Toronto Maps – Help Guide

Toronto Maps is an internet mapping web application created for use by the general public. The interface provides a window to explore the geography of the city of Toronto, search for specific locations and retrieve detailed information about various geographic features within the City. The data presented within the application is provided by numerous stakeholders including City of Toronto divisions, agencies, boards and commissions.

All data presented is published from source systems of record and is curated with a focus on accuracy, currency, consistency, and completeness.

While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is presently no text-based alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding these maps, drawings or any other content, please contact us at gcc@toronto.ca

When you first bring up Toronto Maps, it displays a map of the entire City and its surrounding area. Toronto Maps is comprised of the following components, identified on the image below: Map Tools, Zoom Tools, Tool Panel, Address Search Bar, and the main Map window.

 

1. About icon, image of the letter i About: Provides general information on Toronto Maps application, including contact information.

2. Basemap gallery icon, showing 4 squares Basemap Gallery: Toronto Maps can have a street map, topographic, dark or light grey map for its background. Choose the background from the Basemap Gallery.

3. TO Maps Help Guide - Image Gallery Image Gallery: Toronto Maps can have imagery for its background. Choose between different years of imagery.

4. Feature filter icon, showing graphic of a list of items Feature Filter: You may choose to display information on the map from the Feature Filter. You can select one or more features, one or more years of Ortho imagery to display on the map. This tool is selected at start-up.

5. Legend icon, showing shapes (triangle, square, circle) with a line to depict text beside each shape Legend: Displays labels and symbols for layers in the map that are selected in the Feature Filter menu.

6. Spatial bookmark icon, image of a book Spatial Bookmark: Zooms to a particular ward or user-defined extent.

7. Measurement tool icon, image of a ruler Measurement: Set of measurement tools such as measuring an area, measuring a line, and locating a point.

8. Draw icon, image of painting pallet Draw: Allows you to draw lines, shapes, and insert text on your map. You can print your customized map.

9. Add data icon, image of a polygon with a plus symbol Add Data: You can add your own data to the map.

10. Near me icon, image of a map pin inside of a circle with dots scattered throughout Near Me: Allows you to pin a location on the map and set a buffer around the pin. The tool shows a list of the selected features within the buffer range and provides turn-by-turn directions to the selected feature.

11. Swipe icon, image of two rectangles with arrows Swipe: You can slide the swipe tool or move the mouse around to reveal the content of another layer.

12. Select icon, image of 3 polygons with one polygon highlighted Select: Allows you to select features by selecting by mouse from the map. Selected features can then be compared, exported or printed.

13. Share icon, image of map pin with lines extending outwards. Share: Allows you to share the app by posting it to your social media account or by sending an email with a link.

14. Print icon, image of a printer Print: This feature allows you to create printouts choosing from a variety of layouts and formats.

15. Help icon, image of a question mark User Guide: opens this help file.

Toronto Maps can have a street map, topography, light or dark grey map for its background. You may choose the background by clicking:

  1. Click on the Basemap Gallery button
  2. And then select from the list (i.e. Canada Light Grey Canvas)
    TO Maps Help Guide - Basemap Gallery
  3. The map will update with the selected basemap.

 

The Feature Filter allows you to check on and off layers on the map. It is also the place where you find the legend with names and symbols for all features. Map Layers are organized according to type and shown in separate tabs.

  1. Click on the different tabs (Boundaries, Getting Around, Public Services, Properties, Historic Maps) to access other layers that can be drawn on the map. You can choose to select a group of layers or individual layers. As well there are buttons to Unselect All layers from a tab or to Expand All to see all layers in the tab.Layers will be greyed out if they aren’t available at the current zoom level of the map.
  2. Once you zoom in on the map using the zoom tools or by mouse these layers will now be available for selection.
  3. Try clicking on “Tree Canopy” to draw this layer on the map.

 

Search Features

You can also search for layers at the top of the Feature Filter menu.

As you type in the search bar, a list of matching layers will be displayed.

When you select one of the layers from the list that layer will be selected in the Feature Filter menu and drawn on the map.

Reset Features

This button clears the selection of all features in all tabs and clears the map display.

Before

After

The Legend tool displays the legend information for all of the layers that have been selected in the Feature Filter tool.

