Using WMS and WMTS services

All the commands in this section are in the ApliCAD WMS panel of the ribbon: Coordinates and City (in the Coordinates drop-down), Load WMS, Base layers, Cadastre, PNOA, IGN and MTN (in the Spanish services drop-down), Turn WMS on, Turn WMS off, Order, WMS info, Associate Image, My services and Keys.

Coordinates

To use a WMS (Web Map Service) correctly, the drawing must have a suitable coordinate system defined, because that is what determines whether the map images are positioned correctly over the model.

To make this setup easier, the application includes a specific command to define or change the drawing’s coordinate system easily, ensuring correct georeferencing of the data. When you run this command, the following dialog box appears, from which you can select the most suitable spatial reference system for the project.

If you are working with maps of Spain, the application shows the zones available for the territory, so you can easily select the one that matches the project’s working area. For anywhere else, use the last two options: City and Other.

The Other option opens the following dialog box, which gives access to more than 5,000 coordinate systems from around the world. You can search by EPSG code, name, country or coordinates (latitude, longitude); with coordinates, the list shows the systems valid at that point.

The selected system is stored in the drawing itself, so you are only asked once. If the drawing has a geolocation defined in the CAD, DWGExplorer uses it as the coordinate system. To see the current system, use the GEOCRSVER or HUSOVER commands.

The drawing and the service do not need to use the same system: if the service does not offer the drawing’s, DWGExplorer requests the image in another one and transforms it automatically.

Locate the drawing by city

If you have a new drawing and do not know which system it needs, the City option in the Coordinates drop-down (GEOCIUDAD command) lets you search for a town in any country, among about 160,000, or type coordinates (latitude, longitude). It works without an internet connection.

The program suggests the official system for large-scale mapping in that country and shows the scale distortion at that place; you can also choose another one from the list. If no national system is configured for the country, it suggests the WGS 84 UTM zone. When you accept, the drawing takes that system and its units. You can also zoom to the place and then load a base map.

Important

If the drawing already has a coordinate system, the program asks before replacing it. Geometry already drawn keeps its coordinates: it is not transformed to the new system.

Base layers

The Base layers button (WMSBASE command) opens a catalog of more than 70 services of official mapping and base maps, grouped by type: orthophoto, topographic map, base map, cadastre, relief and others. It includes worldwide services and services from countries in Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Asia.

If the drawing has a coordinate system, the list shows only the services available at its location; otherwise, it shows all of them. When you select one, its description, license and source attribution appear at the bottom. When you accept, the service is loaded with the layers suggested by the catalog.

In areas with no official mapping in the catalog, only the worldwide services appear. Some of them, such as Blue Marble and GEBCO, show their approximate detail in the name (about 500 m/pixel), which is only useful for viewing large areas. To work at parcel scale in those areas, you can use the paid Esri satellite imagery or add another service.

The My services… button opens the list of your services. The ones you have added appear in any area, at the top of their group and with the coverage My services.

Load WMS

The Load WMS form looks like this:

At the bottom of the dialog box, a warning highlighted in yellow may appear indicating that the drawing does not have a coordinate system defined. In that case, you can easily set one using the “Define zone…” button.

If you don’t know the project’s exact UTM zone, a practical alternative is to use the coordinate system defined in the WMS service itself, which ensures that the mapping is positioned correctly.

The top of the form shows a short list of suggested public WMS services for the drawing’s area. You can also use the IDEE button (IDEE, Spanish Spatial Data Infrastructure), which accesses the information published by that organization in real time and shows a list of all available WMS services.

The form that appears is the following:

The services are classified by the organizations that publish them, and the window shows how many there are at any given time. This organization makes it easy to search for the WMS service you want.

To make searching and later use of the different services easier, you can save your favorites.

For other countries there is the Directory… button, which searches the official service catalogs (CSW): Spain (IDEE), Portugal (SNIG), Italy (RNDT), the Netherlands (Nationaal Georegister), Switzerland (geocat.ch), Brazil (INDE) and Canada (Open Maps). You can also type the address of any other CSW catalog. Just choose the directory, type some text and click Search.

