobe provided or your company created.

Creating New Layers

You can create new imagery layers by copying the appropriate type of layer file included in the Geography profile into any Profiles*profile name*\Maps folder, then renaming and editing the file as appropriate. All new layers must meet the following requirements:

• The .layer file must adhere to the format of one of the supported layer types.
• The .layer file must reference the appropriate lookup and dimension files, if necessary.
• The referenced lookup file also must be stored within the data workbench server installation directory, and its path must be specified accurately in the .layer file.

For more information about the format and parameters for each type of layer file and its associated files, see the section in this chapter for the appropriate layer type.