Service Area Editor Overview

Service Area Editor (SAE) is used to view, create, maintain, and edit a service area. This is an important part of your Texas811 membership. At a minimum, members are required to update their map when new facilities are acquired or installed outside of their current service area. This allows us to keep a record of the area(s) in which you operate so we can accurately distribute locate tickets.

For assistance, please contact our GIS department at gis@help.texas811.org or 888-771-1877 option 3.

SAE can be accessed at https://txgc.texas811.org/ui. SAE is most compatible with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Accessing SAE requires an active Texas811 Portal account. If you do not have a Portal account, please use the Sign-Up option within the application.
To register for access to Service Area Editor, please submit the following registration form. Service Area Editor Registration
Editing your data within the application requires a short training session. If you would like editor access, please submit a request to gis@help.texas811.org.

Definitions

Service Area – Area(s) in which you have reported having underground facilities.
Published – The published version of your service area is the version that is live in the system (Production) and used to determine if a ticket will be generated for your company.
Current Service Area – The current version of your service area is a copy of your “Published” service area that you can make edits to. This version includes areas that are not in Production. You will not receive a ticket for these areas until they have been published.
Code – Dispatch code assigned to you by Texas811. This code is used to identify and manage your company’s service area and contact information.

SAE Tools Quick Reference Guide

Session

o Default tab that gives you access to different session-related tools and menus.

Find

o Allows to find a county, place, or zoom to a specific street or address.

History

o Allows you to view the history for any searches, sketches, and edits that you have performed.

Turn Off/On Reference Layer Visibility

o Allows you to turn your service area layer off and on.

Show Published

o When checked displays a read-only copy of the published service area on top of the current service area for the selected dispatch code.

Map Tools are located above the map in the right-hand corner.

Zoom Slider

Located in the upper right-hand corner of the map. To zoom in, select the circle and drag to the left. To zoom out, drag to the right. The scroll feature on your mouse will also zoom you in and out of the map.

Pan the map

This tool allows you to move the map in any direction. Select and drag the map in the direction you want to move it

Identify map features

This tool will provide the location's County, Place, Streets, and Parcel/address (if available). Click anywhere within the map for results.

Measure on the map

This tool allows you to draw a type of measurement on the map. Single click the area on the map where you wish to begin measuring, continuing to single click along them ap until you read the end of the area being measured. Double click to end measuring. If you have clicked on a point in error, use Ctrl+Z to undo or the Escape key to cancel. Click on the white X in the measurement box to remove a measurement from the map. Measurements are session specific and will not persist.

Draw a line on the map

This tool allows you to draw a line geometry. When drawing a line, double click to end your drawing.

Draw a Polygon on the map

This tool allows you to draw a shape geometry. When drawing a polygon, double click to end your drawing.

Draw a Circle on the map

This tool allows you to draw a circle geometry.

Download Service Area

This tool allows you to download a zipped Shapefile or GeoJSON file of your service area.

Zoom to Extent,

This tool adjusts the map to show the full extent of your service area. If the current and published layers are depicted, the tool will zoom to the combined extent to allow for edit review.

Zoom to Point

This tool will allow you to enter a GPS Coordinate in Decimal Degree format (i.e., Lat 32.9965 Long:-96.6976) to zoom to a location. For accuracy it is recommended to use 4-5 decimal places in your entry. You can set an optional label on the point location.

Map Layers

This tool allows you to view alternate map layers for additional base map information.

Refresh Map

The tool will refresh the map at any point.

Accessing Service Area Editor

Click Login at the top right of the Dashboard.

Click on Sign Out to sign out of the application as needed.

While Themes are configured, we recommend utilizing the Default theme.

Viewing Service Area

Click on the Service Area Editor to start your viewer session. You will be presented with the full map view. Select a code from the drop-down to view the service area codes assigned to you. Users will only have access to codes for their organization, as requested and confirmed with Texas811 staff. If you cannot see Service Area Editor or cannot view the appropriate codes, please contact the GIS team at Texas811 to have your account configured.

The system will begin processing your request and display Loading as the service area record is returned. When the service area is returned, the map will be updated to zoom to the extent of the code requested. The service area coverage will be displayed in transparent blue on the map. This coverage represents the service area with any pending (unpublished) edits.

Clicking on Show Published will display an additional overlay of the service area in transparent gold. This represents the coverage that is live in the application for ticketing purposes.

Select the Find tab to search for a particular County, Place, and Address. Select the County and Place from the drop-down menu and enter an address, if applicable.

Downloading Service Area

Current Service Area – Includes all submitted edits.

As a GeoJSON file the current service area will download using the naming convention sa-[code]-[yyyy-mm-dd].geojson.
As an Esri Shapefile the current service area will download as a zipped file with an included folder with the naming convention of sa-[code]-[yyyy-mm-dd-h-m-s].zip.

Published Service Area – Includes coverage area that is active in Texas811 ticketing.

As a GeoJSON file the published service area will download using the naming convention sa_pub_[code]_[yyyy-mm-dd].geojson.
As an Esri Shapefile the current service area will download as a download.zipped with an included folder with the naming convention of sa-pub-[code]_[yyyy-mm-dd-h-m-s].zip.

GeoJSON files can be used and converted with most major GIS applications. For QGIS, compatibility may require a plugin. For ArcGIS compatibility you will need the Data Interoperability Extension in Desktop, or the JSON to Features tool in ArcGIS Pro.

Importing GEOJSON or Shapefiles into Google Earth

Open Google Earth Pro

Go to File -> Open

Select file type as All Files (*.*)

Click ‘Open’

Converting GeoJSON and Shapefiles using Mapshaper

https://mapshaper.org

mapshaper

Drop, paste, or select file from folder

Select Import

Select Export in the upper right-hand corner.

Export mapping in preferred mapping format.

Converting GeoJSON and Shapefiles using QGIS

Weblink for the QGIS download options webpage: https://www.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html

In QGIS, load the GeoJSON file into the Layers Panel.

Right Click ->Save As

Select your preferred format from the Format dropdown list, browse and rename your file into your preferred folder, and select OK.

NOTE: Google Earth files are referred to as “Keyhole Markup Language [KML]”.

The file conversion is completed and is ready to be used in your preferred mapping application.

Converting GeoJSON files into Esri Shapefiles using ArcGIS Pro:

Select Analysis ->Tools

Type GeoJSON in the search and select JSON to Features. Browse to your GeoJSON file.

Select your preferred output location and file name, choose Geometry Type: Polygon, and click Run.