[Mapserver-users] Using a polygon instead of a bounding box?

[Timothy Rupe]

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:17:11 -0500, Jerl Simpson <jerl.simpson at rkiq.com> wrote:
> Would it not work to create a layer with the better data and have it's
> maxscale set?  It would have to overlay the other data.  And since it
> overlays, if it's an opaque polygon, it will cover the other data.

I just realized that when talking about "local" data, I probably gave
the impression of data files "local" on the server.  I meant to
describe data that is local to regional boundaries like counties. 
These are the more accurate data sources that I spoke of.

My main issue is that I don't have control of the county data.  I can
make a static copy of it for my own uses, but I need the data to be
"live".  For example, counties host their own data, but it extends
somewhat outside of their boarders.  This means two counties sitting
side-by-side will have overlapping data, and I want to prevent that
from happening.  If I can pull data from each one, and limit it to a
bounding polygon describing their boarders, I could paste them all
together into one "patchwork quilt".

I know that graphically, it would be possible to create a mask based
on the bounding polygon, and apply it to a county's data to create a
transparent area.  Apply this method for each county in the map, then
merge all county layers on top of the national data to create one
complete image.  This would require an outside program, and I would
like to avoid doing that if possible.

- Tim Rupe