You can access the GIS module from the Services -> GIS link in the top menu. The picture below shows the GIS viewport.

In the top right corner there is a panel called "Layer overview". If you are online you will see Google Streets and Google Hybrid which can be used as background maps/layers. Switch between the two of them by checking the checkbox. By unchecking the box you can hide the background completely. If you want to see the background, but with reduced opacity, you can set the visibility to something lower than 100% in the numberbox to the right. The final four layers are the vector layers which the user has at his disposal for thematic mapping (explained in the next section). The panels below hold the map legends when you create a thematic map. A legend explains the link between values and colors on your map.

Lets take a look at the map toolbar. The four icons from the left represent the mentioned vector layers and this is the starting point of the GIS application. Further to the right we have "Favorites": Save your maps to easily restore them later. Saving a map as a favorite also gives you the opportunity of sharing it with other users as an interpretation or put it on the dashboard. "Legend": Create you own legend sets to ensure meaningful maps. "Download": Export the maps as a PNG image. "Share": Share your favorites as map interpretations with other users.

In the top right corner of the map viewport you find four buttons: "Zoom in", "zoom out", "zoom to visible extent" (automatically adjusts the zoom level and map center position to focus on your map) and "measure distances".

The current longitude/latitude position of the mouse cursor is displayed in the bottom right corner of the map viewport.