After Borealis discovers the layers in an external GIS source, you choose which layers to make available and configure how each one appears on the map. You can also reopen a layer's style settings directly from the map legend.
⚑ Prerequisite: Superuser access.
This article covers:
Select layers
Once Borealis displays the discovered layers, select the layers you want to make available:
- Individual selection: Select only the specific layers you want to make available.
- Bulk selection: Select all supported layers in a single action using Select all.
ⓘ Note: ESRI Shapefile and ReportAll USA sources contain a single layer, and Borealis selects it automatically.
After selecting the layers, configure the settings that control how they appear in Borealis:
| Setting | What it controls | Notes |
| Feature display label | Determines which attribute identifies a feature in the UI | Choose a field that is meaningful to end users. |
| Visibility access | Controls who can access the layer | Set the visibility to Global for all users or Private for the owner and superusers. |
| Layer styling | Controls the visual appearance of the layer | Configure color, opacity, minimum zoom level, and point icon where applicable. |
Configure layer style settings
Configure how the layer appears on the map using the settings in the Style tab.
- Edit the Layer name if required.
- Select the Feature display label. This setting determines which attribute is displayed to help users identify and select a feature when multiple features are present at the selected location.
- Select the Color for the layer.
- Set the Opacity for the layer using the slider. At 100%, the layer is fully visible; lower values make it more see-through.
ⓘ Note: New Point and Multipoint layers default to 100% opacity. Other layer types, such as line and polygon layers, default to 70%. - Select an Icon to represent features on the map.
ⓘ Note: This option is available only for layers with point geometries. - Select the Minimum zoom level to load this layer.
★ Tip: Drag the slider to set the zoom threshold. This prevents dense external spatial data from loading when zoomed out, helping improve map rendering performance. - Preview your changes.
- Click Save.
The selected layer is displayed on the map with the configured style settings.
Open layer settings from the map legend
When you notice a styling issue while working on the map, you can open the layer's style settings without leaving the map.
- In the map legend, turn on the external layer.
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Click the layer's Actions menu (⋮).
- Click Layer settings….
ⓘ Note: The Style tab opens with only this layer's section expanded. Other layers from the same source are collapsed, and you can still expand and edit them. - Make your changes.
- Click Save to apply the changes or Cancel to discard them.
Things to Know
- Point icons in the legend: For Point layers, the legend shows the icon and color selected in the Style tab, at full opacity. If no custom icon is selected, the default point icon is shown. The legend updates when you change the icon or color.
- Loading indicators: While a layer's data is loading, a spinner appears next to the layer in the legend and a progress bar appears at the top of the map. The spinner also appears while the layer redraws as you pan the map. When loading completes, the spinner disappears and the zoom-to-extent icon is displayed for the layer.
- Loading errors: If a layer can't load, for example because the source URL or token is no longer valid, a warning message is displayed.
- Unsupported geometry types: Layers with a geometry type that Borealis doesn't support remain listed during layer selection, but their checkbox is unavailable. Hover over the checkbox to see the reason. Select all skips these layers, and you can't save until at least one supported layer is selected.
- Minimum zoom level: A layer isn't drawn on the map when you're zoomed out beyond its minimum zoom level. It is drawn again when you zoom back in to that level.