When creating a map in Surfer, having access to high-quality geospatial data is essential for accuracy. The Base from Server tool lets you download satellite imagery, topographic maps, and high-resolution grid data from reliable servers—directly into your project. With global coverage and in program access, you can instantly integrate mapping data without manual imports and streamline your mapping workflow!
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Map Attribution [TOP]
To ensure proper attribution for map data, Surfer now includes attribution information for all default servers. This attribution is important for acknowledging the source of your map data. You can view this attribution in two ways:
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Geode Tool Preview: When you preview the map in the geode tool, the attribution information is displayed as a clickable link. This allows you to easily navigate to the source of the map data. |
Downloaded Base Map Image: When you download the base map image, the attribution information is included as text within the image itself. However, please note that this text is not a clickable link. |
Download Legend [TOP]
Legends associated with server layers can be downloaded from online WMS servers along with the base map image. If the server provides a legend and you have selected the server and area of interest, a checkbox will be displayed in the lower right corner of the Download Online Maps window. By checking this box, you can download the legend for the selected server. Please be aware that the visual presentation of legends will differ, as these online data sources are not managed by Golden Software.
The Download Legend Image checkbox indicates that there is a legend that on the
server that is available to download. Check this box to download the server legend.
Surfer's Default Server List [TOP]
Surfer's built in web-based protocols and servers include OSM, WMS, WFS, WCS, and XYZ servers that deliver geospatial data in various formats, enabling the creation of interactive maps and spatial analysis applications. Individually and collectively they provide the data needed to visualize and analyze your data.
OSM servers provide community-driven, tiled map images, while WMS servers deliver raster map images and WFS servers offer vector feature data. In contrast, WCS servers serve coverage data like elevation grids. XYZ servers are a specific type of tiled raster server, organizing map tiles in an XYZ coordinate system for efficient web mapping. These services collectively enable diverse applications, from simple map display to complex spatial analysis.
Additional Resources
XYZ Tile Servers [TOP]
Surfer now allows you to access global, high-quality satellite imagery from sources like Open Street Maps via XYZ Tile servers. This feature allows you to quickly download and add high-quality imagery to your maps, removing the complexities of searching for local data or georeferencing screenshots. Simply assign a coordinate system to your map, click to download a base map from the server, and select one of the XYZ servers. High quality, global imagery is at your fingertips!
For users with an active subscription or active software maintenance, we're pleased to include Google Map tile services with the default server XYZ tile server list. This minor restriction ensures we adhere to licensing requirements and maintain the high quality of our map integration.
Select to download base layers from Google Maps among other new available servers!
Add a map server to Surfer [TOP]
For map creators, online data sources like WMS, OSM, WFS, WCS, and XYZ servers are essential. Surfer conveniently provides a set of pre-configured servers, and you can explore our Web Services Knowledge Base for even more options. To add you own server into Surfer for base map or grid creation, simply follow the steps outlined on this page.
Additional Resources
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