TrueTopo & External Systems

Who this is for

This guide is written for users, partners, land professionals, and technical readers who want to understand how TrueTopo fits into the wider Alaska land-data ecosystem. It is intended for publication on docs.truetopo.com as part of a transparent “how we work with other systems” story.

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Part I — Documentation vs. intellectual property

Is it “right” to show how TrueTopo works with other apps?

Yes. Product documentation that explains outbound links, public agency workflows, and high-level architecture is standard practice. It helps users trust the product, reduces support load, and shows compliance-minded customers that you send people to authoritative sources (DNR, BLM, USGS) rather than replacing them.

Is this IP or a trade secret?

Mostly no. What you are describing here is:

• Public URLs and public government systems (LAS, ArcGIS endpoints, BLM tools).
• Integration philosophy (e.g. “intelligence in the browser,” “Workers as dumb pipes”).
• User-visible behavior (which panel opens which link).

That is not the same as publishing:

• Undisclosed security details (exact WAF rules, secret key locations, internal admin URLs).
• Unpublished third-party API contracts you are under NDA for.
• Proprietary models you choose to keep secret — though TrueTopo already describes scoring at a high level in public docs; you can stay conceptual if you prefer.

Rule of thumb: If a motivated user can discover it in DevTools or by clicking your UI, documenting it responsibly is usually good hygiene, not IP leakage. If it would help an attacker or a competitor unfairly, keep it internal.

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Part II — The TrueTopo model in one picture

Lineage of a single click (ADL → LAS)

1. User clicks a claim feature on app.truetopo.com (static SPA from R2).
2. Leaflet has already drawn geometry from a DNR ArcGIS query response in the user’s browser.
3. React reads feature properties (ADL_NUMBER, etc.) from that response.
4. UI renders a button whose href targets dnr.alaska.gov with a hash query built from digits-only normalization.
5. Browser navigates to DNR origin — TrueTopo’s servers never proxy LAS HTML.
6. LAS bootstraps its SPA, parses the hash, and may still require user confirmation (Submit).

This chain is what we mean by ecosystem integration: TrueTopo is the map and router; DNR is the records office.

TrueTopo is built around a few frozen ideas:

1. The browser is the decision engine. Heavy GIS fusion, scoring, and many layer queries run client-side so the product stays fast at the edge and honest about what is inferred vs. what is measured.

2. Cloudflare Workers are narrow pipes. They serve gazetteer search, tiles, static JSON, billing webhooks, and CORS-safe data — not a hidden business-rules engine that replaces agency truth.

3. Authoritative records stay at the agency. When you need a case abstract, federal serial register, or official filing, TrueTopo links out or shows context; it does not claim to be the system of record.

That model is exactly what partners should read: TrueTopo is an orchestration and intelligence layer on top of public and licensed data, not a shadow DNR.

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Part III — Classes of external systems

CORS and the browser as integration bus

Most agency layers are fetched directly from the user’s browser to the agency origin. TrueTopo’s Worker stack does not sit in the middle of every ArcGIS call—that keeps Workers simple and avoids turning TrueTopo into a covert bulk mirror of federal data.

Call pattern	Typical purpose
Browser → arcgis.* / gis.blm.gov	Live map features
Browser → api.truetopo.com	Gazetteer / D1-backed JSON
Browser → tiles.truetopo.com	Hosted PMTiles
Browser → data.truetopo.com	Hosted static datasets
Browser → Clerk / Stripe endpoints	Auth and checkout (as configured)

When CORS errors appear in support tickets, first check agency status, then browser extensions, then TrueTopo allowlists on our APIs—not the other way around.

A. Agency map and feature services (ArcGIS and similar)

The map app loads dozens of layers directly from Alaska DNR, BLM Alaska, USGS, DGGS, USFS, and others. Requests are ordinary HTTPS calls from the user’s browser to agency-controlled endpoints.

Implication: Availability, schema changes, and rate behavior are agency-dependent. TrueTopo documents which groups exist (mining, ownership, access, geology, etc.); the exact query string lives in the app’s layer catalog.

B. Alaska DNR — Land Administration System (LAS)

LAS is the public Case, Land, and Water Information portal:

Entry: LAS

TrueTopo uses LAS when a user needs DNR case context (for example ADL-style identifiers on state mining claims). Typical patterns in the product include:

• Hash SPA route (modern):

  https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#/case-detail?case-number=<DIGITS>&type=ADL

  • case-number should be numeric digits (strip ADL-, spaces, etc.).
  • type=ADL selects the file type in the SPA’s query model.

• Alternate hash style (sometimes used in demos or older deep links; verify after DNR updates):

  https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#filetype/ADL/filenumber/743122/landflag/y/searchtype/casefile/reporttype/abstract

  Use abstract or summary depending on the report you want. If #/case-detail?… does not auto-submit or auto-open results, this alternate pattern is worth trying because DNR’s front end has evolved over time.

