Chacoan Great Houses is an interactive map in an ArcIMS format that allows the researcher to access not only spatial information on various sites but also associated archaeological and architectural data in the form of tables, maps, and textual information. Analyses, including distance measurements and buffering, can be conducted with the Chacoan Great Houses interactive map.

It is important to remember that when the main map is at its original or full extent, all the great houses are not labeled. The labeling system is scale-sensitive, and most labels are only active when zoomed in at a larger scale. This reduces clutter and makes the map more readable. Also, the great houses of Pueblo Bonito and Una Vida are shown in yellow and not red, indicating the location of Chaco Canyon. No data are available for these sites.

The following are short descriptions of the various tools available to the user of Chacoan Great Houses:

Legend/Layer List

This function magnifies areas and allows the user to view areas in greater detail. When this button is selected, zooming in can be done by clicking on the main map. This will magnify an area by approximately 200%. Clicking and dragging a box around whatever feature or area the user wants to investigate more closely will provide a more controlled zoom. Note: zooming in on the smaller overview map will only move the viewing frame around and not magnify the main map.

This is the opposite function of "Zoom In," reversing any magnification done by zooming in. Note: When in this mode, you can quickly zoom out to the original map scale either by clicking on the "Zoom to Active Layer" button or by clicking-and-dragging a small box. It is also helpful to have the overview map turned on when zooming in, in order to have a better idea of the location and relative size of the area being viewed.

This function brings the main map to its original and full extent in one step.

When zooming in and out, this button brings the main map back to the previous extent. Note: Only the last extent will be remembered, not the last several extents.

This tool allows the user to reposition the view of the main map. After clicking on the "Pan" tool, place the cursor on the main map, and while keeping the left mouse button depressed, move the main map.

By using the "Hyperlink" tool, the user can click on a great house and directly access more detailed information about that great house. This information can include comments, references, maps, and images. Not all great houses have additional information available.

When the "Identify" tool is active, the user can click on a great house’s symbol to display detailed information in a tabular format. Available data include the site name(s) and number(s), architectural data, archaeological information, and a link in the right-most column for more detailed annotated information and maps.

The "Query" tool allows the user to conduct searches according to a variety of criteria. To build a query, first make the query tool active. This will display the query selection tools below the main map. When building a query, the user must at least input a field, an operator, and a value. The fields are located in the box displaying "Site Name" and the operators are located in the box displaying "=". By clicking on the arrow and activating the drop-down box, numerous choices for field and operator are made available. Clicking on the "Get Examples" button will list a sample of values available for the field the user has chosen. After the field, operator, and a value have been selected; press the "Add to Query String" button to build the query. Complicated queries can be built by using the additional operators in the gray box to the right. (The user can also build a query by typing directly into the space next to the "Add to Query String", but this increases the chances of syntax errors.)

An example of a query: SITE_NAME = "Tse Chizzi"

After the query is built, clicking on the "Execute" button will search the database. The data that fit the criteria of the query will then be displayed in a tabular format. At the same time, the great houses selected during the query will be highlighted in yellow on the main map. Clicking on the number preceding the great house name in the table will result in the map zooming into this structure.

The query tool is not at all forgiving. If you have trouble, a less precise but more flexible approach is to use the "Find" tool, described below.

The "Find" tool opens a dialog box below the main map that allows the user to search for great houses using any text string that appears in any of the variables. Once the text is entered, press return or the "Find String" button. The great houses found will be highlighted in yellow in the main map and a subset of the variables displayed below. The "Find" tool is useful if the exact name of a great house cannot be remembered, for typing in just a few letters of the name will display all great houses whose names contain those letters. For example, typing in "Las" will find "Las Ventanas". Typing in "Bu" will find "Burnt Corn", "Canyon Butte", and "Bee Burrow".

The "Measure" tool allows the user to conduct measurements of distance in kilometers on the main map. Measuring can be conducted when the main map is zoomed to any extent, and lines drawn can consist of many segments of varying lengths and directions. When the measure tool is active, two boxes are visible above the main map. The box on the right displays the length of the current segment being drawn. The left box displays the total length of all the segments drawn. When measuring distances, the lines are displayed on the main map. Clicking on the "Clear Selection" icon clears the map of any line segments drawn previously.

The "Buffer" tool displays a zone of specified distance around a selected great house. The buffer function can be structured to mark or highlight desired features within the buffer zone. When the buffer tool is active, a dialog box will be visible below the main map. In this dialog box, the user selects what features to highlight ("No Layer" may be selected if you just wish to display the buffer zone) and the distance from the selected great house(s) to be included in the buffer. Checking the "Display Attributes" box will display any tabular data associated with the features highlighted during the buffering. Clicking the "Clear Selection" button described below clears any buffers created. Note: The user must first select one or more great houses to be able to generate a buffer. Features highlighted in the buffer function are highlighted in red.

When this tool is active, one or more great houses can be selected by clicking and dragging a rectangle around them. The great houses will be highlighted in a yellow circle when they are selected and associated tabular data will be displayed below the main map.

The "Select by Line/Polygon" tool allows the user to select Great Houses more precisely than is possible with a rectangle. Clicking on the "Select by Line/Polygon" icon opens a dialog box below the main map. With the cursor, the user can plot polygon points, drawing segments around desired features. When the desired features are partially enclosed, pushing the "Complete Polygon & Select" button will connect the open ends and enclose the great houses. The enclosed features will then be highlighted and associated tabular data will be displayed below the main map. Pressing the "Restart Button" or the "Clear Selection" tool will clear any polygons drawn and features selected. The last point drawn can be erased by clicking on the "Delete Last Point" button.

Clicking on the "Clear Selection" icon clears the currently selected features or clears line segments drawn previously with the "Measure" tool. Features that were highlighted when selected will no longer be highlighted and the tabular data below the map will disappear.

Activate the "Print" tool when you wish to generate a printable version of the map that you have generated. When you click on the tool button, a window appears asking you to provide a name for your map. Upon clicking the "Create Print Page" button, a new window appears in which is displayed the title you chose, the map you generated, a small overview map showing your within the larger region, and an appropriate legend and scale. This new page can then be printed.