A Word About Scale Dependency

The Pitt County Online Parcel Information System is comprised of 14 different layers of data. Therefore, displaying all these layers at one time is confusing to the user and ineffective in conveying pertinent information. A View Selector (explained below) is used to organize the different layers of information. The layers shown within the View Selector are also scale dependent. This means that some of the layers are not turned on until the user is zoomed in to the appropriate scale. If the user changes the View Selector and nothing happens in the Main Map Display, the user simply needs to zoom in to the appropriate scale in order to view the layer. A good example is the Soils View. Showing the location of a soil type is ineffectual if the user cannot determine the general extent of the soil type because the detail displayed on the map is too small.