Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is geodata.gov?
2. What's new in Version 2 of geodata.gov?
3. Do I have to sign in to use geodata.gov?
4. What are the benefits of creating a geodata.gov account?
5. How do I personalize my geodata.gov portal?
6. Is the information I save private to My Portal?
7. What browsers does geodata.gov support?
8. What kind of data can I find on geodata.gov?
9. Why do my searches sometimes appear to show data outside my area of interest?
10. What is the Marketplace?
11. What is a community?
12. How do I publish data?
13. What are statistics?

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1. What is geodata.gov?

geodata.gov is a geographic information system (GIS) portal, also known as the Geospatial One-Stop, that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop e-government initiative. Geospatial One-Stop is one of 24 e-government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services. Geospatial One-Stop makes it easier, faster, and less expensive for all levels of government and the public to access geospatial information.

The geodata.gov portal is designed to facilitate communication and sharing of geographic data and resources to enhance government efficiency and improve citizen services.

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2. What's new in Version 2 of geodata.gov?

New features in Version 2 of geodata.gov include:

• Improved user experience
• Suitable for multiple audiences
• Support data download
• Marketplace community
• Allows for personalization
• Increased interoperability support for:
  • Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
  • Web Map Server Specification (WMS)
  • Web Feature Server (WFS)
  • Web Coverage Service (WCS)
  • Catalogue Services for the Web (CS-W)
  • Web Map Context Documents (WMC)
• True Web Feature Service (WFS) support
• Support of evolving standards

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3. Do I have to sign in to use geodata.gov?

No, you can use geodata.gov without creating an account; however, you will not enjoy benefits, such as saving your maps and searches.

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4. What are the benefits of creating a geodata.gov account?

Creating a geodata.gov account allows you to:

• Save Maps that you create in the Map Viewer to access at a later time
• Save Searches to review at a later time
• Personalize your portal experience
• Post request for new data in your area of interest
• Join a Community of interest to participate in discussions, add calendar events, and post relevant material
• Subscribe to get the latest geodata.gov news
• Become a Publisher if you have geographic content you are interested in sharing with others, we invite you to publish it through geodata.gov so it can be discovered and accessed by our users.

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5. How do I personalize my geodata.gov Portal?

As a registered user on geodata.gov, you can add and remove selected portlets from the home page to personalize your experience.

To personalize your geodata.gov portal:

• Create a geodata.gov account. See the Create a New Account Help for more information.
• Once you have a geodata.gov account you can:
  • Personalize your home page
  • Save search queries
  • Save viewed maps
  • Customize community channels of interest

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6. Is the information I save private to My Portal?

Yes, your information is private to your portal. Others do not have access you your information or your personal portal.

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7. What browsers does geodata.gov support?

• Internet Explorer (versions 5.5 and higher)
• Netscape (versions 7 and higher, excluding version 8)
• Mozilla Firefox (version 1.0 and higher)

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8. What kinds of data can I find on geodata.gov?

There are a variety of data types available to discover and use on geodata.gov. These include:

• Live Data and Maps - GIS users can access "live" data and maps, such as ArcIMS or Web Map Server (WMS) map services, using software tools such as ArcGIS, ArcExplorer-Java Edition, or ArcExplorer Web available on this site.

• Downloadable Data - Data downloads enable you to perform custom downloads of digital data you are viewing to access locally with GIS software. Visit the Free Viewers page for a list of free GIS data viewers.

• Offline Data - Many publishers offer data that can be ordered online and delivered in CD or DVD format or as other shippable media. This data cannot be directly downloaded to your computer.
  
• Documents - Several types of documents are available on geodata.gov including:
  
  • Map files - digital maps that can be viewed in a GIS mapping application. Map files are typically completed maps that are ready for viewing, publishing, and printing.
    
  • Static Maps - You cannot directly interact with static map images as you can with dynamic data and maps. You can view them and download them to your computer.
    
  • Other Documents - includes geographic information stored in text files, spreadsheets, or other formats and can be used in conjunction with geographic data. In many cases, they can be viewed and downloaded.
    
• Applications - An online application is built using geodata.gov content, map services, or other Internet-hosted data. The application includes a complete user interface and set of geographic content needed to perform one or more tasks in a Web browser.
  
• Geographic Services - Geographic services are Internet applications with a geographic focus-using data and related functionality to perform basic geoprocessing tasks such as place name searches, address matching, or routing.
  
• Clearinghouses - A clearinghouse is a Web site that contains references and links to a variety of free geographic data. Many clearinghouses offer geographic data for download while other sites include metadata references or links to datasets that may be acquired through other mechanisms.
  
• Planned Data Activities - Planned Data Activities show what people are doing, what data they need (Marketplace Data Requests) and what data collection activities they have planned (Marketplace Planned Acquisitions).
  

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9. Why do my searches sometimes appear to show data outside of my area of interest?

• If you perform a pure text search (only used the "What" text box), your results will return any metadata record that contains the text string you entered.
• If you perform a text search and you specify a search area in the "Where" text box or clicked the "My Geography" check box, your search results will be filtered to only return those metadata records whose specified bounding box (coverage extent) partially overlap your search area.
• Some metadata records have large bounding boxes that may partially cover your search area and show up in your search results. In those cases, you may further refine your search results by selecting the 'Refine Search' button and clicking the "Data must fall completely inside the specified area" radio button. Run the search again to see only the metadata records that fall completely within your search area.

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10. What is the Marketplace?

The Marketplace provides a map and catalog mechanism to view data acquisitions and requests to foster partnerships between organizations creating/buying data and those organizations looking for data. Users can opt to filter data acquisitions and requests to determine if an acquisition or request fits within his/her area of interest to then initiate contact for further data collaboration.

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11. What is a community?

geodata.gov communities are information directories based on a data category or special interest subject. Each community features a forum for posting comments, a calendar, document library, and a resource list of related maps, documents, and metadata that will assist users in discovering information in that respective category or subject. These community features are designed to foster collaboration and exchange of ideas for users who share a common interest.

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12. How do I publish data?

To publish data, you must first create a geodata.gov account, then register to become a publisher on the My Tools page of the geodata.gov portal. Once you become a publisher, you are able to publish FGDC metadata referencing your data, application, document, or data acquisition via an online form or a file (XML) upload.

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13. What are statistics?

The Statistics portlet presents reports about the geodata.gov portal activities. Use Statistics to learn about:

• Sample maps generated by the portal
• Number of publications (new and updated)
• Documents by Affiliation
• Cost-sharing partnerships requested
• Metadata harvesting activity
• Usage of data and map services
• Percentage of metadata requests by community

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For more information, see our Quick Start Guide.