Accessing OS NGD API – Tiles via Leaflet
Leaflet is an open-source JavaScript library for displaying interactive maps on the web or mobile. A simple and lightweight library that will enable you to display and visualise location data and build dynamic applications.
OS NGD API – Tiles added to an API project in the OS Data Hub with an API Key.
A text editor like Visual Studio Code or Notepad to edit and save your HTML and JavaScript files.
Create a new HTML file with a text editor (for example, Notepad, Visual Studio Code).
Add the basic HTML structure to your file with a placeholder <div>
for the map.
To enable access to OS APIs an API Key is required. Inside the <script>
tag, add a variable called apiKey
, replacing 'INSERT_API_KEY_HERE'
with the API Key from your project.
Inside the <script>
tag, add another variable called collectionId
with the collection ID for the OS NGD API – Tiles basemap – ngd-base
.
We need to intercept and customise the style request, adding a tiles property to provide a correctly formatted URL and ensure authentication through the apiKey
is enabled to make sure that the correct tiles are requested.
Add the following code inside the JavaScript block:
Initialize the map object using the L.Map
class to configure the vector tile layer and the mapOptions
variable to define its properties – minZoom
, maxZoom
, maxBounds
, center
and zoom
.
The above code creates the main map instance using the Leaflet library where you can specify various properties:
minZoom
and maxZoom
: Sets the minimum and maximum zoom level for the map. Users will not be able to go beyond these levels.
maxBounds
: Defines the maximum bounds and restricts panning the map.
center
: Sets the initial centre point of the map.
zoom
: Sets the initial zoom level of the map.
Congratulations! You've successfully created a vector map using Leaflet using OS NGD API – Tiles in a few steps.
Now you can continue to explore Ordnance Survey's code examples to learn more about advanced features and functionality, such as adding markers, pop-ups, and additional layers.
The following sub-sections provide step-by-step instructions on how to access OS NGD data via OS NGD API – Tiles in various web mapping libraries:
Accessing OS NGD API – Tiles via OpenLayers
OpenLayers is a free and open-source JavaScript library for displaying interactive maps on the web. It is a powerful tool that can be used to create a wide variety of map-based applications, from simple web maps to complex GIS applications.
OpenLayers is easy to use and can be integrated with a variety of other web development frameworks.
OS NGD API – Tiles added to an API project in the OS Data Hub with an API Key.
A text editor like Visual Studio Code or Notepad to edit and save your HTML and JavaScript files.
Create a new HTML file with a text editor (for example, Notepad, Visual Studio Code).
Add the basic HTML structure to your file with a placeholder <div>
for the map.
To enable access to OS APIs an API Key is required. Inside the <script>
tag, add a variable called apiKey
, replacing 'INSERT_API_KEY_HERE'
with the API Key from your project.
Inside the <script>
tag, add another variable called collectionId
with the collection ID for the OS NGD API – Tiles basemap – ngd-base
.
To correctly render the vector tiles within OpenLayers, you will need to fetch
the defined EPSG:3857 Tile Matrix Set and style definitions from the OS NGD API – Tiles service. The two endpoints provide information about the structure of the vector tiles and how the styles are to be applied.
A promise.all
is used to process the data to ensure that both requests are completed before proceeding.
Based on the fetched Tile Matrix Set data, a tile grid is defined using the ol.tilegrid.TileGrid class. The tile grid provides information about the resolution, origin and tile sizes to handle the vector tiles correctly.
Add the following code inside the JavaScript block:
Define the a new vector tiles layer and source that will be used to fetch vector tiles from OS NGD API – Tiles. The ol.layer.VectorTile
uses a ol.source.OGCVectorTile
source to retrieve tiles from the API.
After creating the vector layer, you will need to use a style function to ensure that the Ordnance Survey styles are applied to each tile. Use the olms.applyStyle
function to retrieve the style sheets available for the basemap.
Initialize the map object using the ol.map
class to configure the vector tile layer and define its properties – target
, layers
and view
.
The above code creates the main map instance using the OpenLayers library where you can specify various properties:
target
: Defines where the map should be displayed. In this instance it is set to the ID
of the <div>
element.
layers
: An array containing the layers to be added to the map.
view
: Defines the initial view of the main, containing various settings such as projection, extent (the geographic bounds of the map), minimum and maximum zoom levels, centre of the map and the initial zoom level.
Congratulations! You've successfully created a vector map using OpenLayers using OS NGD API – Tiles in a few steps.
Now you can continue to explore Ordnance Survey's code examples to learn more about advanced features and functionality, such as adding markers, pop-ups, and additional layers.
Accessing OS NGD API – Tiles via MapLibre GL JS
MapLibre GL JS is a free and powerful JavaScript library for displaying interactive maps on the web. It's based on Mapbox GL JS and provides a wide range of features for creating maps with custom styles, markers and interactivity.
OS NGD API – Tiles added to an API project in the OS Data Hub with an API Key.
A text editor like Visual Studio Code or Notepad to edit and save your HTML and JavaScript files.
Create a new HTML file with a text editor (for example, Notepad, Visual Studio Code).
Add the basic HTML structure to your file with a placeholder <div>
for the map.
To enable access to OS APIs an API Key is required. Inside the <script>
tag, add a variable called apiKey
, replacing 'INSERT_API_KEY_HERE'
with the API Key from your project.
Inside the <script>
tag, add another variable called collectionId
with the collection ID for the OS NGD API – Tiles basemap – ngd-base
.
We need to intercept and customise the style request, adding a tiles
property to provide a correctly formatted URL and ensuring authentication through the apiKey
is enabled to make sure that the correct tiles are requested.
Add the following code inside the JavaScript block:
Initialise the map object using the maplibregl.Map
class to configure the vector tile layer and define its properties – container
, minZoom
, maxZoom
, maxBounds
, style
, center
and zoom
.
Add navigation controls to the map, excluding the compass button and disabling map rotation.
The above code creates the main map instance using the MapLibre GL JS library where you can specify various properties:
container
: Defines where the map should be displayed. In this instance, it is set to the ID
of the <div>
element.
minZoom
and maxZoom
: Sets the minimum and maximum zoom level for the map. Users will not be able to go beyond these levels.
maxBounds
: Defines the maximum bounds and restricts panning the map.
style
: Defines the style of the map, configured via a URL pointing at the default style for the 'collectionId
' defined.
center
: Sets the initial centre point of the map.
zoom
: Sets the initial zoom level of the map.
Congratulations! You've successfully created a vector map using MapLibre GL JS using OS NGD API – Tiles in a few steps.
Now you can continue to explore Ordnance Survey's code examples to learn more about advanced features and functionality, such as adding markers, pop-ups, and additional layers.