Project bounds limit the amount of data loaded for the map. Less data means faster loading maps. Some overlays may not load at all if the area is too big.
For built-in overlays, only data within the Project bounds is loaded. For user-uploaded files, the entire file will be loaded, potentially escaping the bounds.
Project bounds can be represented in one of two ways:
- One or more Local Authority districts
- A “bounding box”, defined by the bottom-left and top-right coordinates
A project must have a bounds; that bounds applies to all maps within the project. If you need to showcase multiple locations within a project, you can set the bounds to contain all locations and then use Viewpoints.
Setting the project bounds to one or more Local Authorities
On the project page,
- Select Info
- Next to Bounds select Edit symbol
- In the window that appears, ensure Local authorities is selected on the left
- Use the search box to locate local authorities by name, or select their regions on the map
- Select Confirm Changes
Setting the project bounds to a bounding box
If you want your project to cover an area incompatible with local authorities, then use a bounding box. This will typically include more data than is required, and can result in slower projects for you and your viewers.
On the project page,
- Select Info
- Next to Bounds select Edit symbol
- In the window that appears, ensure Bounding box is selected on the left
- Use the map on the right to define your project area
- OR, if you know the bounding box coordinates, enter them directly into the input on the left
- Select Confirm Changes
The input will support any list of coordinate pairs within text. For example, of you have a GeoJSON polygon feature, pasting it into this box will generate a bounding box around it
Setting the project bounds around a location
If you don’t know where the location is but know the name, then you can search and set the bounds using that.
On the project page,
- Select Info
- Next to Bounds select Edit symbol
- In the top-right of the map, search for a location
- Select an item to preview it
- Select the bounds symbol to the right of the item to set the bounds
- Select Confirm Changes