Map Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Help

  • What are the purpose of these maps?
    The principal responsibility of the county property appraiser is to locate, inventory, and appraise all property within jurisdiction. A complete set of maps is necessary to perform this function. Maps help determine the location of property, indicate the size and shape of each parcel, and reveal geographic relationships that affect property value. Maps and map data are not only important for property appraisers, but for other agencies and individuals. -- State of Florida Cadastral Mapping Guidelines 1.1

  • Explanation of Map features

    Click an area of the image to see more information....
    [Help Imagemap]
    Title
    The title contains information about the general area you are viewing. This title always starts with "Pasco County, Florida". If you are zoomed in close enough that the entire viewable area lies within a section, this information will be shown as well. The distance and direction to the nearest city from the center point of the map is also shown.

    Mini - Map
    The mini map of the county will show you the current area you are viewing with red crosshairs, and also allows you to jump to a given area simply by clicking on it.

    Clickable actions
    These options will require a "click" to be performed over the map for an event to occur. They have no effect on the mini map.

    Quick Info - Opens a small window (on JavaScript Enabled Browsers) that gives a brief detail of the parcel clicked on.

    Full Info - Opens a new window with all details for the parcel clicked on. This is the same information retrieved from our records search.

    Custom Navigation

    Zoom In 1.5x - Allows a 1.5x Zoom In on the point clicked or a custom box (* See Below for custom box instructions).

    Zoom In 3x - Allows a 3x Zoom In on the point clicked or a custom box (* See Below for custom box instructions).

    Zoom Out 1.5x - Allows a 1.5x Zoom Out on the point clicked.

    Zoom Out 3x - Allows a 3x Zoom In on the point clicked.

    Center Image - This will center the map on the point clicked, also known as panning.

    Zoom to Parcel - This will take the parcel closest to the point clicked and zoom directly to it for optimal viewing.

    When Zooming in, you have 2 options. You may single click to zoom in by a set ratio (1.5x or 3x), or you may choose the exact area to zoom into by stretching a rectangle.

    Stretching a rectangle example
    		To stretch a rectangle, press and hold the left mouse button in the lower left corner of the area you want to zoom to. While keeping the button depressed, move the mouse to the upper right corner to be viewed, and then release.


    * Please note: That due to the complexity of the image and certain browsers, the red box may not be shown exactly where you are moving the mouse, however, the image will zoom to the area where the mouse is located.

    You will be able to achieve greater / lesser than the zoom ratio indicated using a custom zoom level.

    Draw Button

    The draw button will apply any changes to the selected layers and re-create the map. This is necessary after some changes have been made.

    Available Layers
    Parcel Lines - This option allows the color of the parcel lines to be changed, or shut off. Default is Green (with Aerial) or Black (without Aerial).

    Parcel Labels - This allows the parcel labels to be forced on or off. By default, as you zoom in the parcel id will be shown. If you are within the same Section, Township, and Range, only the Lot Number will be shown.

    Street Names - Allows Street Labels to be forced on or off. By default street names are always active, however only major roads will be labeled as you zoom out.

    Imagery - This allows the aerial photography to be turned on or off, and which set of photography to use. No Photography will result in a dark yellow background with black lines.

    Examples of the above layers are shown here:

    2001 Color / Parcel Lines On
    2001 Color / Parcel Lines OFF
    2001 Color / Parcel Lines On
    (Zoomed In)
    2001 Color / Parcel Lines (Cyan)
    Yellow Background / Parcel Lines On
    White Background / Parcel Lines on
    1998 Mono / Parcel Lines On
    1995 Infrared / Parcel Lines
    (Soon!)

    Additional Layer - The following are additional layers that may be shown. For FEMA, Zipcode, Future Land Use, and Soil Types a Legend will appear to the right of the map detailing the colors and descriptions. For Future Land Use and Soil Types the colors will be solid, regardless of what imagery is selected.
    Topography
    FEMA (Flood Zone)
    Zipcode
    Future Land Use
    Soil Types
     

    Grouping Layer - The following are different ways to symbolize features and values of individual property. A Legend will appear to the right of the map detailing the colors and descriptions. For the 5 values, the colors will ramp from red to blue to indicate lower to higher values.


    Map Size / Quality
    This allows a choice of 5 different map sizes (Smallest, Small, Medium, Large, and Largest). Click anywhere between S and L to change the size. The map will redraw immediately. A cookie is used to store this preference and will be used for future requests.
    Actual Map Sizes and Recommendations are:

    The Quality Selection only applies if an aerial photo is active. In order to view the change in quality, you may click "Draw" or perform any clickable action. Shown below are examples of each type. A cookie is used to store this preference and will be used for future requests.


