Data Explorer Help
Data Explorer is your portal for discovering
NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) spatial data
collections. All discussion on this page relates
to the content found within the Data Explorer
search interface. Search by geographic extent,
keyword, or topic, or browse through all of the
available metadata records in the Index. The
results are displayed in the right-hand frame. Further results
are also displayed under the Get Data and Metadata
tabs.
Use the Keyword tab to search for data based on specific criteria. Use the Topics tab to select predefined topic areas in which to search. Use the Index tab to view the entire listing of metadata records, or search by NOS publisher. Scroll through the results in the right panel. Email nosdataexplorer@noaa.gov for more information.
Keyword Search | Topics Search | Index Search | Additional Tools
Keyword
Search
Keyword search performs a text search of the metadata for the geographic
area you define. Once you have defined the search area, type in a
keyword. Click the More Search Options... text to view other options.
Execute your search by clicking the Search button. Datasets matching
the criteria you specified are listed in the right panel.
Defining the Search Area
To help narrow your search, you can zoom in to the area of interest
before searching by keyword and/or selecting other search options.
Selecting an Area
on the Map
Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan tools to find an area on the map.
Once you have zoomed in close enough to see the area, use the Select
Search Area tool to select it on the map.
Zoom In
Click the Zoom In button, move the mouse pointer to the desired location,
then click and drag a box around an area of the map. When you release
the mouse button, the map zooms in to the selected area. Or click
once without drawing a box to zoom in by steps to the desired location.
Zoom Out
Click the Zoom Out button, move the mouse pointer to the desired location,
then click and drag a small box around an area of the map. When you
release the mouse button, the map zooms out to the selected area.
Or click once without drawing a box to zoom out by steps from your
location.
Zoom to Global Extent
Click the Zoom to Global Extent button to return to the full extent
of the map.
Zoom
to United States Extent
Click the Zoom to United States Extent button to return to the United
States extent of the map.
Pan
Click the Pan button, then click and drag the map in any direction.
If you want to see more to the right, drag the map to the left. If
you want to see more to the left, drag the map to the right. If you
want to see more at the top, drag the map downward. If you want to
see more at the bottom, drag the map upward.
Select
Once you have found the area you want to search, click the Select
button and click and drag a box around it. When you release the mouse
button, the selected area is indicated by a red box with diagonal
upward fill.
Clear
Click the Clear button to clear the selected area.
Defining Keyword Search Criteria
Searching by keyword limits search results to only those datasets
with metadata (title, abstract, publisher and keywords) containing
the specified word. To search by keyword, type your search word or
words in the Keyword text box.
Executing Keyword Search
Click Search to execute your search. It's a good idea to double-check
your search criteria before clicking the Search button. Once your
search is complete, examine the search results in the right panel.
If you are not happy with the results, change your search criteria
and execute the search again.
Viewing Search Results
After you have executed a Keyword search or located records in the
Index, scroll through the list of search results in the right panel.
Click the button
to see the detailed metadata for a dataset. This will launch the Metadata
tab and allows you to create a printable version of the metadata.
Click the button
to view, zoom and pan a map of the data extents. This launches the
Get Data tab and takes you to a view where you can link to data and
download files that correspond with the outlines on the map.
Click the
button to view the map contents in a live map window. This allows
you to zoom in and out, print a map, and add data from other Web sources,
your own computer, or a local server.
Click the button
to launch a Web page where you can learn more about the data, and,
in many cases, access it as well.
Print
You can print your search results that appear in the right panel.
Click the Create Printable Version button in the upper right corner
of the right panel to open a new browser containing a printable version
of panel contents. Click Print or Print Preview on the browser's File
Menu to open the Print dialog box. Check the print settings and click
OK.
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Topics Search
Topics search sorts the data into predefined topics, so you can search
one or all topics for a given geographic area. Each topic contains
one or more datasets.
Defining the Geographic Area
To help narrow your search, you can zoom in to the area of interest
and define a geographic area before searching by topic. (See Selecting
an Area on the Map under Keyword Search for more details.)
Choosing Topics
After defining a geographic area you wish to search, click the plus
sign to expand and view the topic datasets. Click the check box next
to each dataset to select or deselect it. Click the minus sign to
collapse the topic and hide the datasets.
Executing the Topic Search
Once you have selected the datasets you are interested in, execute
your search by clicking Search. Datasets matching the search criteria
you entered are displayed in the right panel under the Get Data tab.
