Layer Panel

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The Layer Panel


The Layer Panel is located on the left side of the MapManager window and consists of a tree view of the MapFile Objects and a Property Panel. The layer panel can be switched on/off by using the corresponding menu item in the Main Menu.

The tree view displays the MapServer object hierarchy and provides a context menu by right clicking on the selected item with the following operations to be executed.

  • Add New Layer/Class/Style or Label - Depending on the selected node adds new child sub-item (Layer, Class Style or Label) to the hierarchy
  • Remove Layer/Class/Style or Label - Removes the selected item from the collection it belongs to
  • Move Layer/Class or Style Up - Reorders the collection by moving the selected item up
  • Move Layer/Class or Style Down - Reorders the collection by moving the selected item down
  • Zoom To Layer Extent - Provides to zoom to the extent of the selected layer
  • Go To Layer/Class (Text) - Navigate to the Layer or Class element  within the Text Window
  • Auto Style - Displays or modifies the 'Auto Style' setting of the selected layer
  • Properties - Displays the Property Editor Window of the selected item
  • Add Theme - Invokes the Theme Wizard to compose thematically represented classes for the selected layer
  • Refresh List - Reconstructs the layer tree according to the MapServer object hierarchy



The toolbar above the tree view provides easy access to the most frequently used operations. The following buttons are available:

Add a new layer


Clicking the cross Icon will allow the user to add a new Vector layer. Clicking the arrow beside the cross will allow the following choices:

  • Add Vector Layer From File - Allows you to Add an Existing Vector Layer from a file data source
  • Add Raster Layer From File - Allows you to Add an Existing Raster Layer from a file data source
  • Add WMS Layer - Displays the Add WMS Layers Dialogue for adding WMS (raster) layers
  • Add MSSQL Spatial Layer - Displays the MSSQL Connection Dialogue for adding Microsoft SQL Server spatial layers
  • Add Tile Index Layer - Allows you to add an OGR / GDAL tile index layer by selecting a tile index file
  • Add New Layer - Allows you to add a new empty layer. The type of the layer is 'point' by default. The layer should be configured using the Data Connection Panel
  • Add Layers from MapFile - Allows you to import all layers from a different MapFile
  • Add New Class - Allows you to add a new class to the selected layer
  • Add New Style - Allows you to add a new style to the selected class
  • Add New Label - Allows you to add a new label to the selected class


Removes the selected item from the collection

Moves the selected item (Layer/Class or Style) Up

Moves the selected item (Layer/Class or Style) Down


Note 1: When reordering the items you can use the mouse to drag and drop the layer/class or style within the collection it belongs to.
Note 2: For more information about the layers classes and styles please refer to the MapServer Object Model.
Note 3: When the layer contains a single class, style and label, the class, style and label nodes are not shown up in the tree view (default class, style and label).