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This page has been automatically translated from Spanish to English. There may be some translation errors.

Index

1. Introduction
2. Select a map
3. Markers
4. Routes
5. Map controls
6. Display settings
7. Add an external map
- 7.1. Map servers (WMS, XYZ, etc.)
- 7.2. Add GeoJSON, KML or GPX files
8. Share a map
9. Cloud options
10. Draw on the map
Annexes

1. Introduction

RS1 Maps is a web application with which you can access dozens of online maps (more than 100) of various themes, free of charge and in an easy and intuitive way.

My name is Ricardo and I am the creator of this page. This is a personal project and, therefore, I dedicate my free time to it, with no other interest than creating a service that can be useful to me and to anyone who needs access to maps other than those of Google or Bing (which are also included), whether for personal or professional interest. There are no advertisements or any scripts that are not strictly necessary for the operation of the service (apart from a simple web analysis code that only records the URL of the page being visited).

This page is based entirely on third-party map services, whose providers have the rights to them. The copyright information for a map appears at the bottom right of the viewer.

Most of the map services included on this page are free with a usage limit, so to avoid exceeding that limit and so that the map can continue to be used, it is important to make reasonable use of this page.

The map viewer was created thanks to the Leaflet JavaScript library. It's a free, open-source project with a multitude of features. If you want to add a map to your website, I recommend taking a look at it.

English version of RS1 Maps ("mapas.rs1.es/en/") is also accessible with the URL https://maps.rs1.es. Any link with that domain will be redirected to "mapas.rs1.es/en/".

For any suggestions about the page, you can contact me at admin@rs1.es. Also: Mastodon.

Attention: to access the different options on the map, you have to click on the menu icon located at the top right of the page.

2. Select a map

2.1. Main map and base map

The service supports selecting two maps, one main and the other as a base, which is shown below the main one. This way, you can modify options such as opacity and blending mode (which I'll talk about later), as well as taking advantage of maps with a transparent background to be able to see two overlapping maps at the same time.

2.2. Select simple maps

Selecting a map from the list is very simple: just select the “Select a map” menu, navigate through the different categories and select the desired map. Then, click on the green icon with a map to show it in the viewer. The name of the selected map will appear below the selection menu. Next to the name there is an information button to show more details of the selected map.

To select a map as a basemap, click on the “B” that appears next to the name of the map in the selection menu. The name of the base map will appear below the name of the main map.

You can move around the map just like with any other map application: drag with your finger to move the map or make a pinch gesture to zoom in or out (you can also use the mouse wheel or double click).

2.3. Select time series maps

Some maps allow you to select a date. When you select one of these maps from the menu, a section will appear below this menu to select the date and to generate an animation. Once a date has been selected (some maps also allow you to select a time in addition to the date), click on the green button to see it in the viewer.

Remember to select if the indicated time is in summer or winter time (in peninsular Spain) or in UTC.

If you don't add a date, the last available image of the map will be displayed (as long as the map supports this option).

You will notice that, next to the name of a map with a time series (or next to the name of a category), additional information appears in parentheses: first, the time range covered by the map is indicated, and secondly, separated by a diagonal bar, the update period. This data is important for specifying the date and time correctly and when defining an animation. Some simple maps (without a time series) may also show a date in parenthesis, but this is for informational purposes only.

2.3.1. Generate animations

In time series maps, it is possible to generate an animation across a range of dates. Once you have entered a date (which will be the last of the animation range), select the “Animation” menu and choose the number of periods (for example, to show 3 “frames” or periods, type 3). Then select the length of the period, that is, the time range. Add a number and, in the menu that appears just below, the time unit (“Minutes”, “Hours”, “Days”, etc.) For example, if you want to generate an animation of 10 images, separated by 1 day between them, type 10 in “Number of periods”, 1 in “Period length” and select Day in the corresponding menu. Finally, you can select the animation speed in frames per second (“fps”). By default, if you don't include any values, the animation will play at one frame per second. I recommend not adding a number greater than 10 for optimal performance.

