Using the Map
Navigation
Zoom and pan intuitively using the mouse much like Google Maps.
Mouse Wheel Zoom. On a desktop or laptop computer, place the cursor on a point in the vicinity of where you want to go and push your mouse wheel forward. The map will zoom in centered on your cursor. To zoom out, rotate the mouse wheel back toward you.
Zoom Box. To use the Zoom Box, either press “O” or click on the button on top of your map with the icon of a square and a plus symbol. Next, click on the map and hold down to create a box around the region to which you wish to zoom. A small box will zoom in close, while a larger box zooms in less. Release your mouse to complete the zoom.
Button Zoom. The zoom buttons tool in the top left of the map can also be used to zoom, in combination with pan to reach your destination. These buttons, a plus and a minus icon, can be found in your top left corner. Click the plus button to zoom in and the minus button to zoom out.
Mobile Zoom. On a touch-screen or mobile device, zoom and pan with fingers as with Google Maps. Squeeze fingers together to zoom in, drag fingers apart to zoom out.
Pan. Click the surface of the map, hold down, and drag the map to view the portion you wish to see, then release.
Accessing Parcel Data
Parcel data may be accessed most immediately, at any time, by clicking on parcels to select them directly. The parcel boundary line will turn red and a panel will appear on the right with all related property information available for that parcel in PV displayed.
Search
Search by street address, owner name, or assessor parcel number (APN).
Enter Progressively. Begin your entry in the search bar and a drop-down will appear with guesses as to the object of your search. Put just enough information in the bar for it to appear in the drop-down. When you see what you are looking for in the list, click on it and the map view will zoom to that parcel with it outlined in red. In general, a street number plus the first few letters of a street name are enough to narrow your results to a single parcel record. Data regarding the parcel will appear in a panel on the right.
Backing Up Helps. Although counter-intuitive, if you enter a full address in detail (street number + name + city + state + zip), there is a chance that the characters you entered will not quite match those associated with the parcel in the database, and you will not get any results. When that happens, try removing characters one at a time, from right to left, leaving a little time for PV to think.
Legend
Add and/or turn off Reference and other information layers that overlay layers in the map Base layer group.
Open the layer menu by clicking the Legend 
icon in the header bar, or press “L”. The layer options will display in the left side panel.
Layers available are listed by group. Typically, the two groups are Reference, with layers such as county boundaries, parcels, city limits, and Base map layers.
Turn individual layers on or off by checking the box or clicking the radio button next to each layer name. See the Base Layer Options section above for more information about base layers.
Base Layer Options
Alternate between base layers to optimize the backdrop information available for your interpretation purposes.
Click the Legend icon at the left in the blue toolbar above the map, and the layer options will appear in the left side-panel, under the lower heading, Base. Then, click on the radio button next to the name of your desired base layer to change it.
Google Hybrid. Our default base layer on opening provides the most all-around functionality, joining designations such as road names, city names, and landmark names with Google’s high-resolution aerial imagery.
Google Imagery. This base layer strips away all names and labels, leaving just imagery. The result is a clean map view that is excellent for printing views and screenshots of land features.
Terrain. Similar to the Google imagery layer in that it does not include names or labels. Unlike Google imagery, it provides hill shading and contour lines. This layer is ideal for gauging slope and aspect. If you are looking for a parcel with a gentle south-facing slope, for instance, this basemap could serve your needs.
Open Street Map. An urban-oriented street map that provides bold, legible symbology and labels for cities, streets, transit routes, and other man-made features.
Street View Drop-in
See ground views of parcels and other features from any point along a public street right-of-way where Street View coverage has been collected by Google.
There are two ways to do this in Parcel Viewer.
Click the G button in the header bar, then click any point on the map from which you want to see.
Click the G button at the bottom of the right information panel after selecting a parcel. Street View opens facing the parcel.
Both methods trigger separate tabs in the browser. Return to the map by closing the new G tab, clicking the close button in the upper right, or by pressing the escape key.
Query
Identify parcels meeting criteria, single or multiple, that you define.
PARCEL VIEWER parcels can have as many as 14 fields of property data or attributes that describe the parcel and differentiate it from others. In a Query, numeric values, identifying numbers, words, characters or numeric strings contained in the attribute fields are used as limiting criteria. These criteria are applied singularly or successively, and relationships specified, all by the user, to identify particular parcels that individually meet those criteria combined.