Display of the Legend menu showing several layers listed along with their icons

If you have selected to display additional layers using the Feature Filter tool, these additional layers will be displayed in the Legend menu.

Toronto Maps provides default bookmarks for each ward and allows you to create custom ones to save the current map view.

To use a bookmark:

  1. Select the “Spatial Bookmark” tool.
  2. Select one of the pre-set bookmarks to zoom into the area [e.g. York Centre (6)]
    Display of the Spatial Bookmark menu listing ward names
  3. The Map will zoom into the selected bookmark

You can also add your customized bookmarks continuing with the following instructions:

  1. Zoom and Pan into the area of interest
  2. Click the “Add” button.
  3. Type a name for the new bookmark (e.g. City Hall in the example below)
    Display of the Spatial Bookmark menu listing ward names with the map zoomed to City Hall and a new bookmark being added called "City Hall"
  4. The new bookmark will be displayed at the bottom of the list
  5. To delete a bookmark, select it and then click the “X” button.

The next time that you open the “Spatial Bookmark” tool, this new bookmark will be available for use.

Measuring an Area

User will draw a polygon inside the map window and the area of the polygon will be calculated and its result will be shown inside the Measurement panel.

Display of Measurement tool for area measurement with numbers depicting the steps required to display an area measurement

 

  1. Select the Measurement tool.
  2. Select the Area icon.
  3. Click on the map to start measurement.
  4. Click the next vertex of the polygon.
  5. Click additional vertices of the polygon.
  6. Double click the last vertex to finish drawing.
  7. Read the Measurement result.

Measuring a Line

User will draw a line (or polyline) inside the map window and the length of the line will be calculated and its result will be shown inside the Measurement panel.

Display of Measurement tool for line measurement with numbers depicting the steps required to display an line measurement

 

  1. Select the Measurement tool.
  2. Select the Distance icon.
  3. Click the first point on the map.
  4. Double click the last point of the segment (note you can click other points to measure multiple segments).
  5. Read the Measurement result.

Locating a Point

User will draw a point inside the map window and the x and y of the point will be calculated and its result will be shown inside the Measurement panel.

Display of Measurement tool for location to depict the lat/long of a location on the map

 

  1. Select the Measurement tool.
  2. Select the Location icon.
  3. Select the coordinate format (Degrees or DMS – Degrees Minutes Seconds).
  4. Click a point on the map (coordinates will be displayed next the green pin icon).
  5. Moving your mouse on the map will show the coordinates of the location where you are pointing next to the arrow icon.

 

Personalize your map using Drawing tools like in the picture below. Drawings will be included when you use the print feature, so you can print personalized maps.

Display of the Draw menu along with the map and symbols labelled 1-8

 

  1. Select the “Draw” tool.
  2. Select the Polygon icon.
  3. Click points on the map to draw, double-click, when finished, drawing
  4. Select the Point icon.
  5. Select a symbol under Preview.
  6. Click on the map to drop the pin.
  7. Select the Text icon, and type text.
  8. Click on the map to drop the text box.

The “Add Data” tool enables you to add data to the map by entering map service URLs, or uploading local files. In this way, you can temporarily add layers to and remove layers from the map. The results can be printed, however, you can’t save the layers to the map.

  1. Select the “Add Data” tool
  2. Click on the “Sample URL(S)” link

Display of the Add Data menu with Sample URLs highlighted.

Copy an example URL (i.e. COT_SPEED_CAMERAS)

Display of the Add Data menu with the Sample URL for COT_SPEED_CAMERAS highlighted.

Paste this URL in the URL box.

Display of the Add Data menu with the URL field populated with the URL for COT_SPEED_CAMERAS and an arrow pointing at the Add button

 

Click the “Add” button

Display of the map with Automated Speed Camara points displayed and the popup menu showing details of one of the points

 

The Automated Speed Cameras are displayed on the map and can be selected to see the details of each location.

You can also add other types of services – such as kml

Select Type
->A KML File

Display of the Add Data menu showing the option to add a KML url

 

Alternatively, you can Add Data from a file

  1. Click on the “File” button
  2. Add a zipped Shape File (.zip), Comma Separated Values (.csv) or KML(.kml), GPX or Geo JSON file. This can be done by clicking on the “BROWSE” button or by simply selecting and dragging the file on top of the map display.