    Sample Type Notes
    JPEG JPEG offers the best choice for speed, but quality suffers. Parcel lines may not be as vibrant and may appear fuzzy.
    GIF GIF offers the best trade between quality and speed. This format is used when aerials are inactive, and we recommend this for best results.
    BMP BMP is the best quality allowed and uses no compression. This makes the image very large and should only be used if GIF is distorting the colors or a high quality print is desired. Some browsers may not be able to display BMP correctly


    Help / Print Buttons

    Clicking HELP displays this page

    The PRINT button will open a window containing just the title and the image, suitable for printing.

    Navigation Buttons 
    These controls allow navigation around the map. The 8 green buttons will pan the image in that direction. Please note that the operation of these buttons has changed from the previous map page, as they no longer pan 1 mile in the indicated direction, but only the viewable distance.

    Map
    This is the map being viewed.

    Scale 
    This shows the current scale of the map, in miles or feet of the width of what is currently visible.

  • How do I print these maps?
    You have several options to print the current map. While you can print directly from the page, the formatting and size may not produce the desired result. For best results, choose either the smallest or small map (Leftmost two bars on the size indicator). The page with the Blue border is optimized for landscape style printing, while the Printer-Friendly Page (Accessible by using the "Print" button in the map control area) will produce an image suitable for portrait style printing.

    In order for the legend to print correctly, your browser must be set to print background images and colors. For Internet Explorer 5 Users, this menu can be found by Clicking on TOOLS, Then INTERNET OPTIONS, and on the ADVANCED tab. About 1/3 down in the list will be a checkbox for printing background Images. For users of other browsers, feel free to contact our office for assistance in locating this option.

    If you desire a higher quality print, we recommend that you save the current image (By Right-Clicking on the map and choosing "Save Image As", or "Save Picture As") to disk and using a Graphics Editor (such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Paint) to open and print the image.

  • I clicked a Navigation Button and the Map Opened in a new window.
    Occasionally the maps may open if a different window than we intended. If this happens, close all browser windows that have the maps viewable, and then try again.

  • Where did I see large Aerial Photo of the county?
    The Aerial Photo of the county is visible from the Map Search page, or by clicking here (it will open in this window).

  • How do I find a parcel on the map?
    The easiest way to locate a parcel on the map, is to use the Map Search or Record Search Pages. The Map Search page can be found here.

  • I'm using a netscape browser, but I don't see the map.
    Make sure the image quality is set to Low (JPG) or Medium (GIF).

  • I'm getting 'Map Not Available' pictures instead of my map
    This can be caused by two reasons. In order to give you the most current information the map server will purge any map older than 1 hour, you may have originally requested the map at an earlier time and returned to it from a bookmark -- To recreate any map, simply use the Draw button. Your browser may also have cached the images from an earlier time. You may need to press the refresh button of your browser to allow the images to reload.

  • Why don't the parcel lines match up with the image?
    Due to the nature of mapping, certain errors may be present as the result of curvature of the earth, location of the device photographing the image, terrain, and measuring instruments. While this information is not required to perform assessments of property, we have corrected the images to have the lowest amount of error possible. In some areas, the degree of error may be greater due to these circumstances. While the images could be corrected to reduce all possible error, the cost of doing such is not feasible for assessment purposes.

  • When were these images taken?
    The 2001 Color Aerials were taken by a private company during March 2001. The 1998 DOT Aerials were flown by the Department of Transportation during March 1998.

  • How can I obtain a copy of these images?
    Both Printed and Digital copies of our maps are available for sale. Contact our office for more information and pricing.

  • What do the colors mean for the different layers?
    Whenever a layer is selected that shades parts of the map, a legend will appear on the right side with a description of each color. This feature was recently added.

  • How do I get the Lot Dimensions?.
    The lot dimensions are set to come on automatically when the zoom level is less than 1000 feet. On larger parcels you may have to zoom in to one corner to get close enough for the dimensions to show up.

  • How do I get the Parcel IDs to show?.
    The Parcel IDs will show automatically when the Zoom Level is less than 1000 feet. The IDs may also be turned on at other Zoom Levels using the toggle under the Layers section of the Map Controls. If the viewable area is contained within a single Section, Township, and Range only the Lot# will be shown, otherwise the entire ID is visible. You may also use "Quick Info" to retrieve a property ID.

    Did we answer your question? - If not send us a comment and we'll try to respond in a timely manner.