End-User Layer Controls

[underbluewaters]

Currently z-ordering and opacity changes to layers are limited to administrators making initial cartography choices. We need easy to use controls to set temporary, user-specific settings.

I envision these settings being controllable from a few different places to meet user expectations rather than forcing them to hunt for these features. They would be available from:

• The Legend. This may be the most intuitive for drag & drop z-order control, as well as for temporarily hiding layers. It would also become another target for actions which currently only exist in the context menu, like zooming to extent and viewing metadata. This interface may result in more sensible affordances for mobile clients since current context menu actions require a right-click.
• The Context Menu. New actions like Move layer to top, Move layer to bottom, and Show layer when it has been hidden from the legend.
• Top Toolbar. This would be a new addition to the overlays list. A toolbar could enable lots of new actions like "Reset layer visibility", "Collapse folders", "Hide all layers", and "Show privileged layers" (for admins). Some of these actions would require a new selection model for overlays.

[underbluewaters]

Current UI. Heavily inspired by Felt.