Team Maps and Tracks

Working with Team Maps

To access team maps, log in and click on the orange Your Data button on the upper right side of the map viewer. Team maps will be listed in the same place as maps that belong to your individual account. The account owner will be indicated in the Account column on the Your Maps list.

This user has write level access to the team account, CalTopo Demo Team, and can add their own maps to the team account, but can't change account ownership or delete team maps.

Accessing Team Maps

In the Your Maps section of the account box, you can find all personal and team maps listed. A description of the map, the base permission level, and the date of the last update are listed also.

Manage and Admin users can change maps from the team account to their own accounts and the team will no longer be able to see them. Manage and Admin users also have the ability to delete maps.

This user has admin access to the team account. Notice a dropdown menu appears under Account for team maps as well, allowing them to move team maps to their personal account. They can also delete team maps.

Saving a Map to a Team Account

To save a map to the team account, first add a map object to the map and save it as you normally would. For more information on creating and saving a map, please refer to the Making Your First Map lesson.

In the Save As dialog, use the drop down menu to change the account ownership from Your Account to the appropriate team account. (Some users will have more than one team account listed.) Account ownership can be adjusted as needed by Manage and Admin users too.

Use the dropdown menu to designate where you want the map saved.

You can also set the base permission of the map for outside users. This setting does not apply to team users. Team users can view any map saved to the team account, including private maps. For more information about map sharing settings, please check out the Sharing and Collaboration chapter. Click Save to save your map.

If you are a Manage or Admin user and you wish to move an existing map from your personal account to a team account, go to the tab for Your Maps and use the drop-down menu for that map to switch the account.

Once saved to a team account, all team members can see and open the map. The ability to add to, edit, move, and delete the map depends on the user level of the team member as set in the team admin page.

Remember, only Manage and Admin users can remove a map from a team account by changing it to their personal account.

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Team Account Map Sharing

Maps stored in the team account are shared with all team members, automatically. Any time that a map is added to the team account, all team members are able to view that map.

Each team member has an assigned access level that applies to all team maps. That level is set in the team admin page, and can be changed there also. See the chart in the previous lesson for more information on team access levels.

Team account maps can be shared outside the team account via the share settings for that specific map.

Tip: If a team member has update only permissions for team account maps, but needs full editing capabilities for a particular map, you can create a share link for them with write permission for that individual map only. Pretty neat!

Sharing Maps Outside the Team, or Giving Additional Permissions to Team Members on a Map-by-Map Basis

Let's dig a little deeper into sharing maps with users outside the team as well as giving additional permission to team members for a specific map. Before we begin, please visit the Map Sharing page if you want more information on base permissions and access types for individual maps.

Each time a team member creates a map, they will be able to select the outside share settings for that map. However, once they save the map to the team account, they may or may not be able to adjust those settings themselves if they aren't a Manage or Admin user. There are a lot of potential combinations, so let’s look at some examples:

• Team member has READ access to the team account:

This user cannot add maps to the team account or modify maps already in the account, so they have no control over team map sharing. If the map is set to share via URL, they will be able to share the link. If it is set to secret, they will not be able to access the share code unless someone gives it to them.

• Team member has UPDATE or WRITE access to the team account:

This user can create a map and save it to the team account. Once that person saves it to the team account, they can no longer remove it from the team account nor change the outside share settings. Thus, if they forgot to set it to secret and it’s set as URL, a Manage or Admin user would need to change that setting.

Options for changing account ownership and sharing for individual vs team maps for an Update or Write user.

• Team member has MANAGE access to the team account:

This user can create a team map, change the sharing permissions for it, and remove it from the team account.

• Team member has READ access but needs to edit a map:

A team Manager or Admin must give this person a shareable link for the map that was created to give write access to that map. When the users opens the link, they will be able to edit the map and it will be in their bookmarks.

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Other Features: Team Layers, Map Sheets, and Icons

Team accounts come with the ability to save custom layers, map sheets, and icons to the team account for all team members to access and use.

Some groups will have a need to store custom layers, map sheets, and icons for the whole team to access. To do this, follow the steps to set up a custom layer, as described in the Base Layers chapter, or to add a Map Sheet or icon. Once the layer, map sheet, or icon is saved to your account, you can easily switch it to the team account. The same permission levels apply here as covered above regarding saving and sharing team maps.

Go to Your Data and then to Your Layers. Use the dropdown menu to move the layer from your individual account to the team account so anyone on the team can access it.

The same method applies to map sheets and icons. Just find the appropriate tab in Your Data.

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Using the Mobile App with a Team Account

Team account members have access to team maps via the mobile app also. The two main differences in the mobile app for team members are the list of maps and the share location button.

Team members can tap on the three-bar menu in the upper left to open the main app menu. At the top of this menu, all teams, sub teams, and events are listed as map folders, in addition to their own maps. These will sync to the mobile device automatically.

The Share Location button allows team members to actively share their location with the team account. Anyone who turns on the shared locations overlay will see a dot representing each person who is sharing a location. Every person on the team can both share their own location and see other's locations, regardless of the map they have open.

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Team Members and Track Recording

Team members with update access or higher can record a track straight onto a map, using the CalTopo mobile app. The tracks belong to the user's account and to the map, but are not saved to the team account as track objects.

The track will display on the team map in real time if cell service is available. Otherwise, it will show on the map when the user returns to cell service and the app is able to sync with the cloud.

For more about using tracks and location updates on team maps, check out the next lesson for live tracking.

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