Viewing Search Results
The topic datasets you selected are listed in the Legend on the left
and appear on the map. The map is zoomed in to your selected geographic
extent. Zoom, pan and use the additional
map tools to get more information about the data.
If you want to modify the datasets that appear, click the
button.
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Index Search
Index search allows you to view data by featured NOS publishers, or
you can view a complete listing of all data holdings. To view data
by publisher, click on the name of the publisher. To view all the
data, click on the "View all" link at the bottom left. It
may take a few moments for all of the records to load. Browse the
records using the page navigation at the top of the window.
Each record summary includes the content title and name of the publisher.
Often, the record summary also includes the coverage area and map
scale of the dataset.
Each record is followed by at least one of the following buttons:
Website, Metadata, Get Data, or Add to ArcExplorer Web. See Viewing
Results below for more information about these tools.
Viewing Results
Click the button
to see the detailed metadata for a dataset. This will launch the Metadata
tab and allows you to create a printable version of the metadata.
Click the button
to view, zoom and pan a map of the data extents. This launches the
Get Data tab and takes you to a view where you can link to data and
download files that correspond with the outlines on the map.
Click the
button to view the map contents in a live map window. This allows
you to zoom in and out, print a map, and add data from other Web sources,
your own computer, or a local server.
Click the button
to launch a Web page where you can learn more about the data, and,
in many cases, access it as well.
Print
You can print your search results that appear in the right panel.
Click the Create Printable Version button in the upper right corner
of the right panel to open a new browser containing a printable version
of panel contents. Click Print or Print Preview on the browser's File
Menu to open the Print dialog box. Check the print settings and click
OK.
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Using Additional Tools
in Get Data Map
Add/Remove Data
This tool allows you to add additional datasets or remove currently
listed ones that appear in the Legend and on your map. When you click
this button, the Topics list appears in the top left panel. Select
or deselect the datasets by clicking on the checkboxes. Click the
Refresh button at the bottom to apply the changes to the Get Data
tab and map.
Identify Features
This tools allows you to view additional information about the dataset.
Click the Identify Feature button at the top of the map. Next, click
on one of the features (point, line, polygon) you would like to view.
A new window launches with a table of attributes describing that feature.
If the window launches but says there are no features at your click
location, try zooming in closer to the feature, reselect the Identify
Feature button, and try again.
If there are several features at your click location, the browser
window that launches will contain a table with multiple of rows of
attributes for features at and near where you clicked. In most cases,
you can zoom in closer to narrow your results.
Link to Data
Some datasets allow you to link directly to a website to view the
data. If there are such layers, they will appear in the bottom half
of the left panel under Linkable Layers when you are viewing results
in the Get Data tab.
Click the Link to Data button at the top of the map. Next, click on
one of the features (point, line, polygon) of the linkable layer you
would like to view. A new window launches with information about the
feature.
If the window launches but says there are no linkable features at
your click location, try zooming in closer to the feature, reselect
the Link to Data button, and try again. Be sure you are clicking on
a layer that is listed as a Linkable Layer.
If there are several features at your click location, the browser
window that launches will list multiple links to features at and near
where you clicked. Click the desired hyperlink to view specific data
for that feature. In most cases, you can zoom in closer to narrow
your results.
Download Data
After zooming in to the area on the map that contains the data you
wish to download, click the Download Data button in the upper right
corner. This launches a new browser window listing the available files
for download that appear in the map view.
Check the box next to the file(s) or dataset you want to download.
Click Continue to go to the next step and enter the email address
you would like the notification sent to. Click the Download button
to submit your request. Your requested data will now be processed
and notification sent to your email inbox. The notification email
will contain a link where you can retrieve the Zip files for the data
you requested.
View Metadata
This tool gives you direct access to the metadata documents for the
datasets listed in the Get Map tab. Clicking this button launches
a new window with links to the datasets currently available. Click
one of these hyperlinks to view the metadata.
The next window displays the metadata and gives you the option of creating a printable version by clicking the Print button in the upper right corner. Click Print or Print Preview on the browser's File Menu to open the Print dialog box. Check the print settings and click OK.
You can also click the View FGDC Format button to display the metadata in a new window in FGDC format. Again, to print this format, use your browser's Print dialog under the File Menu.
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