Add High Resolution Imagery to your Maps with XYZ Tiles servers

A great map is visually appealing, engaging, and easy to understand.  Adding context to your maps with high resolution imagery is one way to improve the visual appeal and understanding. 

What should you do if you don't have a satellite image of your map area?  Download one of course! Open Street Maps and many other companies have collections of satellite imagery from around the world that you can access in Surfer via XYZ Tile servers! This allows you to download high quality imagery with global coverage from reliable servers, and add them directly to the map - eliminating the need to hunt for servers in your area or georeference screenshots.

What is a XYZ Tile server

Similar to a WMS server, a XYZ tile server is a service that enables the download of images from a database.  The primary difference between a WMS server and a XYZ tile server how the data is stored, packaged, and delivered.  

Add a XYZ Tile Server to Surfer

Complete the steps below to add a new XYZ tile server to Surfer.

1. In the Surfer Plot document, click Home | New Map | Base | Base from Server.
2. Right-click on any category title and click Add Map Source.
3. In the Add Map Source dialog,
   1. Enter a Name for the server. This can be anything that will help you determine what information it contains.
   2. Click in Type field and select XYZ Tiles.
   3. Enter the server's URL. For some example URLs, please see:
      Web services for use in Surfer
   4. Click Validate.
      1. If the initial test is a success, click OK and the server is added to the chosen category in the Select Data Source list.
      2. If the initial test fails, you will need to locate a valid URL for the selected server type, or click Cancel.

Download Imagery from a XYZ Tile Server

Complete the steps below to download an image from a XYZ tile server

1. In the Surfer Plot document, click Home | New Map | Base | Base from Server 
   or if you already have a map and want to add a the image as a layer, select the Map and click Home | Add to Map | Layer | Base from Server.

2. Click the arrow next to XYZ Tiles to expand the category.

3. Click the name of the server you want to explore and a preview will be displayed.

4. Enter or select your extents and click OK.
   

For more detailed information about the Download Online Maps dialog and all available options, see the Surfer help page Download Online Maps or Grids.

See Also:

• Web services for use in Surfer
• Explanation of OSM, WMS, WFS and WCS servers
• Add a WMS, OSM, WFS, or WCS server to Surfer