| Product(s): | WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, HAMMER, SewerGEMS, SewerCAD, StormCAD, CivilStorm |
| Version(s): | 10.01.XX.XX and greater |
| Area: | Layout and Data input |
Problem
How can I view an aerial or road map as a background for my hydraulic model, using an online mapping service?
What if I have a problem with the display of my Background Map?
Overview
The current releases of the above OpenFlows products have the ability to place a Background Map from the Background Layers manager.
This article is focused on version 2026 and higher, which currently use Google Maps as the underlying map service, and the feature in the software is referred to as "Background Map".
Version 2024 and older (going as far back as 10.01.XX.XX) use Bing Maps and the feature is referred to as "Bing Map". However, Bing Maps is being deprecated by Microsoft:
- Free/Basic accounts ended June 30, 2025
- Paid Enterprise accounts end June 30, 2028.
This will impact the above OpenFlows applications which use Bing Maps between versions 10.01.XX.XX and 24.00.03.XX. Upgrading to version 2026 or higher is recommended. Additionally, Bing Maps is already deprecated (June 30, 2025) for non-enterprise accounts. If you do not have a Bentley subscription (Non-SELECT) and are not able to access Bing Maps in version 2024 (or earlier) of your OpenFlows application, please contact sales to cover your license under a subscription (such as SELECT or Enterprise 365) so you can upgrade and take advantage of background maps via Google Maps.
In the article below, "background map" will appear as "Bing Map" for these older versions.
Note: Starting with version 24.00.02.XX, it is possible to set coordinate systems for Background Maps. The following link has details on this: Working with coordinate systems in the OpenFlows standalone platform
Using Background Maps
To add a Background Map, first open the Background Layers manager. This is often found in the bottom-left corner, and can also be accessed from View > Backgrounds. Click the New button and choose "Background Map":
Alignment and Coordinate System
Starting with version 24.00.02.XX, you specify the Coordinate System of your model, and the Background Map will automatically align with it by reprojecting the background map (Google Maps currently uses the Web Mercator Coordinate System, or Pseudo-Mercator, EPSG:3857)
When you open the Background Maps properties, you have an option to Set Coordinate System if it not already set. If you click this, you will be able to choose the coordinate system for your model. Detailed steps can be found here: Working with coordinate systems in the OpenFlows standalone platform.
Manual alignment
If you do not want to set the Coordinate System of the model, you can also set the alignment manually. The Background Maps feature works off of Web Mercator projections, using the Map Alignment field. The Map Alignment can be used to help transform the background and align with the model. However, this feature doesn't use a true State Plane-like reprojection like you might see in a program like MicroStation or ArcMap, where you can list what the projection is.
To manually align the map with the model:
- Select "3 control points" for the "Map alignment" dropdown in the Background Map Properties dialog.
- Click the first blank cell under the "X" column and click the ellipsis "..." button. This enables you to select a point in your model plan view for alignment.
- Click the point in the model to select the first point. For example this could be a particular node that is known to be at a particular road intersection that you know is visible in the aerial map. The model X and Y coordinates will be populated.
- Click the first blank cell under the "Latitude, Longitude" column and click the ellipsis "..." button. This enables you to select a point on the Background Map that corresponds to the point you had selected from the model in step 3.
- Use zoom and pan to locate the corresponding spot on the Background Map and click to select. The latitude and longitude will be populated and the model will be aligned with these pairs of points. Note that at this point the model will not move until the other two points are defined.
- Repeat steps 2-5 using the second and third rows in the table (Control Point 2 and Control Point 3) to define the three other points. It is recommended that you select three points along the outer boundaries of the site location for a triangulation.
- Click OK. The map will be rotated and stretched to align with the three points.
Setting Transparency
Starting in CONNECT Edition Update 3.4, it is possible set the transparency for the Background Maps.
Troubleshooting
Restricted internet access: If you have limited connection to the internet and cannot access sites which are not permitted by the administrator, you may need to request that an exception be added for Google Maps. Otherwise, you may not be able to insert or view a background map. The following address needs to be added to the exception list of your firewall or security settings, then you should be able to use Background Maps:
Satellite Imagery: khm.google.com, khm.googleapis.com, khm[0-3].google.com, khm[0-3].googleapis.com
Aerial Tiles: khmdb[0-1].google.com, khmdb[0-1].googleapis.com
If your firewall supports wildcards, whitelisting *.googleapis.com, *.google.com, *.gstatic.com, and *.ggpht.com will cover almost all necessary resources.
