The registered user on WINS has the possibility to share layers and documents on the platform and to make them available to everyone. In this section, we will see how to:

• Upload a layer or a document on WINS
• Fill the metadata of an uploaded layer or document
• Change the style of an uploaded layer
• Set the permissions of an uploaded layer or document

II.1. Uploading a layer

Before uploading a layer on WINS, you have to configure it on a GIS software. We recommend the use of the free and open-source software QGIS (Downloadable here). Other GIS softwares can also be used.

II.1.a. Creating a SLD file for the layer using QGIS

In order to upload a layer, you first need to create and save the file that will code the style of the layer in a SLD file. To do so, open your layer in a QGIS. For a vector layer, go to Layer properties and click on the Style tab. On the bottom left, click on Style then Save the style and SLD Format (Figure 24). For a raster layer, use the plug-in SLD4Raster to create a SLD file.

Your layer is now ready to be uploaded on WINS.

II.1.b. Uploading a layer on WINS

Once on the Layers page, click on the blue button Upload layers on the top right corner of the page. On the Upload layers page, you can either drag and drop the files that compose your layer from a folder to the Drop files here box, or search for them in your folders by clicking on Choose Files and then selecting them (Figure 25). For a vector layer, the following files should be uploaded: .dbf, .prj, .shp, .shx. For a raster layer, only the .tif file needs to be uploaded.

Once your files are selected, they appear on the page and can be deleted individually (by clicking on the Remove link on the right of each file) or all at once (by clicking on the Clear button on the bottom left of the page).

Unless the layer contains Latin lettering with accents, it is preferable to let the default charset (UTF 8/Unicode).

To upload the chosen files, click on Upload files. Once the upload is done, a new page appears (Figure 26).

Once the files are uploaded, you have to upload the layer's style file (.sld file), which has been previously set with the GIS software. To do so, click on Upload SLD (Figure 27).

As previously, you can drag and drop the SLD file on the Drop files here box or retrieve it from a folder on your computer by clicking on Choose Files. Once the file is selected, click on the red button Upload files. Once the SDL file is uploaded, click on the green button Layer Info. Your layer appears in a new page: it is now on the platform.

/!\ The map legend may not be displayed at first. In this case, simultaneously press Ctrl and F5 keys to refresh the page and make it appear. /!\

II.1.c. Editing the uploaded layer

The information of the layer are not yet completed. In order to finalize the layer, go to Edit Layer (Figure 28).

The pop-up window gives you several options (Figure 29).

Through the Edit Layer window, you can:

• Edit the Metadata of the layer. The metadata contains all the information related to the layer: they are the layer's ID card. They provide essential information for its identification and its comprehension. Metadata also make the layer more easily retrievable though search by other users. To edit the metadata you can use:
• The Wizard, which provides a step-by-step, guided editing;
• The Advanced Edit, for confirmed contributors. It offers the same possibilities than the Wizard, but in a non-guided way;
• The Upload Metadata, to upload pre-written metadata in .xml format;
• Editing the layer Styles with:
• Edit, to change some elements of the legend (title, color, opacity, etc.), add some entries or delete them;
• Upload, to upload a new style (.sld file) and associate it to the layer;
• Manage, to define the default style;
• Editing the Thumbnail, which is the reduced-size picture of the layer that will be featured in the layer list, with:
• Set, to define the thumbnail;
• Replacing or removing the Layer with:
• Replace, to replace the current layer by importing a new one. By doing so, already provided metadata will be kept;
• Remove, to delete the layer and suppress it from WINS.

