Ask a spatial question

This guide shows you how to ask a spatial question in plain language and get the answer back as a map. Nexma GeoEngine does the geometry; Jax translates your question into the right operations and renders the result on the Globe. You need data in the Nexma DataStore — either feeds you have already connected or a file you upload as part of the question.

Spatial analysis is the "look it up with geometry" layer, distinct from optimization. Counting what falls inside a polygon, measuring distances, building buffers, finding nearest neighbors, computing coverage — these are GeoEngine operations, not solver runs.

Steps

1. Get the data in. Use feeds you have already connected, or upload a file as part of asking. GeoEngine reads from the DataStore, so once the data lands it is queryable.

Upload this shapefile of flood zones and use it for the next question.

1. Select your scope. Draw a polygon, pick a layer, or reference a path. A bounded question is faster and clearer than one over the whole project.

Use the polygon I just drew as the area of interest.

1. Ask the question in plain language. State what you want to know; Jax picks the geometry operations. You do not name buffers or joins — you describe the outcome.

How many service connections fall inside the flood zones, and which feeders serve them?

1. Read the answer as a map. GeoEngine renders the result on the Globe — highlighted features, a heat surface, a buffer ring — alongside the numeric answer in the side panel. The map is the answer, not a separate visualization step.

1. Refine by stacking questions. Each answer is a starting point for the next. Narrow, expand, or pivot without restating the setup.

Of those, which are within 200 m of a road so a crew can reach them quickly?

1. Save or export the result. Ask Jax to write the answer back to the DataStore as a new layer so it persists and other views can use it.

Save the at-risk connections as layers/flood-exposed.geojson.

Tips

• Distinguish geometry from optimization: "how many homes are in this polygon" is a GeoEngine question; "where should I place facilities" is a MathEngine one. Jax routes correctly, but knowing the difference sharpens your prompts.
• Example questions GeoEngine handles well: nearest-X, within-distance, inside-polygon counts, coverage gaps, overlap between two layers, and shortest path along a network.
• Bound the scope before asking — a polygon or layer subset keeps the answer fast and legible.
• Reference DataStore paths so there is no ambiguity about which dataset you mean.

Where to go next

• Read what the engine can do in Nexma GeoEngine.
• Connect the feeds your questions draw on in Connect a data source.
• When a question turns into "find the best," move to Run an optimization.