Basemaps

Basemaps provide the background context for your map data. GISOwl includes several built-in options and supports custom tile sources.

Built-in Basemaps

• Street — A clean, general-purpose street map.
• Satellite — High-resolution aerial and satellite imagery.
• Terrain — Elevation shading with contour lines and labels.
• Dark — A dark-themed map for data visualization contrast.
• Light — A minimal, light-toned base with subtle labels.
• Blank — No basemap. Useful for thematic maps where the base is irrelevant.

Switching Basemaps

Click the Basemap button in the toolbar or press B. A picker shows thumbnails of all available basemaps. Click to switch. The change applies instantly.

Custom Basemaps

Add your own basemap by providing an XYZ tile URL, WMTS endpoint, or Mapbox style URL. Go to Basemap > Add Custom and paste the URL. Custom basemaps are saved to your workspace and available across all maps.

Basemap Labels

Toggle place labels on or off for any basemap. When labels are off, your data and annotations stand out more clearly. Control this from Basemap > Show Labels.

Next Steps

• Styling — Style your data layers.
• Map Settings — Configure default basemap and projection.