Defining an Area of Interest

Before you can perform other functions, such as creating an alert or a place, you must define an area of interest. You can define an area of interest in several ways.

Defining an AOI Using the Draw Polygon Tool

You can use the Draw Polygon tool to create an AOI as the basis for an advanced search, alert, project, tileset, or place.

1. In the viewport, select the Draw Polygon icon .

   

   Draw Polygon Tool

2. Select an option from the menu to define an area of interest (AOI). The Draw Tools icon appears.

   More Information

   • Draw an AOI Select Draw a Polygon, Drag a Rectangle, or Draw a 12km x 12km AOI. In the viewport, use the cursor to draw an area of interest.

     	Draw a 12km x 12km AOI is available at zoom level 7 or higher.

   • Enter Well-Known-Text Select Enter WKT. In the dialog that opens, paste your AOI in WKT format from a source application, then select Search.

   • Upload a Shapefile Select Upload Shapefile. In the dialog that opens, select the shapefile you want to upload, then select Upload.

     

     When creating an AOI from a shapefile, the following restrictions apply: No self-intersecting polygons. Only individual polygons should be included in a shapefile. No shapes with fewer than four vertices (e.g., single points, lines, triangles), and not exceeding 1000 vertices. No projections other than EPSG:4326 ("WGS84") and UTM (for every zone). Must be a ZIP file.

   • Use the Viewport as the AOI Select Use Map Viewport. The current viewport becomes your AOI.

Defining an AOI Using the With Selected Menu

1. Zoom to level 13 or higher.
2. Select at least one image in the Carousel.

3. Do one of the following, depending on your Carousel orientation:

   • If your Carousel is Horizontal In the With Selected drop-down menu, select Define an AOI.
   • If your Carousel is Vertical Select the drop-down arrow , then select Define an AOI.

   The images selected in the Carousel become your AOI.

Defining an AOI in the Select Cells Pane

1. Zoom to level 7 or higher.
2. On the side panel, select the Cell Select icon . The Select Cells pane opens. The lat/lon grid appears.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Drag to Select Drag a rectangle around the cells you want to include in your AOI.
   • Select Individual Cells In the viewport, select the lat/lon cells that you want to include in your AOI.
   • Zoom to Cell In the Zoom to Cell field, enter the label of the cell (as it appears on the grid) that you want to include in your AOI.

   Select up to 10 contiguous cells. The cell(s) you select appear in the Selected Cells area.

   

   Select Cells Interface

4. (Optional) To remove a cell from the AOI, select the Delete icon next to any cell.
5. (Optional) To clear your selections, select Clear All.

6. When you are finished selecting cells, select Save. The cells you selected become your AOI.

More Information

• After you create an AOI in the viewport (e.g., using the Draw Polygon tool), the Draw Tools icon appears. From here you can select options to use your AOI (e.g., creating an alert or continuing to advanced search). Your options may vary depending on your account configuration, the size of the AOI, and your zoom level.

  

  Draw Tools Menu

• You can also create an AOI after opening certain dialogs or panes, such as the Alerts dialog or the Advanced Search pane.
• When creating an archive order, your AOI cannot be smaller than 5km². Smaller AOIs can be downloaded from the online catalog (but not from the archive catalog) as Ortho Natural Color using WCS or WMS. See Ordering Archive Imagery.