In order to assist you in getting familiar with this new system a detailed description of each panel, window, and button will be presented here in the relative order of being used. Since we already discussed the splash screen on the home page, it will not be repeated here. Use the following links to jump right to the section you need:
This panel is the first one that appears on the map window by default. For most users you will have the ability to search for property information by Address, Tax ID, and by Geocode. If you are a subscriber, you will also have the ability to conduct direct name searches. Each search feature has their own tab. By default, the "By Address" tab is highlighted first.
If you are a business with a business license you can apply to purchase an annual subscription to have direct name and advanced search features available for both Property and Records search panels. If you would like to apply, please send an email to helpdesk@co.missoula.mt and ask if we can send you the application form and web policy information.
The Property Information Toolbar has four buttons below it; Streets, Imagery, Topo and Shaded Relief. These buttons control what map background will be visible to the user.
Streets: This displays a national representation of the transportation network (streets, highways, and rail system) and shaded relief. USER NOTE: The transportation data shown in this background is not as up to date as local road data. Also it is not as spatially accurate as local data. Do not use it as an authority source for road names or exact location. This layer may show roads and/or railways no longer in existence. The parcel layer is local Missoula County data that is updated monthly. This background visibility is limited to between the scales of 1:9,000 to 1:1,150,000.
Imagery: This aerial imagery is of a national source also. The date of acquisition may vary by location but in all instances should be no more than 5 years old. You may see seams in this data where two different sources (dates) meet. As above the parcel layer is local Missoula County data that is updated monthly. This background is visible at all zoom scales ( 1:4,500 to 1:1,150,000).
Topo: This is a data source compiled by the Federal Government. It should be reasonably accurate but may exclude recent features or show a feature no longer in existence. As above the parcel layer is local Missoula County data that is updated monthly. This background visibility is limited to between the scales of 1:18,000 to 1:1,150,000.
Shaded Relief: This background displays a shaded relief map with larger water bodies. As above the parcel layer is local Missoula County data that is updated monthly. This background visibility is limited to between the scales of 1:72,000 to 1:1,150,000.
The Property Information Toolbar has six icons in it. The first four icons are for accessing property and related information (including recording information), one is the Printing icon and the last one is the Help icon. Parcel ownership and land information can be queried by a handful of different methods using the icons on this toolbar.
Method 1: zoom into the map so that parcel detail can be viewed. Click with the cursor inside a parcel. Ownership information will be displayed in subsequent fly out boxes.
Method 2: Hover your mouse over the “house icon”. It will display a “Property Search” fly out label. Click on the house. You can now query for ownership by one of 3 methods. Street address, Tax ID number or Geocode Number.
Method 3: Hover over the "Documents with Magnifying Glass" icon. This will open up the Records Search icon allowing you to search for recorded documents based on several types of information. Please refer to the Records Search section below for more information.
Method 4: Hover your mouse over the “GPS Device” icon. This will display the “Find Tool” flyout label. Click this icon. You now can find a location by Township, Range and Section number of the public land survey system or you can find a location by Latitude/Longitude. (NOTE: you can input lat/long info in one of 3 formats. Degrees, minutes and seconds. Decimal degrees or decimal minutes.)
Once you have identified a location you can hover over the “Orange Person” icon. It will display a ”Google Street View” flyout label. Click on this icon and you will see a Google Street View for the address of the property you have identified.
The printer icon takes you to the print program and the light bulb icon takes you to the help system.
To view basemap data with other layers not listed above the user should go to the new Missoula County Atlas System.
General navigation: In the upper left corner of the map area are two map display controls.
The lower tool is the map zoom tool. This is a slider bar with a + symbol at the top and a – symbol at the bottom and a triangle icon somewhere in between these two symbols. Hover over the triangle symbol and click and hold your left mouse button. The zoom scale will display in a fly-out label. Drag this triangle down (towards the – sign) and the map will zoom out to a larger area view. Drag the triangle symbol up (towards the + symbol) and the map will zoom into a smaller viewing area. If you have a wheel mouse you can zoom with it as well.
The upper tool (looks like a cross with arrows) is the pan tool. Click on one of the outer four arrows to pan the map in that direction. The two central arrows will take you to the previous extent or next extent respectively. You can also pan the map by clicking and holding your left mouse button and dragging the map.
For most users you will have the ability to search for record information by Tax ID, by Geocode, and by Book/Page. If you are a subscriber, you will also have the ability to conduct direct name searches. Each search feature has their own tab. By default, the "By TaxID" tab is highlighted first.
The Tax ID is a unique number issued to each tax payer for their real property for which taxes are assessed. For details about property taxes in particular, visit the Missoula County Treasurer's website. This TaxID is used to search for either property (parcel) information or recorded documents.
This number is a unique parcel identifier used by the system for parcel lookup.
Each recorded document processed through the Clerk and Recorder's Office at Missoula County is assigned a book and page number where the document is recorded. These numbers are recorded on a label placed on each recorded document. You can search by these numbers to obtain documents if you know them ahead of time.
If you are a business with a business license you can apply to purchase an annual subscription to have direct name and advanced search features available for both Property and Records search panels. If you would like to apply, please send an email to helpdesk@co.missoula.mt and ask if we can send you the application form and web policy information.
This new map system is tied into Google's Map Street View feature. There are some areas within the City of Missoula that may not have Street View available. To access this feature, click on the little orange man icon shown in the toolbar. To shut down Street View, just click on the orange bar that says, "Turn Off Street View".
When you click on the printer icon in the toolbar this small window appears asking for a title. Here is where you can enter a custom title for your map extent. When you are done just click on the "Print" button and the system will begin the process of creating a Portable Document Format version of your map. You can save the document locally to your computer. Adobe Reader is required to view .pdf documents.
This window serves many purposes. This window will appear when you first load this website and when you click on the small light bulb icon in the toolbar. It contains the welcome message, our important disclaimer content, a brief description of the map, some helpful tips on getting started, and the login tab. The login tab will be used by those who are annual subscribers to the Name and Advanced Search features mentioned above.
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