Export Web Files command

The File>>Export Web Files command creates a number of files that, taken together, recreate the Plot and Table views of your DeedMapper project in web form, including all of your parcels plus any background maps and images. 

How to use

1.    Set up the Plot View.    Use the Display menu to display Owners, Items, Labels, IDs, or none.  (Corner and Line display are not supported.)   You don’t need to zoom out to show the area you want exported.   Everything will be exported.  If you like, use the Deed Filter to hide/show particular parcels.  Only visible parcels will be sent to the web files.  

2.    Set up the Table View.   Sort on whichever column you like and set the column order and widths. 

3.    Navigate to the starting location in the Plot View where you want your web site to start.   The best location is somewhere near the center of the project.  Zoom out to verify you are well centered.  This will result in a web site that offers good panning and zooming capabilities.

4.    Execute the File>>Export Web Files command.  You’ll be given the chance to specify a location for the files, but left to its own devices the program will create a Web Files folder inside your project folder.  (See below for information about creating multiple related web sites.)

It takes just a few seconds for the export to run.  You’ll be given the opportunity to view the result.  Click on a parcel in the web Plot View and you’ll be taken to the web Table View entry for that parcel.  Click on a web Table View entry’s Item column to go to that parcel in the Plot View.  

5. When you’re satisfied with the result, copy the web files to your web site. 

Notes

The main startup file is named after your deed file.   For example, if you have a deed file named SmithFamily.mbl, the web startup file will be named SmithFamily.html.  This is the file you want people to link to so they can see your work.

One of the files is named About.html.  It is intended to be modified with a word processor or HTML editor to include information about your project for visitors to your web site.

The resulting web files produce something that is close in appearance to what you see in DeedMapper, but there are some differences which you may notice.  Font sizes change differently as you zoom in and out.  As mentioned above, Corner and Line text are not exported.  Plots that are drawn with double lines will be shown with a single line.  Corner boxes on parcels are not displayed.

The starting Plot View scale for the web files is 2000 ft/inch, irrespective of Plot View settings.

If your project uses our custom background maps AND your parcels use a plot filling style, you will probably want to set plot fill transparency (View>>Options>>Plot View) to something like 40 to 70%, otherwise your web file parcels will cover the background maps (even though they don’t in DeedMapper).

Browser limitations

Technical standards for browsers are constantly evolving, so there are differences (and bugs) in browser behaviors.  For example, as of this writing the Chrome and Safari browsers cannot view the pages at all and FireFox and Opera don’t display TIF graphic files (background images) that are part of your project, but Internet Explorer does.  If you use USGS topo images in your project they are probably in TIF format.  Consider converting them to JPG or other format that is compatible both with DeedMapper and with web browsers.

Browsers may have difficulty displaying large projects-- those with more than one or two thousand parcels.  One symptom of difficulty is that parcels only display briefly in the PlotView when you move the mouse over the view.

Creating multiple web sites

Some users have multiple deed files in the same project folder and want to create a web site for each.  Others have a single deed file but use the Deed Filter to create different views of their work and they want a web site per view.  In these cases you must specify a separate web files folder for each.  As noted above, the program will always export to a Web Files folder that it creates if you let it.  Don’t let it.  Just specify a separate folder for each of your exports.  Then copy all of your web files folders to separate locations on your web server.

Customization

If you’re a web programmer you can customize the results by modifying the About.html, Main.html, and ProjectName.html files that are in the DeedMapper installation folder.  The Export command copies them to the target web files folder and renames the ProjectName file.