To play the animation, select “Play”. You can see that the date changes automatically by following the parameters you have indicated. To stop the animation, click on “Pause”. You can use the opacity control (located on the right) to compare the current image with the previous one. You can also change the animation parameters (except the date and time). To reset the animation and be able to change the date and time, select “Reset”.

Keep in mind that, at the beginning of the animation, the maps can take a while to load (until all the frames are cached), so I recommend starting the animation at a low speed and, once all the frames are loaded, stop the animation, increase its speed and start it again.

3. Markers

3.1. Add a bookmark

You can add bookmarks or favorites to any map, simply by clicking with the right mouse button (on computers) or pressing for a few seconds (on mobile devices) on the place where you want to create the bookmark. An icon will appear to indicate the bookmark. If you select it, you can see its contents: by default the coordinates of that point appear, but you can edit it, which is what I'm going to show you in the next section.

You can also create a bookmark by providing some coordinates: to do this, access the “Markers” menu (blue button with a star), click on “Add coordinates”.

Enter the coordinates following this format: latitude, longitude (for example: 42.123,5.6523).

Confirm by clicking on “Add bookmark”. The map will automatically adjust to show the marker in the center.

Markers appear above any map, meaning if you change the map once created, they will continue to appear above it. You can even generate animations by keeping the bookmarks.

In order not to saturate the map with markers, when there are two or more close enough to each other, they are grouped together and a circle appears with the number of markers that exist in that area. Click on the circle to zoom in on the map and show the markers.

3.2. Edit a bookmark

When you select a bookmark, you'll see that in the box that appears you have the option to edit its content. Click on the edit icon and an edit window will appear. There you can change the title and description. The description section supports both Markdown and HTML tags. You can even add images, videos or audio using the respective tags. However, keep in mind that you cannot upload multimedia content to the page and, therefore, you can only add links to that content.

For example, to add an image you can type:

# In HTML:
 <img src="https://ejemplo.com/miimagen.jpg">

# In Markdown:
![image] https://ejemplo.com/miimagen.jpg)

Or to add a video that plays automatically and in a loop:

<video src="https://ejemplo.com/mivideo.mp4" autoplay loop>

The title section only accepts text.

Once the bookmark content has been added, select “OK” to confirm the change.

3.3. Share a bookmark

If you want to share a bookmark, click the share button that appears when you open a bookmark (the second one on the left). A personalized link will be created and copied to your device's clipboard and you can easily share.

The content of the bookmark is not shared, only its location.

If you want to share several bookmarks (as a set) or also share their content, you can find more information in section 3.6. Import/Export bookmarks and in 8. Share a map.

3.4. Open in another application

Next to the share button, there is another one that allows you to open the location of the bookmark in a map application. Such an application must be able to open “geo:” links. When you click, you will be shown the compatible programs you have installed.

3.5. Delete bookmarks

You can delete one bookmark or all at once. To delete a bookmark, select it and click on the trash can icon. Confirm by clicking on “Accept”. To delete all markers from the map, go to “Markers” (blue button with the star) and select “Delete all markers”. As in the previous case, click “OK” to confirm.

3.6. Import/Export bookmarks

You can export your bookmarks to save them on your device or in the cloud so that you can import them another time. Just click on the button in the bookmarks section and select “Export bookmarks”.

To import the markers to the map, go to the “Markers” section (star icon) and click on “Import bookmarks”. Select whether to import from the cloud or from a local file. It's very simple and the bookmarks will appear just as you created them.

Remember that whenever you want to save the changes, you have to export the list again.

3.6.1. The cloud

If you choose to save your bookmarks in the cloud, they will be sent to a server (specifically, a “bucket” without public access to Amazon S3) and will be saved encrypted. Once you select what you want to export to the cloud, you'll need to enter a password. By default, bookmark lists are private, so they can only be accessed with a password (more information on private and public lists later).

Once exported, the page will return a code that you must save (in addition to the password), since it identifies the list on the server. With that code, you can import it later or share it (more information in 8. Share a map).

Once the list has been created in the cloud, if you want to save subsequent changes you have to access the “Cloud Options” menu and click on “Save Changes”. You enter the password and accept. The “Bookmarks -> Export -> To the Cloud” menu is only for creating new lists.

You can only work with one cloud list at a time, although you can import several (keeping the bookmarks for each one).