Display of the Add Data menu shown with "File" selected and a display of valid file types shown

Example of a simple .csv file (hotels.csv)
Display of the hotels.csv file shown in excel

Display of the map with hotel points shown and the popup menu showing details of one of the hotels

 

Once layer(s) have been added to the map they can be removed by using the “Layers” menu.

The “Layers” menu displays all layers that have been added to the map

TO Maps Help

Select the “Remove Layer” icon next to the layer to remove the layer from layer list and from the map display.

Result (Ambulance Service Facility – no longer visible):

Display of list of 2 layers that have been added using Add Data tool - after the first layer in the list was removed

 

  1. Choose the Select tool.
  2. Click on the layer(s) that you wish to select from (only those layers that have been turned on in the Feature Filter menu will be visible). See below screenshot.
    TO Maps Help - Select Tool
  3. Select Features on the map by clicking and pulling the mouse
    Display of the Select menu with 4 layers listed along with the map with a blue square covering part of the map with the instructions "Press down to start and let go to finish"
  4. The number of features selected is displayed in the Select menu.
  5. Select the “…” button to access additional tools
    Display of the Select menu with 4 layers listed with another menu of "Selection actions" shown with "Export to csv file" highlighted for the Schools layer

The selected features are exported to the .csv file which can be viewed and edited in Excel.

Display of select Schools in a .csv file shown in Excel

The Near Me tool allows you to enter a location and create a buffer area around the location. All features that have been selected in the “Feature Filter” that are found within the buffer distance will be listed in the menu (by default the buffer distance is 1000 metres).

  1. Select the Near Me tool
    Display of the Near Me menu
  2. Enter the location in the Search box and press the ENTER key. This can be an address (i.e. 18 Dyas Rd.), an intersection (i.e. Yonge and Bloor) or a place name (i.e. City Hall). Alternatively use the Set Location button to select a location on the map using the mouse.Display of the Near Me menu, with Address of 18 Dyas, North York in the Search box and the map shown with a circle and several schools shown inside of the circleThe map centres and zooms to the selected location.A buffered circle will draw on the map and all COVID-19 Resources that fall within this circle (1 km by default) will be listed in the menu.For each category, there is a count of the number of features. (i.e. there are 12 schools within the default buffer distance)
  3. You can limit or increase the search results by moving the slider bar on the menu – here it is increased to close to 4000 metres and the larger circle now shows 1 Hospital location in addition to the other features.

 

Click on Hospitals and the details of the Hospital(s) that fall within the buffer distance is shown.

TO Maps Help - Near Me Tool

 

The Name of the closest hospital is shown along with the approximate distance from the address that was entered in the search bar or the pin location that was selected on the map.

 

The Swipe Layer tool is used to interactively reveal layers beneath the layer being swiped. This tool makes it easy to see what is underneath a particular layer without having to turn it off in the table of contents.

  1. Select an imagery layer as the basemap (ie. 2021) from the Imagery gallery.
  2. Select layers in the Feature Filter (Building)
  3. Select the “Swipe” tool and select the layer to swipe (Building_Polygon)
  4. Use the swipe tool to show a “before and after” view of the Feature Filter layer on the left and the basemap on the right
  5. Zoom in to an area of interest (ie. Rogers Centre)
  6. Select another layer from the Feature Filter (Property_Parcel)
  7. Choose a second layer to swipe – both layers are swiped on and off as you move the vertical swipe line
  8. From the Feature filter – select the “Reset Features” button.
  9. Use the swipe tool to reveal what the shoreline used to look like in 1924 compared to present day.
    Select Historic Maps
    – 1924
    Select the Swipe tool

 

You can share your map via email, Twitter or Facebook.

  1. Choose the “Share” tool
    Display of the share menu
  2. Click on the “Email” button to share the link to Email.
  3. Alternatively, click on “Link Options” button
  4. Select desired options in the “Link Options” menu
    Display of the share menu show Link options and the item "Remember layers visibility" highlighed
  5. Click on the back arrow to return to the Share menu and then click the “Email” button to share the link to Email.
    Display of the share menu

Print allows you to export the current view of the map in different formats (e.g. PDF, PNG etc.…). The printout will also include all selected features, drawings, a title, and the legend.

