What the setup page is · Starting from a config · Tools · Plugins · Layers · Map · Stories · Trying and keeping the result
What the setup page is
A WebMapX map is one JSON config file: which tools it offers, which layers it can show, where it starts, and which guided tours it has. The setup page edits such a file with forms and checkboxes, shows the result on a real map as you go, and hands you the file to download or publish.
It does not replace the config. Everything it produces is ordinary JSON you can open, read and edit further; the tool pages show the config fragment for each tool.
Starting from a config
The page opens with the demo config. To work on another one:
- Upload config picks a JSON file from your computer, or drop the file anywhere on the page.
- Open path takes a URL or a path, which also works for a config on a web server: paste its address.
- Add
?config=with a URL to the page's own address to start from that config directly.
Reset to defaults throws away the changes made in this session and goes back to the config as it was loaded.
Tools
The Tools tab lists every tool, per toolbar. Tick a tool to put it on that toolbar, untick it to take it off, and drag the handle to change the order. Tools that are in the config are shown normally; the rest in grey italics.
Hover a tool and click ⚙ to change its options. Simple values get a field; lists and objects are edited as JSON. OK keeps the change, Reset goes back to what the config had. A Toolbox or Menu gets its own list of the tools inside it.
Standalone map controls — scale bar, coordinates, zoom level, inset map and the like — are listed separately, with a position on the map as one of their options.
Plugins
A plugin adds a tool that WebMapX does not ship with. The Plugins section at the top of the Tools tab lists the plugins the config names and loads them; their tools then appear in the tool lists like any other.
- Type the plugin's path, relative to the config file — for the example that comes with WebMapX:
../plugins/bookmarks.js— and press Add plugin. - Tick the new tool (for the example: Bookmarks) on a toolbar.
- Click ⚙ on it to edit its settings. A plugin brings its own default settings; the bookmarks plugin starts with three views — World, Amsterdam and the Eiffel Tower — which you can change, extend or empty.
Remove takes a plugin out of the config; its tools stay in the lists until the page is reloaded. A plugin is code that runs in the map, so only add plugins you trust. Plugins may come from the same site as the map or from a public package CDN (jsDelivr, unpkg, esm.sh); anything else is refused.
Layers
The Layers tab has three lists. Available layers are the layers the config knows but does not show in its layer tree; + Add layer… finds more, from the shared layer repository or from a WMS, WMTS, Esri or XYZ service URL. Layer tree is the structure the catalog tool shows, and Active layers are the layers switched on when the map opens — top of the list is top of the map.
Map
The Map tab sets where the map starts: engine, centre, zoom, bearing, pitch and projection. The map beside the form is live: move it where you want, then Update form with map settings copies the view into the form. View limits and Max extent keep users within a zoom range or an area.
Stories
The Stories tab writes guided tours: a story has chapters, a chapter has steps, and each step has text and a map state — view, visible layers, projection. Position the map beside the form and use Capture current view from map to fill in a step's camera, or Preview step on map to check it.
Trying and keeping the result
- Update preview opens the config in a full map, in a separate tab — keep it next to the setup page and press the button again after each change.
- Download config saves the JSON file.
- Publish to GitHub… commits it straight into a repository you can write to, using a personal access token that stays in your browser.
To use the downloaded file, serve it with your map and open the map with ?config= pointing at it, or drop the file onto a WebMapX map.