There are limitations to the number of bookmarks that can be exported, but the server can support just over 10000 bookmarks per list.

In section 9. Cloud options explain more aspects of cloud lists.

3.6.2. Local file

You have the option to choose the file format you prefer: GeoJSON, KML, GPX or CSV. All four formats have their advantages and disadvantages: GeoJSON is preferable if you have experience with JSON files. KML and GPX are usually more compatible with other programs. The CSV format takes up the least space. After selecting the format, choose a location and name for the file and confirm.

3.6.2.1 GeoJSON

GeoJSON is a standard JSON-based geolocation format that, in short, is a simple text file that you can open with any program that opens files such as “.txt”. It follows a simple format to define the markers with their coordinates and their content. The basic structure of the file is this:

{
“type” :"FeatureCollection”,
 “features”:
 [{“type” :"Feature”,

 “geometry”: {"type” :"Point”, "coordinates”: [-0.40895909070968633,42.141294633114576]}, “properties”: {"name” :"My title”, "description” :"My description”, "id” :"17086147477786"}},...
]}

Each element enclosed within the square brackets and with the properties “type”, “geometry” and “properties” is a bookmark. As you can see, if you want to edit the coordinates or the content of the markers outside the page, you can easily do so. However, I recommend that you do not edit the “id” field, as it has a unique value for each bookmark.

3.6.2.2 KML

KML files, like GeoJSON files, are text files that you can easily edit with any program. KMLs are based on XML notation and are also used for geolocation. Its basic structure is as follows:

<? xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8”? <Point><coordinates>>
 <description>Coordinate

 <name>Marker</name>: %3Cbr/%3E41.206730</description>, -1.416689 -1.4166893948652184,41.20673022235484

</coordinates></Point> <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2"><Placemark><ExtendedData><Data name="id"><value> 17086147477786</value>
</Data>
</ExtendedData>
</Placemark>
</kml>

Each “Placemark” tag contains the information of a bookmark: “name” (title), “description”. Within the “Point” label, the “coordinates” label is included with the coordinates: longitude, latitude. Within “ExtendedData”, the label <Data name="id">includes the “id” of the bookmark, which uniquely identifies it. As with GeoJSON files, you can easily edit these fields, except for the “id” field. You will notice that the characters >, <, & do not appear in the description, etc. This is to avoid problems when importing the file: these characters are replaced by its Unicode code (“%3C” for <, for example). For this reason, editing the description directly in the file can be more complicated than with a GeoJSON.

3.6.2.3 GPX

The GPX format is the most used for recording routes with GPS. It's similar to KML (it's also based on XML notation).

The basic structure of a GPX file for storing bookmarks is this:

<? xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8”? > <gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" version="1.1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd" xmlns:mapasrs1="http://mapas.rs1.es/schema.xsd"><wpt lat="42.247042724600405" lon="-0.6035814765401516">
<desc>Coordinate


 <name>Marker</name>: %3Cbr/%3E41.206730</desc>, -1.416689
 <extensions>
 <mapasrs1:id>17083592034587</mapasrs1:id>
</extensions>
</wpt>
</gpx>

Within each “wpt” tag, the data of a bookmark are indicated: title (“name”) and description (“desc”), in addition to the “lat” and “lon” coordinates and the ID.

As with KML, some characters are converted to their corresponding Unicode code to avoid problems when importing.

3.6.2.4 CSV

CSV files are the simplest. They are plain text files (like the rest) in which each line represents a bookmark (except the first one that constitutes the header).

The structure of a CSV file for saving bookmarks is as follows:

“id”, "latitude”, "longitude”, "name”, "description” “17262392317770", "42.3757165605738", "1.2744140625000002", "My title”, "My description”
 “17262392323106", "40.363263945821934",” -8.041992187500002", "Marker”, "Coordinates: 40.363264, -8.041992"

As you can see, each value separated by commas represents a parameter of the bookmark, following the order indicated in the header. All values must be in quotation marks. For this reason, I recommend not using double quotes (” “) within the description of a bookmark, as they are removed when importing the file. You can use single quotes ('').

