Overview
Nearmap WMS 2.0 (referred to as WMS) integration allows you to load high-resolution imagery into your off-the-shelf GIS and CAD applications on demand. Nearmap WMS 2.0 is based on OGC protocol WMS 1.1.1.
To consume the latest Nearmap imagery via WMS, you must use a Nearmap Simple or Custom API service. Both services provide you with a personalized WMS URL. Accessing data through WMS contributes to your overall usage allowance.
To display Nearmap imagery, you will need to tell your GIS or CAD package to load a Nearmap layer in the coordinate reference system in which our WMS server supplies it. This is specified in our layer capabilities file, readable by WMS-enabled software packages, and located at https://api.nearmap.com/wms/v1/latest/apikey/<APIKEY>.
A simple test to check that the above URL works is to paste it in a web-browser and check that you get the layer names. If the URL is not correct, it will give an error message.
NOTE: If your application is not able to load images correctly, remove the part of the URL starting from the question mark and try configuring it with https://api.nearmap.com/wms/v1/latest/apikey/<APIKEY>.
We support the most popular coordinate systems for our imagery.
API services for WMS 2.0
In order to load imagery via WMS 2.0, you must use one of the following API services.
Simple API service is a lightweight service that provides a WMS URL that has latest imagery only for your AOI. You will not be able to perform geofencing or view imagery over a date range.
Custom API service allows you to define one or more custom areas to obtain a personalized WMS URL. For these custom areas, you will be able to navigate the time and set boundaries for the dates. When you load custom WMS, the date layers are synced up to the latest imagery, and you will know the exact dates for the imagery you are loading. You can select any area, and it doesn't have to be exact. You can also import an area by uploading a GeoJSON file.
When you create an area in MyAccount, you're defining a template/metadata for that particular service. At that point no data is downloaded. We recommend that you roughly sketch out around your AOI; it does not need to follow your local government area boundaries.
Nearmap provides the imagery natively in the local projection for Custom WMS services. Only those state plane projections that intersect with the AOI are available as an option in which you can request imagery. Note that state plane projections are valid only in the US.
Limits to Custom WMS services
- Maximum number of WMS places - 50
- Maximum number of areas per place - 10
- Maximum area size - 15,000 km²
- Maximum width or a height of an area - 500 km
- Maximum number of characters for place name - 100
- Maximum number of characters for an area name - 100
- Maximum number of nodes in an area geometry - 1000
- Allowed characters in place/area name - No restriction
Using API services for WMS 2.0
To use WMS 2.0, follow these steps:
- Ensure that you have access to the required API application.
- Create a Simple or Custom API service to obtain a WMS URL.
- Authenticate using an API key.
- Load the URL into your CAD or GIS application.
Once authenticated, your software package will have a way for you to specify:
- The Nearmap layer you want to view
- The coordinate reference system you want to use to view the layer
When you use either simple or custom WMS 2.0 API service in an application, the service will be updated with the new imagery every time Nearmap publishes a new survey.