• Legacy server URL (still referenced in some map popups for compatibility):

  https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/CaseAbstract.cfm?case_type=ADL&case_num=<number>

  If the SPA route misbehaves after a DNR release, the CFM pattern may still redirect or render a usable form. Treat it as a fallback, not the primary long-term contract.

Important UX note: DNR may still require a Submit or a second step depending on how their application reads the hash on first load. Deep links prefill intent; they do not guarantee a fully rendered abstract without user interaction. Always assume the user may need to click Submit or pick a report type.

C. BLM and federal case tooling

For federal claims and serials, TrueTopo may route users to BLM-hosted tools (URLs change over time; the app encodes the current patterns). The same philosophy applies: federal authority lives at BLM, not inside TrueTopo.

D. Elevation and geocoding helpers

Examples include OpenTopoData-style elevation services and occasional Nominatim fallback geocoding. These are third-party dependencies with rate limits and terms of use. They improve UX; they are not land title systems.

E. TrueTopo’s own edge: API, tiles, data host

• api.truetopo.com — Gazetteer search and related D1-backed endpoints (places, some layer-like point feeds).
• tiles.truetopo.com — PMTiles / vector tile delivery from R2.
• data.truetopo.com — Static JSON/GeoJSON with CORS via a small Worker.

These are TrueTopo-operated surfaces documented elsewhere under API and Infrastructure.

F. Identity and billing

• Clerk — authentication/session.
• Stripe (via stripe.truetopo.com) — checkout and subscription state mirrored to KV for entitlements.

Those integrations are standard SaaS patterns; documenting them at a high level is normal and expected.

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Part IV — LAS in depth (for docs readers)

Tabs and mental model

LAS exposes three major search modes:

1. Display Case File Information — File type + file number (ADL is a common type for many mining workflows).
2. Display Land Information — Meridian, township, range, section plus case type/category filters — for land-centered research.
3. Display Water Rights Information — Water rights file type/number style workflow.

TrueTopo’s ADL deep links align with case file thinking: “I already have an identifier from the map or a notice.”

Validation and empty parameters

A URL like:

https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#/case-detail?case-number=&type=ADL

…leaves case-number empty. LAS responds with invalid search parameters in the Results panel. This is expected — it is not a TrueTopo bug. Always populate digits before sharing a link.

Reports and print

LAS offers report dropdowns (e.g. abstract vs summary). Print is available from Results. TrueTopo does not silently print or scrape LAS; the user completes DNR’s workflow in DNR’s origin.

Federal vs state disclaimer

LAS on-screen text explains limits around federal / BLM completeness. TrueTopo repeats the same professional caution: state LAS does not replace BLM research for federal interests.

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Part V — “Highlight like Google” and text fragments

What text fragments are

Chromium-based browsers support Text fragments — a URL fragment directive that can scroll to and highlight visible text in the document. Conceptually:

#:~:text= + URL-encoded snippet (with optional prefix/suffix for disambiguation).

See: MDN — Text fragments.

Why LAS is a poor fit

LAS is a hash-routed SPA with async results. Problems:

1. The fragment is already consumed for routing (#/case-detail?…).
2. Results appear after the app boots and fetches data — the browser may run the text search before your target string exists in the DOM → no highlight.
3. If you append :~:text= incorrectly, you can corrupt query parsing (e.g. type=ADL:~:text=… can become one mangled value).

You may try (best-effort, Chrome/Edge):

https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#/case-detail?case-number=743122&type=ADL:~:text=Case%20Abstract

…but treat this as experimental. DNR does not offer a supported “highlight this field” API like Google controls on its own SERP HTML.

Reliable alternatives

• User: Ctrl+F / Cmd+F after the page loads.
• TrueTopo: keep opening the correct deep link; put emphasis in your own UI (parcel panel, claim card) instead of depending on DNR’s DOM.

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Part VI — TrueTopo Print (print.truetopo.com) and third-party map CDNs

The TrueTopo Atlas / Print surface is a separate Vite + MapLibre experience from the main Leaflet map app. It still follows the same ecosystem rule: basemap and raster tiles often come from third-party CDNs (for example Carto GL styles and EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery). Those providers set their own availability, CORS, and rate behavior.

Implication for documentation: Print is not “TrueTopo hosting every pixel.” It is TrueTopo composing public tile and style endpoints into an export-oriented UI. When print fails to load, the troubleshooting path is: TrueTopo static assets (R2) → then external tile/style hosts → then user network/ad blockers.

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Part VII — Sibling products and shared DNA

TrueTopo operates multiple public surfaces (marketing site, identity portal, docs, status, resources, optional Alaska Fish Counts PWA, etc.). They share identity and billing primitives (Clerk, Stripe) and sometimes Cloudflare buckets and Workers.