Note: for older versions using Bing Maps, add an exception for dev.virtualearth.net
Background Map not displaying:
- Zoomed out too far: Click Zoom Extents (button at top of drawing pane) or right click the Pipe layer in Element Symbology and choose Zoom to Layer.
- Configuration problem: check that the Background Map is configured correctly to align with your model location, and that the box next to it is checked in the Background Layers manager. Try zooming far out in case the map is aligned to an area with no map data such as out in the ocean. If that does not help, try restarting your computer and/or reinstall the software.
- Coordinate System feature used but on an older version: If the model was last saved by someone else who used the Coordinate System feature to align the Bing Map, check your version number (File > Help > About) and ensure you have at least 24.00.02.2X. If you are using an older version, upgrade so that you can pick up on the Bing Maps alignment.
- CONNECTION Client problem: Confirm that you are signed in to the CONNECTION Client and using an up-to-date version. Check for IMS outages at status.bentley.com as this has also been known to interrupt the ability to obtain the process used to obtain the background map license key. Try signing out of the CONNECTION Client then back in, and restart the OpenFlows application.
- Free space: Furthermore, check to ensure that there is adequate free space on your hard drive.
Background Map appears "wavy"
Starting with version 26.00.00.508 and higher (Google Maps), an aerial background map may appear "Wavy" if you add it before adding elements to the model. Once one or more model elements (pipes, nodes, etc) are placed or imported, the aerial map should no longer have these visual issues.
(Legacy) Bing Map not displaying after reopening the model: In version 10.01.00.XX, if you uncheck the Bing Maps background layer, save and reopen the model, re-checking it will not correctly display the map and you will need to re-edit the Bing Maps definition. This issue is resolved in version 10.01.01.04 and higher (reference #788487)
(Legacy) Bing Map shifts position: There is also another known issue (reference # 1025234) which can cause the Bing Map to shift positions when reopening the model, due to a problem with the one point vs. three point option in the Bing Map properties. This issue has been resolved in the CONNECT Edition Update 3.4. For earlier versions, edit the Bing Map properties (from the background layers manager), set the number of control points to 3, define three points to align the Bing Map with the model and click OK. Save, close and reopen the model to confirm that the map is still aligned. If this does not help, try going to File > Database Utilities > Synchronize Drawing / Update Database Cache.
If neither of these methods corrects your model placement on the Bing Map, and if you believe the drawing is drawn at the correct scale and the Y-axis is aligned with North, simply try using 1 Control Point to move the map to the correct location under the model.
Just right-click the previously attached Background Map - Bing line from the background layer dialog, select 1 Control Point from the pull-down, click in the Latitude, Longitude field and select the ellipses (…) button, and then click a point on the map of a known coordinate in your model. Then click in the X (ft) field and again select the ellipses (…) button and click the point in your model. that corresponds to the map point you selected.
This should re-align the map and your model.
(Legacy) Flushing report or plan view report does not display correctly with a Bing map active: this is addressed in a patch to version 10.01.01.04 (and will be fixed in future versions as well) - see: Blank Page in Report of Plan View or Flushing Report with Bing Map Active
(Legacy) Bing Map transparency not applying to Print Preview: The transparency used in the Bing Maps properties will not currently carry over into the Print Preview for a report (Reference number 983435.) This has been fixed in version 2026 and higher, where the Google Maps background transparency will be accounted for in print preview.
(Legacy) "Item with the same key has already been added" error appears - try closing the program, browse to the folder where the model is stored, delete the model .dwh file, then try re-opening. Also, try editing the Bing Map background in the Background Layers manager and make sure the "map style" box is not empty.
(Legacy) Bing Map tiles are jumbled / mixed up - this has been known to occur in certain network configurations such as when using a proxy server or caching service. A fix was made in a patch for version 24.00.01.12. Please upgrade to a newer version when available, or if you have 24.00.01.12 (check under File > Help > About), please contact Support for the patch.
Examples of this issue:
(Legacy) Bing Map will not zoom in and has text in Japanese - This is a known issue in OpenFlows Sewer version 24.00.03.23, impacting SewerGEMS and SewerCAD. This has been resolved in a new release. Please go to the Software Downloads page and download version 24.00.03.27, which will resolve the issue. Note that this does not impact OpenFlows Storm or OpenFlows Water.
Video Demonstration (uses Bing Maps)
See Also
How to add background aerial and road map images to your model
Working with coordinate systems in the OpenFlows standalone platform