The General Tab  includes the QuickZoom function, a Reference Map, Property Search Tools, and the Abutters Tool.  Each of these functions is described below:

QuickZoom Tools:  Your webpage may show one or more QuickZoom tools.  This example actually shows three different QuickZoom tools.  Each of these tools works the very same way.  The user simply clicks on the down arrow to view the list of choices, and selects the location they wish to zoom to.  Once clicked, the map window will refresh and show the desired location.

Reference Map:  The Reference Map keeps track of where in the community your current map window is viewing.  This is very handy when you are zoomed-in close, especially in areas you are not familiar with.

Find Property Functions:  Your website may have several Find Property functions, depending on the data available. It is common for a community MapsOnline website to have Find By Owner and Find By Address functions which will help an end-user locate a property.  In this case, you should type in only that text that you are sure is correct and then click the "GO"
button.

For example, if you are looking for 120 Lake St, you could type in "120 lake" and click "GO".  You would not type in "St" because the database may have this address entered as 120 Lake Ave.  If there is a 120 Lake St and a 120 Lake Ave, both will come up in a results window, and you can click on the one you want to zoom to.

If you have a Find By Owner function, enter the portion of the owner's name that you know, and click "GO".  This function can be tricky because the database may have the last name entered first and the first name second, or vice versa.  This is dependent upon how the data was entered into the municipal database.  Until you work with the website long enough, you do not know how the system will respond.  So, be patient.  If you are looking for John Smith, enter "Smith" and click "GO", see your list of possible matches, notice how the names are entered, and you will be better able to search effectively the next time.

Find Abutters:  Finding abutters to a particular property is a common need. In general, a user is looking for abutting properties to particular property. To do so, you must first enter the parcel-id in the Parcel-ID box. If you do not know the parcel-id, you can find the parcel by using the Find Property functions, or by just clicking on a parcel using the Identify Tool in the map window.

Regardless of how you select, the subject parcel will be highlighted.  When a single parcel is highlighted, and you click on the General Tab, you will find that parcel's identification number already placed in the Parcel-ID box for you.  If for some reason it is not, or if you already know the parcel-id, then enter it into the Parcel-ID box.

Now just enter the distance to search for abutters and click GO.  The list of abutting properties within the specified distance from the search property will show up in a the Info Tab and the map window will zoom to these same properties and highlight them in red. You can print the list on your own printer, or download the list as a text file for your use. You can also go to the Print Page to print a map of your abutters.