In order to complete the metadata, open the Wizard by clicking on Edit Layer then on Wizard. A new page opens (Figure 30):

Two progression bars on this page let the user know about the advancement level of the metadata completion. Editing a layer's metadata is done in four steps (Basic Metadata, Location and Licenses, Optionnal Metadata and Dataset Attributes). The first two steps are mandatory (no layer will be published if information required on those two pages are not provided) whereas the next two are optional:

• On the Basic Metadata page, the essential information have to be filled:
• The Thumbnail of the layer that will be displayed on the Layers list page can be changed by clicking on Edit then dragging and zooming on the layer to select which portion will be displayed. To save the thumbnail, click on Save;
• The Title of the layer, which should be clear and understandable ;
• An Abstract on the layer;
• The Edition to indicate the source of the layer;
• The Keywords, which should be chosen within the available list. The contributor search for available keywords by clicking on the searching bar, or on the folder logo representing, or by entering the first letters of the desired word. Key-words should be relevant to the imported layer;
• The Category in which the layer belongs;
• The Group to which the layer is linked.

Once all the fields are filled, click on the blue button Next >> in the bottom right corner of the page (Figure 31).

• On the Location and Licenses page, the following information should be filled:
• The Language of the layer;
• The Temporal extent start and the Temporal extent end, which defines the time period that is covered by the data;
• The Region, which informs on the spatial extent of the layer. Proposed extents cover the following scales: global, continental, regional, national;
• Potential Restrictions to sharing the layer should be provided in the Restrictions box.

Once all the fields are completed, click on the blue button Next >> on the bottom right corner of the page (Figure 32).

• On the Optional Metadata page, complementary information can be added:
• The Purpose of the layer and its objectives;
• Any Supplemental information that can provide a better understanding of the uploaded layer;
• The Maintenance frequency of the data set;
• The Spatial representation used;
• A Data quality statement to highlight any relevant elements of the data and layer.
• The DOI (for Digital Object Identifier): a unique number that identifies resource uploaded on WINS. The WINS Administrator will fill in the DOI, after an ultimate validation of the layer and before its publication on the platform.

Once the fields are completed, click on the blue button Next >> on the bottom right corner of the page (Figure 33).

• The Dataset Attributes page presents various information about the dataset within the layer:
• The Attribute column displays the title of all the fields available, as in the attribute table of the layer;
• The Label column provides fields to fill in order to indicate the full-length title corresponding to each attribute. It is essential to fill this column to help users fully understand what information is contained in the layer;
• The Description column allows to add details for each attribute;
• The Display Order can be changed by the user through the eponymous column.

Once all those information are completed, click on the blue button Update in the bottom right corner, then click on the green button Done! in the top right corner to save the changes made. You are redirected to the layer page. Complete metadata are now available below the Viewer.

II.1.c.ii. Editing the layer style

WINS offers several tools to edit the style of a layer and its legend entries, i.e. change colors, display, add labels, filters, etc.

Via Edit Layer, you can access the Edit tool under the Styles tab (Figure 34). You can also access the Style Edition menu by directly clicking on the paint brush icon above the viewer.

Through this pop-up window, under the Rules section, it is possible to add legend entries (by clicking on Add)and to delete a legend entry (by selecting an existing entry, and then clicking on Remove). You can also duplicate a legend entry by selecting it and clicking on Duplicate.

To edit a selected legend entry, click on Edit: a new pop-up window appears. The first tab of this window, Basic, allows to edit the color, the opacity and the stroke (Figure 35).

With the second tab, Labels, it is possible to add, set and edit labels for each legend entries. To do so, check the Label Features box (Figure 36) and configure it as you wish.

Finally, the Advanced tab allows to edit the display of a legend entry through a filter by scale and filters by conditions.

You can save or cancel your changes by clicking on the Save and Cancel buttons in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.

The Change Layer Permissions button at the bottom right of the page (Figure 37) allows to set up who can:

• View the layer;
• Download it;
• Edit its metadata;
• Edit its data;
• Edit the style of the layer;
• Manage it (update, delete, change permissions).

WINS encourages to publicly share and make available for download information uploaded on the platform. By default, anyone can see and download a layer. However, the layer responsible can choose to limit access to the layer to some contributors and/or groups.

It is recommended that editing of metadata, editing of data, editing of style, and management of a layer, remain with the responsible of the layer, i.e. the contributor who uploaded it and who has those permissions by default.