4. Routes

With RS1 Maps you can calculate routes between two or more points and know the distance and time needed to complete them. You have the option of calculating routes on foot or by car. You can also calculate distances in a straight line.

4.1. Route Mode

To generate a route, you first need to click on the "Routes" button (orange icon). Then, click on "Activate Route Mode". While this mode is activated, you will not be able to edit or delete existing markers. Once you are done, deactivate this mode in the same way you activated it.

4.2. Calculate a route

To generate a route, you must first indicate the points of the route in the same way that markers are created (by holding down a point for a brief moment). The minimum number of points needed is two, but you can add as many points as you want (up to a maximum of 25). The first and last points you add will determine the beginning and end of the route (although as you'll see below, you can mark the end of the route as the first point).

Once the points have been added, click again on the “Routes” button and select one of the options to generate the route: “Calculate route (Walk)” or “Calculate route (Car)”. You can choose that the route is circular (that the first point is also the last). The route will be generated and, at the last point of the route, a box will appear with the route data: distance in kilometers and estimated time. Just like creating a bookmark, the coordinates of the point will appear. Keep in mind that you can't import or export the route. If you select the linear route (in a straight line), the partial distance will appear in each of the sections between markers and the total next to the last marker.

Once the route is created, you can add more points and generate a new route. Remember that the points are added in order, meaning the last one you add will be the end of the route.

If you change the map after generating a route, it will disappear and you'll have to regenerate it to see it again.

4.3. Delete a route

Deleting a route is very simple: go to “Routes” (orange icon) and select “Delete route”. If you want to delete the points as well, you can follow the same steps as for deleting bookmarks.

5. Map controls

Within the map viewer there are a series of “controls”. Some of these controls only appear with maps that are compatible, so you can see that the controls appear or disappear when you change maps. It's also possible that the controls disappear when you're playing an animation, to improve their performance. In this case, to see them again, stop the animation and click on the green button to show a map.

5.1. Zoom/Zoom Out

In the upper-left part of the map viewer are the buttons to zoom in (“+”) and zoom out (“-”) the map. It works the same as any other map application.

5.2. Full screen

Just below the zoom buttons is the control to enable and disable the full screen. Press it so that the map covers the entire screen of the device and press it again to return to normal mode. You can also exit the full screen by pressing the Esc key (on computers) or by dragging up from the bottom of the screen (on mobile) to show the navigation buttons and then press the back button. On some mobile devices, when you activate the full screen, you may have to tap on the screen before you can move around the map or select the controls.

5.3. Localization

The arrow icon on the left side of the viewfinder, after the zoom and full screen controls, allows you to locate yourself on the map using your device's GPS or Wi-Fi. Once you click (and accept the window asking for permission to use the location), your device will try to find your location and, once found, the map will adjust to show it to you.

A small blue circle will appear to mark the location and a larger semi-transparent circle will appear to indicate the accuracy of the location. The map will move automatically if your position changes, unless you drag the map manually. In this case, to return to your location, press the control again (you will notice that, when you have dragged the map, it has a blue color, and when it is showing your location in the center of the map it has an orange color).

To turn off geolocation, click on the control and the color of the icon will turn black. Remember that, if you have dragged the map, you will have to press the control twice: once to return to the location and once to deactivate the location.

If you activate the location and then change the map, the circle that marks the location will disappear since the map is located above that circle (although the map will continue to move depending on your current location). Therefore, you will have to deactivate and reactivate the control for it to show properly again.

5.4. Search for a place

There are more controls on the right side of the viewfinder. The first one (with a magnifying glass icon) allows you to search for places on the map. This feature works regardless of the selected map. Press the control and type in a place. Press Enter and a list of possible locations will appear. Choose the one that applies. The map will zoom in to the selected location.

5.5. Opacity

Below the control for searching for a place, there is a slider to adjust the opacity of the main map. Changing the opacity allows you to see two maps at once, the main one and the base map.

Keep in mind that the opacity is reset every time you click on the green button with a map and when you play an animation. In addition, some maps are not compatible with that control (mainly those based on vectors).

5.6. Street-level view

The last control I have left to explain is located on the bottom-right side of the map viewer. It allows you to view images at street level, courtesy of Google's Street View service.

