Brooks Range
BLM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Grizzly along the Denali Highway Rafting the Gulkana National Wild River Native woman drying salmon on racks ATV rider on trails near Glennallen Surveyor
Alaska
Spatial Data Management System

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need any special software to use SDMS?
Are these all the layers that will ever be in SDMS?
When I maximize the Map Viewer window, the map stays smaller than the Map Canvas. How do I fix that?
What is the best screen resolution for SDMS?
Can I make the map image larger?

Do I need any special software to use SDMS?
To use SDMS you need:
  • A web browser. SDMS has been tested with Firefox, Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Safari, and Konqueror.
  • If you wish to view the scanned Survey Plats and Notes or Master Title Plats, you must have the DjVu browser plugin installed. The plugin is available free of charge at: http://www.celartem.com/en/download/djvu.asp
  • Popups must be enabled for sdms.ak.blm.gov in order for many features of the site to function properly.

Are these all the layers that will ever be in SDMS?
No, SDMS is an evolving product. There are new layers being worked on, and ones not yet thought of. If you have a suggestion for a map layer, share that idea with a programmer through the “Feedback” button in the map viewer, or through the “Questions/Comments” link in the “Contents” column on the SDMS homepage.

When I maximize the Map Viewer window, the map stays smaller than the Map Canvas. How do I fix that?
When you first go into the Map Viewer from the SDMS homepage, wait until the map comes completely up before maximizing the window. If you do hit maximize too soon and the map comes up smaller than the Map Canvas window, just hit the “Refresh Map” button.

What is the best screen resolution for SDMS?
SDMS has been designed to work with screen resolutions of 1024x768 or higher. Due to the amount of information that must be displayed, use of lower resolutions is not feasible.

Can I make the map image larger?
The size of the map image is determined by the size of the browser window and your screen resolution. The minimum recommended resolution for using SDMS is 1024x768 pixels. To obtain the largest possible map image, ensure that your screen resolution is set to the highest supported and maximize your browser window.