Oracle has added a native map region to Application Express (APEX) version 21.1. On its own, this new map region can be used to visualize spatial data from the database in a pre-rendered basemap. However, APEX exposes an interface to the underlying map via javascript, offering possibilities beyond merely simple data visualization.
Mapbits is a family of plugins that add functionality to the APEX map region. Currently available plugins include:
- Mapbits Drawing adds point, line, and/or polygon drawing tools to the APEX native map region using mapbox-gl-draw. Drawing geometry is stored in a collection in GeoJSON format. A developer can write processes to initialize the drawing geometry from the database, as well as write geometry back to the database. If geolocation is enabled and available in the browser, then a user can click a tool button to create and modify geometries based on the user's location. For more information, review the Mapbits Drawing Tutorial.
- Mapbits Geocoder is a dynamic action that calculates a coordinate for an address defined in page items using the Nominatim geocoding service. It then sets the point geometry of the associated Mapbits Drawing plugin. to this coordinate.
- Mapbits Layer WMS adds support for OGC Web Map Service (WMS) layers.
- Mapbits Layer ArcGIS REST GeoJSON adds support for ArcGIS Rest vector data layers.
- Mapbits Layer Raster adds support for image layers with extent coordinates
- Mapbits Zoom To is a dynamic action that pans and zooms the map view to the extent of a feature.
- Mapbits Labeler labels a Map region native layer using the layer's tooltip or Info Window value.
- Mapbits Geolocation shows a pulsing dot on a map region reflecting the user's location if that feature is enabled in the user's browser.
- Mapbits Set Custom Marker is a dynamic action that creates and updates a marker on the map based on a page item value.
- Mapbits Stationing Layer adds stationing marks and labels to a 4d linear geometry in a map based on the visible domain values in a chart region.
- Mapbits Legend is a region that shows a map's layer names together and associated symbology.
- Mapbits Basemap adds custom backgrounds for map regions, as well as a toggle to switch between basemaps.
- Mapbits Lodestar Layer provides an alternative to native map region layers that offer more of the functionality built into Maplibre such as symbology and filtering. For more information, see the [Mapbits Lodestar Layer Tutorial] (Documentation/Lodestar_Tutorial.md).
- Mapbits Lodestar Select Features is a dynamic action plugin that highlights LodeStar Layer features based on a SQL query.
- Mapbits Export To Image is a dynamic action that exports a map region to image data, allowing to be directly downloaded or added to reports.
Application and plugins require Oracle DBMS and Application Express 21.1 or later. If you are using Apex Express 22.1 or 22.2, you will need version 4.5 or later of the plugins. Mapbits version 4.5 was not tested on Application Express versions prior to 22.1. Mapbits version 4.6 has been tested using version 22.2 and 23.2.
You can install individual plugins by selecting and downloadling the plugin of interest from the Downloads section below. In your application, go to the 'Plug-ins' page from the 'Shared Components'. Click 'Import' and follow the steps in the wizard. When prompted to upload an import file, use the plugin file you downloaded.
Alternatively, you can install Mapbits by installing the Mapbits Demo application and importing the plugins into your application from the Demo application through the following steps:
- Download the Mapbits Demo Application.
- In your APEX AppBuilder, click the 'Import' button and follow the steps in the wizard. When prompted to upload an import file, use the Mapbits Demo Application from step 1.
- In your APEX application, go to the 'Plug-ins' page from the 'Shared Components'. Click 'Create' and, in the wizard, select 'As a Copy of an Existing Plug-in'. Reference the 'Mapbits Demo' Application and select the plugin you would like to use. You can choose between simplying 'Copying' the plugin to your application or 'Copy Subscribing', which will allow you to more easily push and pull plugin updates from the demo application to your application.
After installation, the plugins will be available as a page item or dynamic action type when you create new page items or dynamic actions. For Mapbits page items and dynamic actions, make sure to add them to the map region on your page. They will not work if added to other region types. For additional plugin-specific direction, refer to the help available in the plugins themseles.
- Mapbits Demo Application This application contains all plugins as well as sample data to show them in action.
- Mapbits Drawing Plugin
- Mapbits Layer WMS Plugin
- Mapbits Layer ArcGIS REST GeoJSON Plugin
- Mapbits Layer Raster
- Mapbits Zoom To
- Mapbits Labeler
- Mapbits Geolocation
- Mapbits Set Custom Marker
- Mapbits Stationing Layer
- Mapbits Legend
- Mapbits Legend Entry
- Mapbits Basemap
- Mapbits Lodestar Layer
- Mapbits Lodestar Select Features
- Mapbits Export To Image