To use this feature, tap and drag the orange doll icon (called “pegman”) to the desired location (on mobile devices you may first have to press the icon and then click and drag it again). When you drag you will see that the map marks, in a blue tone, the streets where images are available. Once you release the doll, the image at street level will appear in the viewfinder. You can scroll with the arrows that appear and drag to look around.

To exit the view, click on the arrow that appears at the top left.

6. Display settings

You can adjust some visual parameters of the map by clicking on the “Display Settings” button on the toothed wheel. The settings you modify in this section are maintained even if you change maps or play an animation (animation performance may be affected).

6.1. Hide controls

Once you have entered the settings, the first option allows you to hide the map controls. Optionally, you can choose to keep the attribution information that appears in the lower-right corner of the viewer. To show the controls again, simply access the settings again and click on “Show controls”.

Once the controls are hidden, you can activate the full screen by clicking on the button that appears at the bottom of the display settings. Remember that you can leave the full screen even when the control is not visible (more information in the full screen control section).

6.2. Apply a filter

You can adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and tone parameters of the image. In addition to these parameters, you can also invert the color of the image. Drag the indicator next to each parameter to adjust it and click “Apply filters” to confirm the changes. To return a setting to its normal value, click on the icon to the right of each parameter.

As I said before, the parameter changes are maintained if you change the map or play an animation. Note that the filters only apply to the main map, not to the base map.

6.3. Mix layers

This option is very interesting when you have selected a main map and a base map, since it allows you to visually mix these two maps in different ways. Once you have selected and displayed the maps in the viewer, access the display settings and click on the box that appears below the “Mix Layers” button. Select one of the mixing modes and click on the said button to confirm. Each mode mixes the maps differently, you can try each one and choose the one that best suits your needs.

To return to normal mode, without blending, select “Normal” and press “Blend layers” to confirm.

6.4. Split screen

In addition to being able to use the opacity control to view two maps at once, you can activate this setting to view the maps on a vertically divided screen. Once you press 'Split Screen' you will be able to see a control in the center of the viewer that divides the two maps. You can move the control by dragging it left or right, or you can also move the map (the two maps will move at the same time).

This control allows you to see both a basemap and a main map and two images of the same map but with a different date (in the latter case, once an animation has been executed and paused so that the two layers can be loaded). Some maps don't support split-screen.

To turn off the control, go back to the display settings and click “Merge screen”.

6.5. Legend

Some WMS maps include a legend to better understand the map. If you activate this option and the map is compatible, the legend will appear in the lower right part of the viewer.

6.6. Map-specific information

Many WMS maps include an advanced feature called “GetFeatureInfo”. It allows access to information about a specific point on the map. If you activate this option and the map is compatible, when you click on an area of the map, a window will appear with information about that point.

7. Add an external map

If the map you're looking for isn't in the list, you can easily add it. RS1 Maps is compatible with the most popular map server protocols (WMS, XYZ), in addition to the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World maps. It all starts by clicking on the “Add other maps” button (the second button in the second row of buttons with the “+” symbol), selecting the protocol, adding the URL of the map and clicking on “Add”. To delete an added map, simply access the same menu and click “Delete”.

If you change your map after adding a GeoJSON, KML or GPX file, it will disappear, so it's important that you first select the map from the list you want and then add the external file. This is not the case with online maps, which are kept until you decide to delete them.

7.1. Map servers (WMS, XYZ, etc.)

To add a WMS, XYZ or ArcGIS map, the first thing is to select the appropriate protocol in “Map Type”

Once selected, type (or paste) the address of the map in the next box. Remember not to add the part of the address that starts with “?”. This is especially important in WMS maps. XYZ maps could work even if that part of the URL is kept.

In WMS maps and in some ArcGIS maps, you need to choose a layer from the map. You can include the name of the layer in the corresponding box. If you don't know the name of the layer in a WMS map, you have the option of searching for it using the “Search for Layers” button. This exclusive service searches the file that defines the map for the available layers and displays them in a simple list (ordered alphabetically), located in the same place where the desired layer is typed. Once you click the “Search for Layers” button, its name will change to “Loading” while the service collects the available layers. Once loaded, the list of layers will appear and you only have to select the layer you need.