To use Query, click the 
icon in the header bar,or press “Q”. Keep Feature Layer set to “Parcels,” then select the first field you wish to query for under Attribute Field. Choose the desired operator under Relationship (<, >, =, etc.) and then enter a value for Condition.
You may link multiple queries together to select for parcels under specific conditions.
Example: To search for properties that are assessed at more than a million dollars and have an area greater than 50 acres, select Attribute Field as Total Assessed Value, select < for Relationship, and enter 1000000 as Condition. Click add another, and select “Approximate Size” for Attribute Field, > for Relationship, and enter 50 as a condition. Press GO in the bottom right corner of the Query toolbar to run the query.
Advanced Select
Select multiple parcels for the purpose of viewing and downloading parcel data in tabular form for various applications.
Open the Advanced Select menu by clicking the
button, or press “A”. The tool options will display in the left side panel.
Point. While pressing the CTRL key, click on each parcel that you wish to inspect. As you click, the selected parcels will populate the Results section to the right of the map with APNs displayed. Click on any of the APNs to see information associated with that parcel.
Box and Lasso. Multiple parcels may also be selected using the Advanced Select tools, Box and Lasso. To access Advanced Select, either click on the cursor icon button in the toolbar at the top of your page, or press “A”. The Selection Method options will display in the left side panel. Parcels contained in or intersected by the Box or Lasso polygon will be selected.
To use the Box method, simply click on the map and drag the rectangle over the parcels you wish to select.
To use the Lasso method, begin your polygon by clicking on a point on the map, then click again to create a vertex. Continue until you have the shape which you want, then double click to complete the polygon.
Whatever the method, the parcels selected will appear in a list in the right panel. To see data associated with any one parcel, click on its APN directly in the panel. The data for the parcels selected may be exported in CSV file format with all parameters available visible in columns.
Live Share
Create links to your current map view and share those links as you wish.
To access Live Share, either click the share button 
in the header bar, or press “S”. The Live Share toolbox will appear on the left side of your screen.
Select the length of time that you would like the Live Share to be active, then click “Create Link.” You can now paste the URL to your map’s view into an email, word document, etc.
If you have selected any parcels, they will also be highlighted in the view sent and related data will display in the right panel. The recipient of the Live Share link will be dropped into PARCEL VIEWER right where you were when you sent the link, and they will be able to operate in PV just as you with the same functionalities active, and be able to do and see things just as you can.
If they are fellow PV subscribers, there is no limit on the period of time they can view the selections sent. If they are not current subscribers, they can remain active in PV for up to two hours, courtesy of you, a benefit of your subscription. After that, their access reverts to the PV Preview version, with basic functionality.
Assessor Parcel Maps
If you attempt to download an AP map this message displays: An AP map does not appear to be available for that record, the parcel may not be included in the county AP map system, such as in the case of mobile home pads.
Subscription and Accounts
How does a monthly subscription work?
Full PV access is provided from the moment the first monthly fee is charged to your card. The charge recurs at the same time each month. If you add another county, the monthly fee will be prorated and billed to match the existing cycle.
You may cancel any subscription at any time. Full map access will continue for the duration of the cycle for which you have paid.
How does a Day Pass subscription work?
Full PV access extends 24 hours from the time the single day fee is charged. No recurring charge is applied.
How do I add/ remove a collaborator seat?
- Click the My Maps tab in the header bar.
- In your dashboard, click the My Account tab.
- Click the up arrow next to the number of Collaborator Seats to increase the number of available seats, or click the down arrow to reduce the number of available seats.
- Click Update.
If seats are added, the fee will be applied in the same billing cycle as the underlying account. If seats are removed, seat access will continue for the duration of the cycle for which you have paid.
How do I cancel a subscription?
- Click the My Maps tab in the header bar.
- In your dashboard, click the My Account tab.
- In the account page, click the Manage Subscriptions button and check the box next to the county you wish to remove.
- Click Update.
You may also cancel by contacting a MapPort representative via email at support@mapport.com.
Can I delete my account?
Data
Where do you get parcel data?
Both property and parcel line base data are obtained directly from county agencies. Property data (owner of record, assessed value, situs address, etc.) is compiled by the county assessor. Parcel line base data (geometry, boundaries) is compiled by either the assessor or another county department.
What are the definitions of data fields?
Field definitions appear when hovering over the property data panel fields in the map interface.
Will parcel data for other counties become available?
Will parcel data for other states become available?
Are other types of data available?
Why is the owner of record out of date?
When is the data going to be updated?