Important

ApliCAD is not responsible for how WMS services work. For this reason, after selecting a particular service and checking its availability, you may see a message indicating that the service is not available.

To use a service that is not in the list, you can use the WMS service URL field and enter the address of the service you want to load. It can be a WMS, WMTS or ArcGIS service (.../MapServer) or a tile template (.../{z}/{x}/{y}.png): the program detects it automatically, and the drop-down remembers the addresses used. For example, you can try the Spanish Cadastre server:

http://ovc.catastro.meh.es/Cartografia/WMS/ServidorWMS.aspx

If the address includes a key (for example, ...?token=...), the program separates it from the address and stores it encrypted, so it does not stay in the drawing. If you are going to use the service often, it is better to add it to My services.

Once you have entered the address and click the “Check availability” button, the system will try to connect to the service. If the server is reachable and responds correctly, a list of the layers available in that service appears, as shown in the following image. You can then select the mapping you want to display in the drawing.

It is worth noting that the WMS service itself indicates the coordinate system in which the mapping is available, as shown in the image. If the drawing does not have a coordinate system yet, it can adopt the service’s.

From then on, you can select the layers you want to add to the working session. For example, if you choose the first available layer and keep the “Zoom to WMS extent” option checked, when you click Accept the program automatically adjusts the view to show the full extent of the loaded mapping, with the result shown below.

From this point on, every time you zoom in on an area of the drawing, the system automatically updates the mapping shown. This way, the WMS service loads more detail as the zoom level increases, progressively showing more information depending on the display scale.

This behavior lets you work much like with online map viewers, where the information is refreshed dynamically based on the current view, optimizing both the clarity of the information shown and system performance. You can see the result in the following image:

Service keys

A few services require a key issued by their provider after you register. The program asks for it when loading them; you can also manage keys with the Keys button (WMSCLAVE command), which shows the catalog services that need one and the keys saved on the computer:

Select a service and click Set key… to enter it. The window includes a link to get a key from that provider and, for third-party paid services, the notice that ApliCAD does not provide the service, a link to the provider’s conditions and a box you must tick to continue:

• The key is stored encrypted for your Windows user and is only sent to that server. It does not stay in the drawing.
• It is only sent over https: no key is sent to an http address.
• One key is stored per server, and it applies to all services on that server.
• On another computer or for another Windows user, you need to enter it again.

Delete key removes it. If you are not going to use these services, you do not need to do anything: Not saved is not an error.

Esri satellite imagery (paid)

The catalog includes World: Esri satellite imagery, with 1 m/pixel or better in much of the world and about 0.3 m/pixel in many cities, including Dubai. It is useful where no official mapping is accessible and the free worldwide services do not provide enough detail.

This is a third-party service

ApliCAD does not provide, sell or support this service. You decide freely whether to set it up, using your own Esri account. Its conditions (including those for drawing over the imagery, printing it or storing it), usage limits and costs are agreed between you and Esri. Before using it, check Esri’s conditions and pricing: the free monthly usage and what happens when you exceed it depend on your account.

To get the key, create an account on ArcGIS Location Platform and follow these steps. The screens belong to Esri and may change.

1. Open the Developer credentials tab and click Manage developer credentials (or go to My portal).
2. Click New item and choose Developer credentials.
3. Choose API key credentials and click Next.
4. Indicate that it is a private application and choose No item access.
5. Under Privileges, in Basemaps, enable Basemap styles service and Static basemap tiles.
6. Choose the expiration (90 days by default; 1 year at most) and leave Referrer URLs empty.
7. Enter a title, review the summary and choose Generate the API key now.
8. Copy the key: it is only shown once. Do not confuse it with the Client ID or the Client secret.

In DWGExplorer, load the service from Base layers: the program asks for the key. Read the notice, tick the box and paste the key. When it expires, generate another one in Esri and replace it with the Keys button.

The attribution Esri requires is written on the image itself.