This WMS layer search service may not be completely stable and may fail sporadically.

You can add a date for maps that support it. You have to add it in the exact format that the map allows. When using the layer search service, if you select a layer with a time series, the “Date” field will be automatically filled with the default date used by the map, so you can modify it following the necessary format.

7.2. Add GeoJSON, KML or GPX files

You can also add GeoJSON, KML or GPX files that you have on your device. Just click on the corresponding button (“Load GeoJSON/KML/GPX”) and select the file.

You can also import these files with a link, without having them downloaded to your device. To do this, select the file type under “Map Type” (for example, “GeoJSON URL”) and add the link.

In some GPX files (for example those from the OpenTracks mobile application), you can access route data such as distance and time.

8. Share a map

You can share the map or, in other words, save the current state of the map for faster access later. The map parameters that are saved are: the zoom level, the main map, the basemap (if any), the latitude and longitude, the visibility of the controls, the blending mode and the split screen if activated. The date (on time series maps) or other display settings are not saved. Optionally, you can choose to hide the header and the footer (to show only the map), include the list of bookmarks whenever you have previously exported it to the cloud (remember that if the list is private, it will ask for the password to be able to view it) or include the external maps that have been added (only maps and online files).

Once you click on the “Share” button (third button in the second row of buttons), a window will appear with a link with all the parameters mentioned above that you can copy (by clicking on “Copy link”) and paste anywhere.

9. Cloud options

In the main menu, you'll see a section called “Cloud Options”. The options in this section are only activated when there is a cloud list loaded on the page.

9.1. Save changes

This option allows you to overwrite the list with any changes you've made to the bookmarks. Once pressed, type in the password and confirm. Remember that the “Bookmarks -> Export -> To the Cloud” menu is used to create new lists in the cloud, not to modify an existing one.

9.2. Privacy

By default, cloud lists are private, meaning that in order to view them, you must enter your password. But if you want to share a list with others, you can make it public. So, anyone with the link to your list (more information in 8. Share a map) or have your code (to import the list from the “Bookmarks -> Import -> From the Cloud” menu), you can view its contents. The password is always required to modify the list, change your privacy, or to remove it from the cloud.

Once you access the “Privacy” section, you will be able to see if the list is private or public and change its situation.

9.3. Reload

Click it if you want to reload the list that is in the cloud (discarding the changes you haven't saved). It can be useful for loading lists that are updated in real time.

9.4. Unlink

“Unlink” works when you don't want to continue working with the list in the cloud (but you don't want to delete it). It's a synonym for “disconnecting from the cloud”. Any markers you have on the map won't be erased, but if you want to interact with the cloud list again, you'll have to import it again.

9.5. Delete from the cloud

As the name suggests, this option allows you to delete a list of bookmarks from the cloud. Remember that, once deleted, it cannot be recovered, so be sure to make a local copy of the bookmarks if you want to save them.

10. Draw on the map

You can draw shapes on the map and even export them to a file. Go to the "Draw" menu (icon with a pencil) and click "Enable Drawing Mode". During this mode, you will not be able to edit or delete existing markers.

After activating the mode, mark points of the desired shape on the map just as you would when creating markers. After this, go back to the "Draw" menu and select the desired shape (line, rectangle, polygon, etc.). Since each shape is defined differently, you can go to the menu before creating the points to find out how many are needed or how to place them.

You can easily export your drawings to a GeoJSON file by selecting the "Export" option from the "Drawing" menu. Note: Due to limitations of the GeoJSON format, circles are exported as polygons.

Once you're done, you can delete the drawing and exit "Drawing Mode".

Annexes

Annex 1: Map Search Engines

In the following links you can find more WMS (and other types) services that you can use:

Annex 2: Libraries used on the page

Annex 3: Community bookmark lists

If you have created a bookmark list that you think might be useful to others, you can contact me to add it to this section. Remember that the list has to be in the cloud and be public.

To add a list I'll need your code (e.g.: 12345678), your link (8. Share a map) with the map, location and zoom that you consider most appropriate, and a brief explanation of what the list contains.