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Publishing an Image

Now that you’ve learned how to publish vector data, it’s time to explore publishing raster datasets using GeoServer. Raster data, such as satellite imagery or shaded relief maps, provide continuous spatial information and can greatly enhance your geospatial projects.


Step 1: Create Store

This step involves adding a new data store to connect GeoServer with your raster dataset. Make sure your workspace (e.g., manual) is ready before proceeding.

  1. In the left-hand menu, under the Data section, click Stores.

  2. Click Add New Store and select WorldImage from the list.


  3. On the Add Raster Data Source page, fill in the required details:

    Field Value
    Workspace manual
    Data Source Name ne_shaded_relief
    Description Grayscale shaded relief of land areas


  4. Under URL, browse to Manual_Data_GeoServer/shaded_relief/.

  5. Select the SR_50M.tif file.

  6. Click Save.


Image Store
Image credit: GeoServer


Step 2: Publish Image

With your image store created, the next step is to publish the raster dataset as a layer in GeoServer.

  1. On the New Layer page, locate the SR_50M layer.

  2. Under Actions, click Publish.


  3. On the Edit Layer page, complete the required fields:

    Field Value
    Name SR_50M
    Title SR_50M


  4. In the Bounding Boxes section, click:

    • Compute from data
    • Compute from native bounds


  5. Click Apply to save your changes without leaving the page.

  6. Navigate to the Publishing tab at the top of the page.

  7. Under WMS Settings, set the Default Style to raster.

  8. Click Save to finalize and publish your image layer.


📝
Although GeoServer allows flexible naming, using simple, standard layer names helps maintain compatibility with external systems.


Publish Image
Image credit: GeoServer


Step 3: Preview Image

Once your image layer is published, it’s important to verify that it displays correctly. GeoServer makes this easy with its built-in preview tools.

  1. In the left-hand menu, under the Data section, click Layer Preview.

  2. Locate the SR_50M layer in the list.

  3. Under the Common Formats column, click OpenLayers.


A new browser tab will open displaying your shaded relief raster layer on an interactive OpenLayers map.


Preview Image
Image credit: GeoServer


Next up: Discover how to combine multiple layers into a single, cohesive map view using a Layer Group.