Overview
Nearmap WMS 2.0 (referred to as WMS) integration allows you to load high-resolution imagery into your off-the-shelf GIS and CAD applications on demand. Nearmap WMS 2.0 is based on OGC protocol WMS 1.1.1. To consume the latest Nearmap imagery via WMS, you must use a Nearmap Simple or Custom API service. Both services provide you with a personalised WMS URL. Accessing data through WMS contributes to your overall usage allowance. To display Nearmap imagery, you will need to tell your GIS or CAD package to load a Nearmap layer in the coordinate reference system in which our WMS server supplies it. This is specified in our layer capabilities file, readable by WMS-enabled software packages, and located at https://api.nearmap.com/wms/v1/latest/apikey/APIKEY?service=WMS&request=GetCapabilities. A simple test to check that the above URL works is to paste it in a web-browser and check that you get the layer names. If the URL is not correct, it will give an error message.
We support the most popular coordinate systems for our imagery.
In order to load imagery via WMS 2.0, you must use one of the following API services.
ou can select any area, and it doesn't have to be exact. You can also import an area by uploading a GeoJSON file.
When you create an area in MyAccount, you're defining a template/metadata for that particular service. At that point no data is downloaded. We recommend that you roughly sketch out around your AOI; it does not need to follow your local government area boundaries.
Nearmap provides the imagery natively in the local projection for Custom WMS services. Only those state plane projections that intersect with the AOI are available as an option in which you can request imagery. Note that state plane projections are valid only in the US.
Related Information
For an overview of APIs and WMS, read the following Getting Started guides:
FAQ
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What are the best practices for defining areas? —
Use simple boundaries around your areas of interest. The imagery is not requested until you interact with the application, so there is little difference in what imagery is returned when the custom service is used.
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Should I use Simple or Custom WMS? —
The simple WMS should be used if you want the only latest imagery for your area (Australia/New Zealand/USA/Canada). You will not be able to perform geofencing or navigate time. Custom WMS will allow you to perform geofencing and to set up specified regions as the only imagery you can view. For those regions, you will be able to navigate the time and set boundaries for the dates.
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If we create many areas, does it have a performance impact? —
The performance impact is not so much dependent on the size of the area, but on the number of surveys you bring back. There is a limit on how big an individual area can be, currently set at about 5000 km2, and you can specify up to ten areas in the same service. If you bring in ten metropolitan areas around Australia, you could be loading thousands of surveys. That would slow down your initial loading into your GIS application.
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Are there limits to the Custom WMS services? —
- Maximum number of WMS places - 50
- Maximum number of areas per place - 10
- Maximum area size - 15,000 km²
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Is WMS 2.0 more accurate than what I am currently using? —
Australia - We have adjusted the datum of the imagery that is returned by default when you don’t specify a projection, i.e. rely on application defaults. WMS 2.0 will automatically adjust the imagery to GDA2020 coordinate system for Australia and NZGD2000 for New Zealand. This will reduce positional errors and projection mismatches ensuring your imagery lines up. WMS 2.0 will continue to support the GDA94 MGA zone projections in Australia.
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How do I use GDA2020 projections? —
For Simple WMS all AU MGA zones are available in both GDA94 and GDA2020. For Custom WMS only the zones that intersect with the area of interest will be available as an option to request imagery in.
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How do I use State Plane projections? —
Only available in Custom WMS. Only the state plane projections that intersect with the area of interest will be available as an option to request imagery in.
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Does interacting with the imagery in the area definition window count towards my usage? —
Yes. When you define an area, a small amount of imagery is loaded to provide context for where we have coverage. We envisage that there will be very little usage coming from this tool because:
- The map is very small, i.e. not full screen
- It is used infrequently to create services