What is a locator and how do I use one?

A ‘Locator’ is a tool that allows you to quickly select and move your map frame (view) to a specific geographic location of interest. The ‘Locator’ menu is located under the ‘Select Area’ toolbar. There are five ‘Locator’ tool options to select from: Place Name, Township Range Section (TRS), Stream Name, Latitude-Longitude, and Map Index.

The ‘Place Name Locator’ tool allows the user to choose from a feature category pick-list and fill in the place name keyword to search on. The example below demonstrates a search on the keyword ‘Goose’ within the ‘Landform’ place name feature category. Search results are returned as a scrollable “pick-list” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.

The user selects the specific feature of interest by clicking on the feature name highlighted in the left column. The example below illustrates that if the user selects Gooseberry Flat , the map frame automatically zooms to that particular geographic area of interest. The feature name is also labeled in the map frame. To remove the label from the map view, select ‘Clear Selection’ from the main ‘Tools” menu, or click on the eraser icon located under ‘Mapping Tools’

The ‘TRS Locator’ allows the user to select a specific Township, Range, and Section to define the geographic location of the map frame.

The ‘Stream Name Locator’ allows the user to enter a keyword to on. Search results are returned as a scrollable pick-list at the bottom of the pop-up Stream Name Locator window. The user then clicks on the ‘Stream Name’ of interest and clicks on the icon. The result returns a map frame, which is zoomed to the mouth of the selected Stream Name.

The ‘Latitude-Longitude Locator’ allows the user to select a specific set of Latitude and Longitude coordinates to zoom and center geographic location of the map frame. When the user clicks , the map frame automatically redraws and centers the view on the New Latitude / Longitude coordinate. The input format can be changed to decimal degrees by using the Lat/Long Coordinate Toggle in the Tool Menu dropdown list.

The ‘Map Index Locator’ allows the user to select a specific ‘grid cell’ from a pop-up window (below) to automatically ‘zoom to’ and center geographic location of the map frame.

The ‘Water Access Site Locator’ allows the user to enter a keyword to on. Search results are returned as a scrollable pick-list at the bottom of the pop-up Water Access Site Locator window. The user then clicks on the ‘Site Number’ of interest. The result returns a map frame, which is zoomed to the selected water access site. The 'More Site Info...' link returns a photograph and detailed information of the access site.