Search TipsCreate a SIS Workspace Definition (SWD)
What is an SWD?
An SWD is simply a collection of Overlays available in a single file. A carefully built SWD is crucial for optimum performance.
TIP: See our SIS Desktop Help 
for more on SWDs.
When building an SWD:
- Ensure data is optimized for speed of access and therefore display. This may involve pre-processing data or using a different format for improved performance. We recommend using databases within your SWD.
- Define each Overlay as either Hittable (Data Layer) or Visible (Base Layer). This will determine if the user can turn the Overlays on or off.
- Enable hittable Overlays with attributes that are suitable for display.
- Assign an easy, descriptive name to each hittable Overlay.
- Ideally create separate SWDs for each base mapping layer you need- this translates into Maps with fewer layers and is preferable to a single SWD with everything included. There is always a performance overhead in displaying layers, even if they are not displayed in the Map at all times.
- Structure the schema of each layer to reflect the information you want to display.
Note: Although GeognoSIS can handle raw GIS data files we recommend using SWDs as they are customisable and can hold multiple layers.