Property data is updated by assessors annually, at a minimum, when new assessed values are posted. Publication dates of the datasets displayed in PV vary widely from county to county. PV data is updated as often as quarterly as new datasets are published by the county. Click the “I” button in the header bar or type “i” to open the information panel and see the publication dates of the datasets displayed.
Why is there no information for a certain field?
Why is my parcel boundary line incorrect?
Parcel boundary data displayed is obtained from the county, and we publish it in PV as received. Click the “I” button in the header bar or type “i” to open the information panel and see the publication date of the parcel base.
Extras
Where do you get parcel data?
Both property and parcel line base data are obtained directly from county agencies. Property data (owner of record, assessed value, situs address, etc.) is compiled by the county assessor. Parcel line base data (geometry, boundaries) is compiled by either the assessor or another county department.
What other public maps have been built on MapPort?
How do I request data for other counties/states?
Contact an MapPort representative via email at support@mapport.com if you are interested in a county in another state. We may be able to accommodate you.
How can I have a custom web map made?
Contact us via email at support@mapport.com to discuss your objectives and the options. A custom map usually starts with a stock map foundation like Parcel Viewer. Datasets and layers are added from there. Your own custom map can be rapidly built and particularly economical if layers to be included are already compiled or datasets georeferenced. If not, our geospatial technologists are very experienced and can create the datasets or layers you need very cost-efficiently and quickly.
Useful Information
Keyboard Shortcuts
L – Layers/Legend panel
O – Zoombox
B – Back to previous map view
F – forward to previous map view
G – Google Street View
M – Metrics tools
Q – Query tool
A – Advanced Select tool
D – Map Download
P – Print
S – Live URL Share
R – Refresh map
I – Information panel
Ctrl + Click – Select multiple parcels (Windows)
⌘ + Click – Select multiple parcels (Mac)
Mapport Tools Glossary
Layer: The visual representation of a geographic dataset.
Live Share: Enables a user to share their map view with another user via a link placing that recipient user into a MapPort map in the same dynamic view.
Map Download: Enables a user to create a PDF or PNG of their current map view.
Metrics: Enables a user to measure distance and area, and elevation.
Print: Enables the user to title and Print a PDF of their current map view.
Query: Enables user to apply one or more parametric criteria to limit results.
Search Bar: Enables user to search for parcels to which a specific attribute in the associated dataset applies. APN, situs address, or owner name are searchable.
General Terms
Latitude: The measurement north or south of the Equator at the Earth’s surface.
Longitude The measurement of distance east or west of the Prime Meridian at the earth’s surface.
Map Interface: The collection of data layers and tools with which a user can interact.
Map View: The current representation of geographic datasets compiled by a user in the map interface.
Parcel: A defined area of land owned by a legal entity.
Tool: Means by which a MapPort user creates map views or manipulates data.The visual representation of a geographic dataset.
Tool Bar: Location of MapPort tools above the map view window.
Minimum Requirements
Browser
Google Chrome or Firefox browsers will yield best performance.
Operating System and Hardware
- Windows 7
- MacOS x Yosemite 10.10
- Linux 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04+, Debian 8+, openSUSE 13.3+, or Fedora Linux 4+
- Intel Pentium 4, AMD Opteron or Athlon 64. 2GB RAM
Mobile
Our MapPort® mobile app will become available soon. Optimized for current versions of both iOS and Android.
Quick Video Tutorials
Search
Selection
Measurement
Leading Collaboration
Look Deeper
Resources
Helpful Links
Wildfire Viewer Real-time United States and Canada wildfire tracking.
Custom Maps Custom mapping on the MapPort platform.
Purchasable Geodata High resolution georeferenced aerial imagery and LiDAR elevation data.
Parcel Viewer Youtube Videos detailing Parcel Viewer tool usage.
Surveyor Lookup Tool Find surveyors based on zip code, area of practice, license number, name, and more.
Realtor Lookup Tool Search for realtors by name or zip code.
Partnerships
LAStools LiDAR data processing software
Google Maps Platform Google’s geoospatial data and basemap provisioning service.
Open Street Map Open-source, user-generated web map.
California Multiple Award Schedules State of California certification program identifying contractors whom offer services at prices which have been assessed to be fair, reasonable and competitive.
North State Public Radio National Public Radio’s Chico station.
Jefferson Public Radio National Public Radio’s Ashland/Medford station.
KKRN Northern California volunteer-based, listener-supported radio station.
Reference
USGS Topo Map Legend for USGS topo map base layer.