My services

Besides the catalog services, you can add your own services, free or paid, with the My services ribbon button (WMSSERVICIOS command) or the My services… button in Base layers:

The list shows the type of each service (WMS, WMTS, ArcGIS or XYZ), its server and the status of its key. Add… opens this form and Edit… opens the same form with the service’s data; Delete removes it along with its saved key, unless another service on the same server uses it.

Services you add on your own

ApliCAD does not provide, sell or support these services. You decide freely whether to use them, with your own account if they need one. Their conditions (including those for drawing over the imagery, printing it or storing it), usage limits and any costs are agreed between you and the provider.

To add a service:

1. Enter a Name and the URL of the service, and click Check. The program recognizes the type and shows its layers.

   Type	Sample address
   WMS	https://server/wms
   WMTS	https://server/wmts/1.0.0/WMTSCapabilities.xml
   ArcGIS	https://server/arcgis/rest/services/Orthophoto/MapServer
   Tile template	https://server/{z}/{x}/{y}.png

   Templates also accept {level}, {row} and {column}, as well as {s} and {r}. {-y} and {q} are not supported. The tile size (256 or 512 pixels) is detected automatically.

2. If the service needs a key, tick This service needs a key, enter it and choose how it is sent in Sent as, as the provider indicates: URL parameter (for example, token), HTTP header (for example, X-API-Key) or User and password. In Get a key you can note the page where it is obtained.

   If the server replies that the key is missing, the program ticks the box and tells you. If you paste the address with the key included, the key moves to its box.

3. Tick the Layers you want to use. Tile services (WMTS, ArcGIS and templates) use only one.

4. Choose the Category, which is the group where it appears in Base layers.

5. Enter the Attribution, if the provider requires it: it is written on the image. The License is just an informative note.

6. Tick the box to declare that you have read the notice, that you are entitled to use the service and that you will comply with the provider’s conditions, then click Accept.

Services are saved in %APPDATA%\ApliCAD\DWGExplorer\servicios-usuario.json. To use them on another computer, copy that file and enter the keys again, since they do not travel with it.

Cadastre

The Cadastre button, in the Spanish services drop-down, provides a quick, direct way to load Spanish Cadastre mapping without having to enter the WMS service address manually.

When you use this option, the system automatically sets up the corresponding WMS server and its main layers, giving you immediate access to cadastral information —such as parcels and references— in the drawing. This simplifies connecting to the service and makes it easier to integrate official mapping into your working environment.

PNOA

The PNOA button loads the PNOA (National Aerial Orthophotography Plan) image layer directly, so you don’t have to enter the address of the corresponding WMS service manually.

For example, in the case shown above, when you click this button the system asks whether you want to add the new layer to the current session or replace the layer that is already loaded.

Since the PNOA layer is an orthophoto image without transparency, if you choose to replace the existing layer, the orthophoto becomes the background of the drawing, with a result similar to the one shown in the following image. This way, you can view the project over a real aerial image of the area, which makes it easier to identify the surroundings and verify the location of the drawing’s elements.

This image is overlaid with the Cadastre one.

You can change the order of the images later with the Order button.

IGN

For the IGN (National Geographic Institute of Spain), the process is similar to the one described for PNOA. When you use this option, the system connects directly to the corresponding service and lets you load the available layers for display in the drawing.

This way, you can quickly add official IGN mapping, integrating it with the rest of the project’s layers and making it easier to consult and analyze the territory within your working environment.

MTN

For the MTN (National Topographic Map), the behavior is also similar. When you use this option, the system automatically connects to the corresponding service and lets you load the topographic mapping for display in the drawing.

This way, you can easily integrate official topographic information, which can be used as a reference for interpreting the terrain, locating geographic features or checking the project’s territorial context.

In all cases, the quick-load buttons are designed to be simple and immediate to use. Whenever you indicate that the new information should be added to the session, the loaded layer is placed above the previously added layers, keeping a logical display order.

