The Map Layers Page

Use the Map Layers page to import and manage custom map tiles and then display these tiles as supplementary layers on the main map.

Supported Map Import Files

Virtual Superintendent accepts map data files in the following formats:

.mbtiles
.tif
.tiff

These files contain detailed geospatial information that is processed into map tiles for display.

Terrain map layers

Terrain map data must be imported in .tif or .tiff file format, with a maximum file size of 5 GB.

Terrain files must contain Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data in valid GeoTIFF format.

About Map Tiles

Map tiles are small, square images that fit together, like pieces in a giant jigsaw puzzle, to create a seamless map. Tiles are generated at multiple zoom levels:

Zoomed out: fewer tiles with lower detail
Zoomed in: more tiles with higher detail

Map tiles are core components of the maps used in Virtual Superintendent and the SafeSite app.

You can import your own custom map tiles into Virtual Superintendent to add visual layers containing:

Satellite or drone imagery
Construction site linework and boundaries
Geographic details, terrain, and more

Permissions

To access the Map Layers page in the Virtual Superintendent, enable the Map Editor permission.

Users with this permission can:

Access the Map Layers page
View imported map layer details
Import and delete map layers
Manage default map layer visibility

Open the Map Layers Page

To open the Map Layers page:

Sign in to Virtual Superintendent.
Click Menu > Map Layers.

From the Map Layers page, you can import map layer files, view the type and processing status of existing layers, review each layer’s default visibility in both the SafeSite app and Virtual Superintendent, adjust the display order of layers on maps, and also delete map layers while viewing deletion timestamps.

Import a Map Layer File

To import a map layer:

Open the Map Layers page (Menu > Map Layers).
Click UPLOAD MAP. The UPLOAD MAP dialog opens.

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Click CHOOSE FILE. Your file explorer opens.

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Navigate to a .mbtiles , .tif , or .tiff file on your computer.
Select the file and click Open. The file explorer closes.
Click UPLOAD. The file is uploaded and processing begins.

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Processing Map Files

The file’s progress is shown in the Processing State column.

Processing occurs in four stages:

Uploading - The file is uploaded to the server while the Upload Map dialog remains open. Closing the dialog during this stage cancels the upload.

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Upload completed - The upload finishes and the dialog displays Import completed!. The new layer appears in the table with an Uploading status, and you can safely close the dialog or leave the page.

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Processing - Virtual Superintendent converts the uploaded file into map tiles. This stage might take up to 60 minutes, depending on file size.

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Done - Processing is complete and the map layer is available for use on maps.

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Note: Import files must be 10 GB or smaller and formatted as RGB or RGBA, or have color bands defined.

The Map File Table

After import, map layers appear in a table with the following columns:

Column	Description
Layer Name	Name of the imported map layer.
Type	Type of layer (for example, drone, satellite, linework).
Display Order	Stacking order of the layer on the map. Layers with higher values are rendered above layers with lower values. To change the display order, click a layer to open the Map Style dialog, update the Display Order value, then click SAVE.
Processing State	Current processing status of the imported file.
Default Toggle State	Whether the layer is enabled by default on the Virtual Superintendent Maps screen. Values are True or False. To edit this setting, click the layer to open the Map Style dialog,
SafeSite Default Toggle State	Whether the layer is enabled by default on the SafeSite map. Values are True or False. To edit this setting, click the layer to open the Map Style dialog, use the SafeSite Default Toggle State control to set the layer’s default visibility, then click SAVE.
Deleted At	Deletion status of the map file. Displays Not Deleted if the file is active, or a timestamp showing when the file was deleted.

Note: Imported layers can be deleted by clicking the map layer row and then clicking Delete in the dialog that opens. The date and time of the deletion is shown under the Deleted At column.

Use Map Layers

To display an imported map layer in Virtual Superintendent:

Sign in to Virtual SUperintendent.
Open the Maps page (Menu > Maps).
Open the Users, Layers and Charts panel in the top left corner.
Select the Layers tab.
Open the Base Layers section.
Enable the imported layer using the toggle.

The initial visibility of each layer is determined by the Default Toggle State configured on the Map Layers page.