Pricing

Topology-aware editing for web GIS and location intelligence

Give your web GIS an editor where polygons share edges, imports are checked and every edit can be undone exactly, on the map library you already use.

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At a glance

vectorstream is a geometry editing library for web maps with a topological data model: polygons that touch share their edges, and each edge is stored once. GIS and location intelligence platforms use it to offer browser-based editing of territories, boundaries and analysis areas. One editing core runs on Leaflet, OpenLayers and MapLibre GL, and data moves in and out as GeoJSON.

Editing model
Topology: shared borders are stored once
Map libraries
Leaflet, OpenLayers, MapLibre GL
Data
GeoJSON import with geometry check, GeoJSON export
Status
Pre-release, no package published yet

Use cases

What GIS teams build with it

01

Territory and boundary editing

Sales territories, catchments and administrative units cover a region without overlap. Analysts redraw them in the browser, and each boundary change applies to both territories it separates.

  • Move a shared boundary once for both areas
  • Split and merge territories
  • Trace new territories along existing boundaries
  • Lasso-select several territories at once
02

Data cleanup after import

Imported polygons are often over-detailed or slightly broken. The import checks geometry first, and the simplify and straightening tools remove noise before the data goes into analysis.

  • GeoJSON import with a geometry check
  • Simplify over-detailed boundaries
  • Straighten outlines with live numbers
  • Remove a single point from a line
  • Undo each cleanup step exactly
03

Analysis areas and annotations

Analysts draw study areas, exclusion zones and notes on top of their results. Circles, rectangles and freehand shapes cover quick sketches, and text labels explain them.

  • Draw circles, rectangles and freehand areas
  • Take exclusion strips off an area edge with difference
  • Add text labels as map annotations
  • Group layers in a layer tree
  • Export analysis areas as GeoJSON

Why topology

Why build on a topological editor

Topology in the browser

A drawing layer that keeps each polygon as its own ring has to repair the neighbours after every edit. vectorstream keeps a doubly connected edge list, so adjacent polygons share edges and a boundary edit is one operation.

Three map libraries, one behaviour

A platform that supports more than one renderer would otherwise maintain several editors. Adapters for Leaflet, OpenLayers and MapLibre GL over a single core make the tools behave the same everywhere.

Undo you can build on

Exact undo restores the previous state of every affected feature. That makes it safe to offer strong operations such as union, split and difference to users who are not GIS specialists.

How it works

How a platform team integrates it

  1. Step 01

    Attach to the map

    Connect the adapter for your map library: Leaflet, OpenLayers or MapLibre GL.

  2. Step 02

    Load the data

    Pass features in as GeoJSON. The geometry check reports invalid shapes up front.

  3. Step 03

    Offer the tools

    Expose the drawing and editing tools your users need, from snapping to union and split.

  4. Step 04

    Persist the result

    Read edits back as GeoJSON and write them to your spatial database or API.

FAQ

GIS platform questions

What data model does vectorstream use?
vectorstream uses a topological model based on a doubly connected edge list (DCEL), in which adjacent polygons share edges that are stored once.
Which map libraries does vectorstream support?
vectorstream has adapters for Leaflet, OpenLayers and MapLibre GL, and all three run the same editing core, so the tools behave alike on each.
Does vectorstream validate imported GeoJSON?
Yes. GeoJSON imported into vectorstream goes through a geometry check before it can be edited. A file with crossing edges or other broken geometry is refused with a message, and vectorstream creates no document from it.
Is vectorstream published as a package?
Not yet. vectorstream is in pre-release, and no package has been published so far.
Does vectorstream run spatial analysis?
No. vectorstream focuses on editing: drawing, topology-aware edits, union, difference, split and simplify. Spatial analysis stays in the GIS or the spatial database.

More questions

Related

Mapping Product Builders

Embed point, line and polygon editing in your SaaS product, with shared borders, exact undo and GeoJSON output that your users never have to think about.

Utilities & Network Operations

Maintain service areas, pressure zones and supply districts with shared borders, and sketch pipe or cable routes that snap to existing corners.

Government & Public Administration

Maintain districts, catchments and permit areas whose borders are shared, with exact undo and GeoJSON exchange for the systems you already run.

Urban & Regional Planning

Sketch zoning districts, land-use areas and development blocks that tile without gaps, and keep plan variants as separate documents in the browser.

Add topology to your web GIS.

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