Why mention this in an ecosystem book? Buyers and integrators want to know whether TrueTopo is a single brittle script or a platform with separable components. The honest answer: shared edge and auth, separate front-end bundles, client-side intelligence on the map app. That separation is a feature — a LAS outage does not imply a Stripe outage, and vice versa.

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Part VIII — The gazetteer as the “TrueTopo-native” bridge

Unlike LAS (third-party SPA), api.truetopo.com is operated by TrueTopo for place search and related D1-backed feeds. That API is the clearest example of TrueTopo adding value without pretending to be DNR:

• Search bridges natural language (“Fairbanks”) to map coordinates.
• Nearest labeling can track map center at different zooms.
• Layer-style point feeds (where implemented) expose gazetteer feature types as GeoJSON for the map.

Document this distinction for users: Gazetteer = TrueTopo; case abstract = agency.

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Part IX — Data freshness and “who updated this?”

External systems publish on their schedules. TrueTopo surfaces live agency layers in many cases — meaning today’s map can differ from yesterday’s without TrueTopo shipping a new build.

LAS and BLM portals can also change routing or forms without notice. That is why TrueTopo maintains versioned docs in the monorepo (docs/dnr-las/) and user-facing narrative here. When a deep link breaks, fix the URL builder in code first, then update docs the same week.

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Part X — Glossary (quick reference)

Term	Meaning
TT	TrueTopo — brand and product umbrella (map app, tiles, data plane).
TTP	TrueTopo Pro — full subscription tier (all expansion packs + Pro-only features).
ADL	Alaska Department of Lands case numbering used in many DNR mining contexts (display format varies; deep links usually want digits).
LAS	DNR Land Administration System public portal for case, land, and water-rights searches.
SPA	Single-page application; LAS uses hash routing (#/…).
ArcGIS REST	Common pattern for agency feature services consumed by the map app.
PMTiles	Tiled map package format served from TrueTopo’s tiles worker + R2.
Text fragment	Chromium URL feature :~:text= for in-page highlighting; unreliable on async SPAs like LAS.

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Part XI — Security, framing, and ethics

Do not iframe LAS

Government sites often send headers that block embedding (X-Frame-Options, CSP). TrueTopo should open LAS in a new tab (or same tab with clear back navigation), not embed DNR in an iframe.

Scraping

Automated scraping of LAS may violate terms of use or trigger blocking. TrueTopo’s product stance should remain: deep link + human workflow unless you have explicit permission or a published API.

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Part XII — FAQ (ecosystem)

Does TrueTopo store DNR case abstracts in TrueTopo’s database?
Not as a replacement for LAS. The product may cache ephemeral UI state or user notes; authoritative abstracts should be read from DNR (or printed/PDF workflows the user controls).

Why not embed LAS in an iframe inside TrueTopo?
Agency sites commonly forbid framing for security and clickjacking protection. New tab is correct.

Can TrueTopo auto-submit LAS searches on behalf of the user?
Only with extreme care. Prefer deep links the user clicks, not headless automation, unless you have explicit legal and contractual permission.

Is documenting deep links “reverse engineering”?
No. These are public URLs in a public browser. Documenting them is user education.

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Part XIII — What to tell partners in one paragraph

“TrueTopo aggregates public Alaska land intelligence in the browser, combines it with our gazetteer and tiles, and sends users to authoritative agency systems — DNR LAS, BLM tools, and agency GIS — when they need official case files or abstracts. We don’t replace those systems; we reduce friction getting from map context to the right room at the right agency.”

That paragraph is safe for docs, sales, and procurement.

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Part XIV — Maintenance contract

Agencies change URLs. When they do:

1. Update in-app link builders (map popups, parcel panels, print tool).
2. Update this doc and the repo docs/dnr-las/ technical set.
3. Log user-facing URL changes in your internal change log.

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Part XV — Reading list (external)

• Alaska DNR — LAS — live system.
• MDN — Text fragments — browser highlight behavior.
• TrueTopo API docs on this site: /api/ — gazetteer and health endpoints.

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Appendix A — LAS URL cheat sheet

Goal	Pattern
SPA case detail (ADL)	https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#/case-detail?case-number=<digits>&type=ADL
Alternate hash (abstract)	https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/#filetype/ADL/filenumber/<digits>/landflag/y/searchtype/casefile/reporttype/abstract
Legacy CFM fallback	https://dnr.alaska.gov/projects/las/CaseAbstract.cfm?case_type=ADL&case_num=<number>
Text fragment (experimental)	Append :~:text=<encoded> with care — often fails on LAS

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Appendix B — “Twenty pages” note (formatting)

In print, page count depends on font, margins, and Starlight theme. This file is written as a long single doc (~3k+ words, Parts I–XX + appendices) so you can:

• Publish it as-is on docs.truetopo.com (recommended first step).
• Split into a Starlight folder later (ecosystem/las.md, ecosystem/architecture-bridge.md, etc.) if navigation prefers smaller pages.
• Export to PDF from the browser print dialog for field binders or partner packets.