Once the permissions are set, click Apply changes to save them.

II.2. Uploading a document

WINS allow to share reports, conceptual notes, posters, spreadsheets, etc. A wide range of documents file can be hosted on the platform, including text files (.doc, .docx, .txt, .odt), spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx, .ods), presentations, (.ppt, .pptx, .odp), images (.gif, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff), PDF, zip files (.rar, .zip, .gz), SLD, XML or QML files.

II.2.a. Uploading a document

In order to upload a document on WINS, click on Documents Documents in the menu bar in the header. Then, click on the blue button Upload documents on the top corner right of the page. On the new page that opens, you can upload a document by selecting it from your files or by entering a URL address if the document is stored on the internet.

You can also indicated if the document is linked to one or several layers already published on WINS.

Once the document is selected or the URL is filled, click on the red button Upload on the bottom of the page (Figure 38).

II.2.b. Filling the document's metadata

On the new page, you can fill the metadata of the document. Metadata contains all the information related to the document: they are its ID card. They provide essential information for its identification and its comprehension. Metadata also make the document more easily retrievable through search by other users.

Editing a document's metadata is done in three steps (Basic Metadata, Location and Licenses, Optionnal Metadata). The first two steps are mandatory (no document will be published if information required on those two pages are not provided) whereas the last one is optional:

• On the Basic Metadata page, the essential information have to be filled:
• The Title of the document, which should be clear and understandable ;
• An Abstract on the document;
• The Edition to indicate the reference or source of the document;
• The Keywords, which should be chosen within the available list. The contributor search for available keywords by clicking on the searching bar, or on the folder logo representing, or by entering the first letters of the desired word. Key-words should be relevant to the imported document;
• The Category in which the document belongs;
• The Group to which the document is linked.

Once all the fields are filled, click on the blue button Next >> in the bottom right corner of the page (Figure 39).

• On the Location and Licenses page, the following information should be filled:
• The Language of the document;
• The Temporal extent start and the Temporal extent end, which defines the time period that is covered by the document;
• The Region, which informs on the spatial extent covered by the document. Proposed extents cover the following scales: global, continental, regional, national;
• Potential Restrictions to sharing the document should be provided in the Restrictions box.

Once all the fields are complete, click on the blue button Next >> on the bottom right corner of the page.

• One the Optional Metadata page, complementary information can be added:
• The Purpose of the document and its objectives;
• Any Supplemental information that can provide a better understanding of the uploaded document;
• The Maintenance frequency of the document;
• The Spatial representation used;
• A Data quality statement to highlight any relevant elements of the data and document.
• The DOI (for Digital Object Identifier): a unique number that identifies resource uploaded on WINS. The WINS Administrator will fill in the DOI, after an ultimate validation of the document and before its publication on the platform.

Once the fields are completed, click on the blue button Update on the bottom right corner of the page, then on the green button Done!on the top right corner to save the changes made. You are redirected to the document page, where the complete metadata are now available.

II.2.c. Saving the document's thumbnail

In order to save the thumbnail that will be displayed in the document list, click on the blue button Edit document, then on Set (under the Thumbnail). On the new page, chose the image that will illustrate your document. You can either drag it and drop it in the Drop files here box or selecting from your folders by clicking on Choose files (Figure 40). Once this done, click on the red button Upload files. The thumbnail has been successfully uploaded: you can see it by coming back on the document list.

II.2.d. Changing the document's permissions

WINS encourages to publicly share and make available for download information uploaded on the platform. By default, anyone can see and download a document. However, the document responsible can choose to limit access to the document to some contributors and/or groups.

The Change Document Permissions button at the bottom right of the page (Figure 37) allows to set up who can:

• View the document;
• Download it;
• Edit its metadata;
• Manage it (update, delete, change permissions).

It is recommended that editing of metadata and management of a document, remain with the responsible of the document, i.e. the contributor who uploaded it and who has those permissions by default.

Once the permissions are set, click Apply changes to save them.