City of San Antonio's Interactive GIS Websites
The entry point can be found on the City's Map Services site. Each of the three maps in this section of the City of San Antonio’s (COSA) website has adjustable layers that can be turned on and off. Navigation is controlled by zoom and pan tools, which allow users to magnify any portion of the map and to move about in any direction. The following functions are also common to each of these maps:

• Last View – takes users to the last image viewed, sort of like undo for navigation
• Address – allows user to pinpoint a specific address on the map
• Identify – users click the Identify button, then an icon on the map to define the item in question
• Measure – after clicking the Measure button, users may click around the map to create a trail measured in feet.
• Print – users may print either 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17 images using landscape orientation

The three maps available for use are the COSAMaps (Main website), Zoning website (relating to Historic and Neighborhood associations, annexations, etc.) and SAPD Uniformed Crime Reports website. Each has unique controls and is used to display specific information about San Antonio. Here, the COSAMaps and SAPD websites will be examined in more detail.

COSAMaps website
The main website for COSA has the most controls for customizing the appearance of the map of San Antonio.

Above is the tool bar and layers control window. The tool bar (from top to bottom) has six navigation tools, followed by ten data tools, and finally measuring and printing tools at the bottom. Note that each category is shaded in a different color. The folder icons to the right allow users to open a given category to display specific information on the map, like Universities, hospitals, Via bus stops, population statistics, police and fire stations, theme parks, historic sites, street names, libraries and much more. Aerial maps can be overlaid with icons generated from the COSA.

The map above shows my neighborhood with bus routes and public schools enabled. The identify feature was used to display the information seen in the lower right hand corner, Pershing Elementary.

SAPD Uniformed Crime Reports website
Users can look up crime related information and have the results plotted on a map.

This map shows Vehicle Theft around the Crossroads Mall area. Clicking on the identify button, and clicking on a particular icon displays information like case number, address where offense took place, date of offence and what substation responded.

Each map is very useful for creating custom diagrams of any part of the San Antonio. The GIS applications do tend to crash frequently. Occasionally the maps will not update properly, or will get stuck while changes are being made to the map. The solution is to exit the browser and reload the map. A series of tutorials is available for the COSAMaps site, but not for the SAPD Uniformed Crimes Report site.