Datastore
The Datastore is where your GIS items live in ALIGN. Every layer you import or create, every web map you save and every web app you build is kept here as a typed item, in open formats, and is available from both the Map Builder and the App Builder.
Open it from Datastore in the dashboard, or from the left rail of the Map Builder when you are working on a map.
Open, cloud-native formats
Section titled “Open, cloud-native formats”Your data is kept in open formats built for the cloud: PMTiles for tiles, Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) for rasters, GeoParquet and FlatGeobuf for vectors. No proprietary format and no lock-in. You can download your items and use them anywhere.
What the Datastore holds
Section titled “What the Datastore holds”| Type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Layers | Vector and raster data, either stored as a file or referenced from a service. |
| Web maps | The maps you save in the Map Builder. |
| Web apps | The applications you build in the App Builder. |
| Files | Documents and data kept alongside your GIS items. |
Web-service items (XYZ, WMS, WMTS, WFS, OGC API, ArcGIS, GeoRSS) are stored as a reference, not a file, so they stay in sync with their source. A reference has no file to download.
Finding your way around
Section titled “Finding your way around”The listing is a table, with the filter chips All, Layers, Web maps, Web apps and Files above it. Sort by any column, search by name, and select several items at once with the checkboxes.
The left rail groups your items by where they come from:
- My Datastore, what you created, with your folder tree.
- Organization, the items other members share with you.
- One entry per group you belong to, with the items shared with that group.
- Favorites, the items you starred. Starring is personal: it changes nothing for anyone else.
Every section has its own folder tree. Create folders and drag items into them to organize your work.
Further down the rail, a Published block opens OGC services, what your organization exposes to other GIS software, and the tail of the rail holds your Exports and the Bin.
The page of an item
Section titled “The page of an item”Click a row to open the item’s own page: its name and description, its properties, its metadata sheet, what depends on it, and its sharing. See The page of an item.
Uploads keep their format
Section titled “Uploads keep their format”When you import a local file, ALIGN keeps your original:
- cloud-native files (FlatGeobuf, GeoParquet) are stored as they are,
- other formats (GPX, KML, CSV, GeoPackage, zipped Shapefile) are kept in their original form alongside a ready-to-render copy.
Your source file is never silently discarded or converted behind your back.
Web maps
Section titled “Web maps”A web map you save in the Map Builder is a Datastore item like any other. Open it from the Datastore to pick your work back up. See Web maps.
Exporting several items at once
Section titled “Exporting several items at once”Select items in the Datastore and choose Export. Before anything leaves, ALIGN tells you what will be exported, what will not (web apps are never exported: duplicate the project or push it to GitHub; service references have no file), and what the export draws on your organization’s monthly egress allowance.
- A small selection downloads straight from storage, one file per item.
- A large selection is prepared as one archive in the background: you are notified when it is ready, and the archive stays available for a limited time before it is removed. Your archives are listed under Exports in the Datastore rail while they last, with the ones being prepared and any recent failure.
Who can take data out
Section titled “Who can take data out”Exporting a selection and downloading a file are for members, admins and owners. A viewer reads the Datastore and opens the maps built on it, but the data does not leave the organization with them: the download button stays in place, disabled, with the reason, and the server refuses either way. Ask an organization admin if your role needs to change.
Deleting, and getting something back
Section titled “Deleting, and getting something back”Delete an item from its row menu, from its own page, or by dropping it on the Bin in the left rail. Deleting an item that something else uses says so before you confirm, and names what would be affected.
A deleted item is not gone yet: it waits in the Bin, with the time it has left before it is removed for good.
- Restore puts an item back where it was. Select several and restore them in one go.
- Delete permanently removes the selection for good, and Empty bin does the same for everything in it. Both say how much storage they free before you confirm.
While items sit in the Bin they still count toward your storage. That is the answer when your Datastore looks empty but your storage does not.
Your organization decides how long deleted items are kept, and can turn the Bin off altogether, in which case deleting is immediate with no way back. Items deleted while it was on stay in it. See Organization settings.
What uses what
Section titled “What uses what”The page of a web map or a web app lists the Datastore layers it consumes; the page of a layer lists the web maps and web apps that consume it. Follow a link to open the other item, handy before deleting or re-sharing a layer.
In the listing, the Use column counts those consumers; click the count to see them and jump to any of them.
Your data stays yours
Section titled “Your data stays yours”Everything in your Datastore is yours, in open formats, downloadable at any time. If you ever leave ALIGN, your data leaves with you.