LESSON 3: Test the Capabilities of GeoServer
It's time to play with GeoServer and see some of the things it can do out-of-the-box.
Demos
Navigate to the Demo page of geoserver. Just head to http://localhost:8080/geoserver/demo.do.
Map Preview
This page shows you all of the existing layers that you have installed in GeoServer. If you click on the feture type name or on the Preview links on the right you will see a preview image of the layers. These preview pages are shown in a WMS/WFS client called MapBuilder that we have integrated into the Web UI of GeoServer.
WMS Example
This is a sample page written by Dave Blasby that allows you to add pictures to a map. If you hover over the little red and yellow dots on the map, you will see a thumbnail of the picture. If you then click on the picture, you will be taken to the full size picture.
This page is written in javascript and makes WMS calls to render the map, and WFS calls to display and interact with the pictures.
Sample Requests
Here you can test out many different calls to GeoServer, both WMS and WFS. To test them out, select a request from the drop down list and then hit the Change button. This will display the request in the window below. Then hit the Submit button to see the results of the request. It might be an image or it might be some scary XML, but it all means something.
Google Earth
GeoServer also serves up data to Google Earth! It can output both KML and KMZ formats.
We have built in a handy little "reflector" script that will make it as easy as possible to load data in Google Earth. The URL to use is as follows:
http://localhost:8080/geoserver/wms/kml_reflect?layers=topp:states
All you have to do is specify the layers you want to view with the layers variable.
You can also set up a Network Link in Google Earth that will request features based on the bounding box view. This is very handy. All you have to do is go into Google Earth, create a new Network Link (how to do so varies on the version of GE), use the URL: http://localhost:8080/geoserver/wms/kml_reflect?layers=topp:states and set the refresh parameters to be after camera stops.