In addition, all layers from WMS services are placed below the existing geometry of the drawing, so the project’s vector elements always remain visible and can still be selected and edited without interference. This ensures proper integration between the background mapping and the drawing’s own content.

WMS layer order

The Order button (WMSORDEN command) makes it easy to manage the display and hierarchy of the layers loaded in the session. With this tool you can rearrange the order in which the different map layers are displayed, adapting it to the needs of your work.

With this option you can perform different actions to change the relative position of each layer, deciding which information is shown above or below the rest. This is especially useful when working with several overlapping layers, such as orthophotos, cadastral mapping or topographic maps.

The available actions are the following:

As you can see in the window, the CAD Drawing is always shown as a permanent, visible layer, since it corresponds to the project geometry you are working on.

Next come the layers from the map services loaded in the session. In this example there are two additional layers, one for the Cadastre and one for PNOA, as you can see in the image. These layers can be rearranged as needed to adjust their display order in the drawing.

In this case, the IGN image is placed above the Cadastre layer, so one layer hides the other.

If you select the Cadastre layer, click the “Move down” button and then “Apply”, you change the display order of the layers. As a result, the Cadastre information is shown above the IGN layer, so parcel boundaries and other cadastral elements can be seen more clearly.

This adjustment lets you combine different mapping sources, choosing at any time which information should take priority in the display.

Changing the order of the layers thus greatly improves usability and the clarity of the displayed mapping, making it easier to highlight the most relevant information at each stage of the work.

In addition to changing the order of the layers, this window also lets you perform other useful actions, for example:

• Temporarily turn off the display of a layer, hiding it without removing it from the session.
• Remove any of the loaded layers from WMS services when you no longer need to display them.
• Adjust the opacity of each layer: when you select a WMS layer, the Opacity control appears, which lets you make it partly transparent, for example to see an orthophoto through the cadastral map.

These options give you more control over the active mapping sources, so you can adapt the drawing’s display to your needs at any time.

Turn WMS off and on

In some situations you may need to zoom or pan in the drawing. When working with a large number of layers from WMS services, the time needed to reload the information of all of them can increase considerably.

To make work easier in these cases, the Turn WMS off button (WMSOFF command) lets you temporarily turn off all WMS layers immediately. This way, you can pan or zoom the drawing more quickly.

Once the view is where you want it, simply use the Turn WMS on button (WMSON command) to turn the WMS layers back on, automatically restoring the same layer configuration you had before, adapted to the new location in the drawing. This improves performance and makes work smoother when using multiple map services.

WMS info

The WMS info button (WMSINFO command) finds out what is at a point in the visible WMS layers. You pick a point in the drawing and the result appears in a window from which you can copy it. It works with any WMS service that has queryable layers, from any country; for example, to find out which parcel is at a point when the country is not one of the integrated cadastres.

Associate image

Note

In BricsCAD there is no ribbon button: use the WMSASOCIAR command.

Images displayed through a WMS service are not directly associated with the drawing. Therefore, if you want to print the plan or send the DWG file to a colleague, the information from the WMS image will not be shown.

The information on images associated with the previous project is the following:

As you can see, there are no associated images.

To solve this, the Associate Image command generates the images from the WMS services as images associated with the drawing. The images are also saved with unique names in the same folder where the DWG file is stored.

Third-party services

This command saves the images on your computer. Before using it with a paid or third-party service, check that its conditions allow you to store and print them.

In this example, clicking the “Associate Image” button generated the three images needed, as you can see in the image:

From then on, the images are associated with the drawing and you can control their visibility, transparency and other properties.

Other commands

Besides the buttons, you can type these commands on the command line:

Command	What it does
HUSO, GEOCRS	Define or change the drawing’s coordinate system
HUSOVER, GEOCRSVER	Show the current coordinate system
WMSLIST	Shows the available WMS and WMTS services
WMSCACHE	Clears the WMS and WMTS image cache
WMSMONITOR, WMSMONITOROFF, WMSMONITORSTATUS	Turn on, turn off or check the automatic image update when zooming