To print your map:

  1. Select the Print tool
    Display of the default print Menu showing Map Title (Toronto Maps), Layout(A3 Landscape) and Format(PDF)
  2. Optionally change the Map title
  3. Click the Print button
    Display of the print Menu - preview of the print.
  4. Double Click on the new print document in the list to preview
    Display of the print Menu - preview of the print.
  5. Optionally, Click the drop-down button in the Layout field, and select the Layout from the list (e.g. A4 Landscape)
  6. Optionally, click on the drop-down button in the Format field, and select the Format from the list (e.g. PDF)
  7. Optionally, Click the Advanced button to customize Map Author and Copyright text
    Display of the print Menu - Advanced menu where the user can change Title, Layout and other features.

 

  1. Click on the Open Attribute Table button at the bottom of the map to display detailed tabular information for layers displayed on the map.Display of the map with an arrow pointing at the "Open Attribute Table" button at the bottom of the map
  2. The attribute information is displayed in table form with the attributes for the first layer displayed (Business Improvement Area)Attribute table shown with the tab "Business Improvement Area (BIA)" selected
  3. Click on the second tab in order to see the attributes for the second layer (City Ward)Attribute table shown with the second tab "City Ward" selected
  4. Select one of the records (i.e. Toronto-Danforth) by clicking in the left-most column of the attribute table, this highlights the record in the table and on the map.Attribute table show with one City Ward record highlighted - City Ward - Toronto-Danforth
  5. Select the Zoom to button to zoom to the selected feature on the map.Display of the map zoomed in to the feature selected in the attribute table - City Ward - Toronto-Danforth

Filter layer based on attribute value

  1. Click the Filter by Map Extent button. This selects all features in the layer and the total count of features is shown at the bottom of the menu. (i.e. 1194 Features)Attribute table shown with "Filter by map extent" highlighted and the number of features selected shown at the bottom of the men (1194 features)
  2. Select the Options button and select Filter.Options popup shown with Filter highlighted
  3. Select an attribute value from the pulldown list (i.e. SCHOOL_TYPE_DESC) and type in the Search value (i.e. Private).Filter menu shown with SCHOOL_TYPE_DESC is Private highlighted
  4. Click on the OK button.

The filter is applied to the attribute table and the map display. 318 of 1194 features where (SCHOOL_TYPE_DESC = Private) are displayed.

 

Only the Private schools are now displayed on the map.

Optionally, you can click Options and Show/Hide Columns to limit the columns of information shown in the attribute table.

When you add an additional layer to the map using the Feature Filter tool they will be displayed in the attribute table showing an additional tab (i.e. Subway Station)

Display of map and Feature Filter menu with Subway Station selected and drawn and an addition column "Subway Stop " shown in the attribute table

Alternatively, you can display a layer’s attributes by selecting the ellipses “…” button and View in Attribute Table from the popup menu for each layer.

Display of the map with the popup for Subway Stop shown and the elipse (…) menu selected and the "View in Attribute Table " option selected

Attribute table show with Subway Station tab selected

Version 3.3.0

December 12, 2024

  • Added 2023 imagery
  • Fix for Cycling Infrastructure legend
  • Added the TRCA Regulation Limit layer back
  • Displaying bylaw links for POPS where applicable
  • Fix for Road Restrictions – new classifications
  • Updated source for the Child Care Centre layer
  • Enabled tracking of statistics

 

Version 3.2.0

June 21, 2024

  • Property Parcel – update to remove corridors
  • Fix for Canada Imagery Hybrid basemap for streets and address labels
  • Removal of the TRCA Regulation Limit layer
  • Fixes for incorrect “Data Info” links

 

Version 3.1.0

August 18, 2023

  • Added the 1856 Etobicoke historic map
  • Fix for Tree Canopy to show the correct neighbourhood information
  • Added link to Help menu to show Attribute Table help
  • Fix for missing Heritage districts
  • Fire Service Facility – display station name in popup menu
  • Various Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) fixes

 

Version 3.0

April 2023

New version of Toronto Maps (v3.0) with updated functionality, additional data layers and improved mobile capabilities.

  • Searchable Feature Filter
  • Interchangeable Basemaps
  • Add Data Tool
  • Near Me Tool
  • Swipe Tool
  • Historic Imagery