CGG Tutorial

THE COINATLANTIC GEOCONTENT GENERATOR: CGG TUTORIAL

This tutorial will guide you through the four screen, four step, online CGG application. To download the tutorial in PDF format click here.

What is the CGG?

The CGG is a free on-line utility that allows users to generate and publish geospatial polygons on-line that will be found by the Google search engine. It is intended to be a simple-to-use tool that will allow non-specialists to allow others to find and view their information.

How does the CGG work?

The CGG allows users to input a description of their organization, publication and/or data source for publication on the internet. Included in the CGG is a function for defining the geographic area of interest. This can be done by selecting from a number of existing geographic polygons, drawing your own area of interest on an interactive map or by importing existing geographic information. Once completed, the file is saved on a server that is indexed by the internet search engine, such as Google, so that others will be able to find your information and the geographical area of interest related to your information.

How do I start?

To begin, open the COINAtlantic Geocontent Generator (CGG) at http://coinatlantic.ca/cgg in your web browser.

The application consists of four screens and four steps:

Text entry screen: Step 1
Geospatial Polygon Selection or Generation screen: Steps 2 and 3
Preview and Publish screen: Step 4
Confirmation screen

Text Entry Screen: Step 1

Notes for Step 1:

Some fields are mandatory, they are identified by a red asterisk

The Description field should include any and all words that a user might search on to find your entry. Please feel free to cut and paste from existing material

Test entries or errors can be deleted by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

File names should be alphanumeric, do not use special characters.

Geospatial Polygon Selection or Generation Screen: Steps 2 and 3

Notes for Step 2:

Users can generate polygons by:

Option 1: selecting from the template library of watershed, estuaries, coastalshed and jurisdictional units. By clicking on the Option 1 link at the top of the page, a small window opens which can be used to navigate to available templates. A single click on the template name will add the template to the map, a double click will open the template as a text file;

Option 2: creating their own feature; or

Option 3: uploading an existing KML from their computer.

Notes for Step 3:

In Step 3 users can select the colour of the geospatial polygon.

The default name for the generated file is taken from the ‘Title of Geocontent’ field from Screen 1. Users can change the filename in Step 3 if they wish.

When the user clicks on ‘Preview’ in Step 3:

A KML file is created with the descriptive text from Step 1 and the point/line/polygon information from Step 2.

Preview and Publish Screen: Step 4

Notes for Step 4:

Here the user is provided with an opportunity to review the information and make any final changes before publishing.
Once the user has made final edits, they can publish their information by clicking on the “Publish” button at the bottom of the page.

When the user clicks on ‘Publish’ in Step 4:

A geospatial file is created using the GoogleEarth KML format, from the information provided;
The file is uploaded to a web accessible folder that can be scanned by the Google Search engine;
The file name is added to a geositemap file that is submitted to the Google Web Master;
An e-mail is sent to the ‘Contact e-mail’ with a notice that the file has been created; and,
An e-mail is sent to the CGG administrator with a notice that the file has been added.

It may take several weeks for the Google search engine to index the file. Once it has been indexed, the file will be found by the Google search engine by doing a search for any text word in the file, along with KML. For example ‘COINAtlantic KML’.

When the process is successful, the user will see the following confirmation page (click link below):

Confirmation Screen

Notes for the Confirmation Screen:

The Confirmation Screen provides the creator with the file name and access to saving the file.
- You can save this file to your computer by right clicking on the file name. Once saved on your computer you can open it in Google Earth, and/or open it with a text editor to edit the file.
- You can also save the KML URL (link) location at this time by right clicking on the file name and clicking ‘copy link location’. Use this URL in Google Maps to view your KML.
By clicking on ‘Restart’, the user is sent back to Screen 1 to create a new entry with the descriptive text already entered.
By clicking on ‘End’ the user terminates the CGG, and sends the user to the http://COINAtlantic.ca website.
Test entries or errors can be deleted by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .