(R)Evolution of the GIS Layer Manager

Experienced (and inexperienced, as well) GIS users have always been confronted with the Layer Manager or Table of Contents (ToC). Traditionally, the ToC has always been a tree structure where one navigates between the layer groups and the constituent layers. A typical ToC has folders, checkboxes to change layer visibility, legends and additional buttons to move the layers up/down, export, etc.

Traditional Layer Manager

Over the years the GIS interfaces have evolved and with the RIA technologies coming in, they have become more interactive, minimalistic and simple. One thing that has not changed much is the layer manager. Modern AJAX, Flex and Silverlight user interfaces brought in additional features like drag-drop to reorder layers, right-click context menus for additional options and sliders to change the opacity. But, it is still the tree structure!

The following illustration presents a slightly different approach aimed at making life easier for the non-GIS users:

New Layer Manager

Can it bring about a (r)evolution of the Layer Manager? Hope it does!

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