Shape layers

Important: You must be familiar with Geo Information System tools and know how to create map shapes before attempting to add an imported shape layer. Contact BlackBerry AtHoc customer support for help with using GIS to add an imported shape layer.
The Shape Layers section of the Map Settings screen displays details about each of the shape layers that have been configured for maps. Shape layers enable you to:
  • View the boundaries of shapes and polygons on the map.
  • View users and connected organizations that are in defined shape boundaries by their location attributes.
  • Target users and connected organizations that are in shape boundaries in alerts and events based on their last known location, location attribute, or selected geographical area of interest.
  • Create custom user attributes.

You can add a shape layer by importing a shape file or by drawing shapes on a map.

The locations in the shape layer are called Shape Layers on the live map and Predefined Locations on the publisher map.

Only shapes that contain polygons and multipolygons can be imported from a shape file. If your shape file contains any of the following items, the file cannot be imported:
  • Point data
  • Polylines (linestrings)
  • Polygons and polylines (linestrings)
  • Self-intersecting polygons

If you need to display points on the live map, you should use an external third party tool to create a polygon buffer around each point, and then import the buffer polygons.

The imported shape file should not exceed 100 Mb and should be saved as a .zip file containing one of each of the following file types: .prj, .dbf, and .shp. BlackBerry AtHoc supports the GCS_WGS_1984 Geographical Coordinate System, with the following data:
  • Well-known ID: 4326
  • Name: GCS_WGS_1984
  • GCS Data 
    GEOGCS["GCS_WGS_1984",DATUM["D_WGS_1984",SPHEROID["WGS_1984",6378137.0,298.257223563]],
PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]]

Tip: Before adding an imported shape layer, Validate your shape file using QGIS.