If you need a literal 20 printed pages, add screenshots of LAS tabs (with DNR’s permission if required) or append state-specific checklists your legal team approves.

Appendix C — Related TrueTopo documentation

• App behavior: App Guide
• Datasets: Datasets and Pipelines
• Architecture: Architecture
• Security posture: Security

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Part XVI — Scenario walkthroughs (narrative)

Scenario A — Field user finds a state mining claim on the map

1. User toggles state mining claims and clicks a polygon.
2. TrueTopo shows attributes from the DNR ArcGIS service (claim name, ADL, etc.).
3. User taps open DNR LAS (or “case abstract”) from the popup or parcel panel.
4. Browser opens LAS with a deep link prefilled where possible.
5. User completes any required Submit or report selection on DNR’s site.
6. User prints or archives the abstract from LAS Results.

Lesson: TrueTopo ends at the doorway; DNR owns the filing room.

Scenario B — Researcher starts from a legal description (MTRS)

1. User does not have an ADL yet — only meridian / township / range / section.
2. TrueTopo may help visually locate the area (layers, search), but LAS land tab is the correct DNR tool for formal land abstract style queries.
3. User opens LAS manually, selects Display Land Information, fills MTRS, chooses report type, submits.

Lesson: Not every workflow should be forced through an ADL deep link; teach users which tab matches their starting information.

Scenario C — Federal claim serial appears on the map

1. Popup classifies or labels claim as federal / BLM.
2. TrueTopo routes toward BLM-appropriate tools rather than LAS ADL patterns.
3. User follows federal guidance on-screen (URLs evolve; docs should avoid hard-coding long paragraphs of BLM links—link to BLM landing or in-app builder).

Lesson: Jurisdiction drives outbound integration, not convenience.

Scenario D — Print shop customer exports a wall map

1. User configures TrueTopo Print with basemap + overlays.
2. MapLibre loads third-party styles/tiles; export pipeline may call additional libraries for PDF/PNG.
3. If tiles fail, diagnostics split TrueTopo hosting vs tile CDN availability.

Lesson: Print is a composition product; attribution and terms of tile providers still apply.

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Part XVII — Comparison table — where does truth live?

Question	System of record	TrueTopo role
Where is the claim polygon today?	Agency GIS services	Display + query in browser
What is the official case abstract?	LAS (state) / BLM (federal)	Deep link + context
What is this place called?	Gazetteer sources in D1 (TrueTopo API)	Search + fly-to
Is the user subscribed to Pro?	Stripe + KV (TrueTopo edge)	Gate features
Who is the user?	Clerk	Auth session
Are slope / opportunity scores “legal”?	Not agency truth	Decision support only

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Part XVIII — Incident response (when “links broke”)

When users report broken DNR links:

1. Reproduce in a clean browser profile (no extensions).
2. Compare in-app URL to manual LAS navigation — did DNR change routes?
3. Check empty parameters (case-number= blank) first — most common “false bug.”
4. Patch URL builders in apptruetopo (e.g. parcel panel, LiveLayers) and ship static build.
5. Update docs (docs/dnr-las/ monorepo + this page).
6. Optionally post a short status note if the outage is widespread on DNR’s side.

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Part XIX — Style guide for future ecosystem pages

When adding pages like “TrueTopo + USGS” or “TrueTopo + ADF&G”:

• Start with who owns the data.
• Show one diagram or table of data flow (browser vs Worker vs agency).
• Provide 2–3 URLs maximum as patterns, not a dump of every endpoint.
• Add a “What TrueTopo does not do” section to prevent overselling.
• Link back to Security and Privacy docs where PII could appear.

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Part XX — Closing argument for docs.truetopo.com

Publishing this material signals maturity: you are not hiding behind a black box. Land professionals are skeptical by profession—they want to know which door leads to DNR, BLM, or TrueTopo’s own API. This book answers that question in depth without exposing operational security or claiming agency authority you do not have.

That balance—transparent integration, honest boundaries—is brand-safe and defensible.

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Appendix D — Repo mirror (for maintainers)

A 10-file technical LAS reference for engineering lives in the monorepo at docs/dnr-las/ (overview, routing, each LAS tab, errors, federal vs state, extraction notes, TrueTopo code pointers). Publish user-facing narrative here on docs.truetopo.com; keep deep implementation pointers in the repo as you do today.

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This page is instructional documentation about public systems and TrueTopo’s integration patterns. It is not legal, surveying, or title advice. Verify all filings and records with the responsible agency and qualified professionals.