Zoom

Zoom or Zooming is a basic feature of interactive maps. On the upper left side of Wikimapia's display is a set of boxes with arrows (for scrolling), and below that is a slide bar with a plus symbol [+] at the top and a minus symbol [-] at the bottom. By clicking on the plus symbol [+], you can magnify the view by a factor of two. By clicking on the minus symbol [-], you can pull out by a factor of two.

If you want to jump to a higher or lower zoom level faster, you can click directly on the hatch marks on the slide bar. If your mouse has a mouse wheel, you can also zoom in and out with it; unlike the slide bar, which zooms in and out from the cross hair at center of the screen, zooming with the mouse wheel is centered on your cursor. Double-clicking on the map only re-centers the map on that point, unlike Google's interface, where double-clicking zooms in.

Zoom level

Wikimapia follows Google's zoom system, which runs from zoom level 0, which is so far out that the world appears multiple times, to zoom level 23, which is so close one can make out individual tree leaves. The zoom level or zoom number is displayed in the url (the web address) at the top of your browser. For example, in this view of the city of Antalya in Turkey, your url should read http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=36.8835339&lon=30.6899643&z=13&l=0&m=a. After the latitude and longitude numbers, the zoom level is given after z= (in this example, z=13).
Place polygons appear(glow yellow) on mouse-over, only if the zoom level is low enough to allow the entire polygon (rectangle in the old wikimapia) to fit in a full screen window, even if only a part of it is showing at the edge of the screen. So if a place does not glow on mouse-over, you might need to zoom-out.

Scale

Google's "Satellite view" is a patchwork of satellite photographs of varying quality, and, at the closer zoom levels, a mosaic of photographs taken from airplanes (aerial photos). As you zoom in or out, the datafile you are viewing is chosen to minimize the graininess or blurriness of the image. If the image would be too blurry, Google simply does not display it, and, since Wikimapia is using Google's images, neither does Wikimapia. If an aerial photo is available, Google typically switches from the true satellite photo to the aerial photo at zoom level 12 or 13. If no aerial photo is available, Google typically allows you to see the image to zoom level 14. In most areas with aerial photos, one can see an image at zoom level 18 or 19.

In some areas, typically large cities, higher zoom levels than 19 are available. The slide bar, however, usually only has hatch marks up to 19. Clicking on the [+] does not zoom any further either. Even so, other methods are available to zoom in. The most reliable is to zoom in as close as possible, go to the 'Map type' menu, select 'Google hybrid' or 'Google satellite', and then go back to (Wikimapia's) 'Satellite' view. If there are higher zoom levels available, an extra hatch mark or two will appear on the slide bar. (Even more zooming is possible in Map view; although there usually will not be an image, you can see or create very fine details on polygons.) Then you may zoom in using the regular methods described above.

Examples

• Here in the farmlands of Illinois, you can seen the join of a satellite photo and an aerial photo at zoom level 14. For reference, the squares of farmland are one mile (1.6 km) on a side. If you zoom in to 18, you can see quite a bit of detail in the aerial, and even get an idea of how blurry the satellite view would be if Google allowed zooming to 18 on a satellite photograph. If you zoom in any closer, the map goes blank. These two zoom resolution maxima represent the vast majority of imaging found throughout the land area of the world.
• Here in Quebec City at zoom level 19 one can see traffic cones around a cherry-picker, with a couple of workers standing around. Try zooming in further using the map-switching or mouse wheel methods; you should be able to get to zoom level 21 on the same scene.
• A very few places on Earth are available at zoom level 23; here you make out details on individual elephants running through grass in the plains of Chad.