Troubleshooting Restricted Web Services

CivilGEO software utilizes various web services to provide high-quality geospatial data such as base maps, digital elevation models (DEMs), floodplain data, etc. to enhance data visualization and analysis for engineering projects.

This article describes a scenario in which the CivilGEO software displays the following error message due to inaccessible web services:

If the software is unable to connect to web services and you are receiving the above error message, one of the following may be the cause:

1. There is a network connectivity issue.
2. The web services used by CivilGEO software are not operational and are facing downtime/outage.
3. Antivirus/Firewall settings are blocking CivilGEO software from accessing the web service.

Prerequisite

Checking the Network Status

Make certain that your computer has a valid internet connection.

You can use the built-in tools in Windows to see if the computer is connected to a network, and if the network has internet access. You can also ping a website or an IP address from the command prompt or the terminal to test the connection speed and reliability. If network status is fine, you should check if there are any issues that may affect internet connectivity, such as proxy, firewall, or VPN settings. You may need to adjust or disable these settings to allow the application to connect successfully.

Checking for Web Service Downtime/Outage

To check the operational status of web services, select the Web Data Services Health command from the Help ribbon menu.

Clicking on the Web Data Services Health command displays the webpage that shows the real-time status of online web services used by CivilGEO software.

If web services are experiencing outage, as shown below, then the user should wait for the web services to become operational.

If all web services are operational and the user continues to receive error messages, then try the solutions listed below or contact your network administrator.

Temporarily Disabling Windows Firewall

The user can temporarily disable the Windows firewall to ensure that it is not interfering with the connection to web services.

Follow the steps below to temporarily disable the Windows firewall:

1. Open the Start menu and search “Firewall & network protection”. Then, either press the [Enter] key or click on [Open], as shown below.
   
2. From the displayed Windows Security settings page, click on the Public network option.
   
3. In the Public network settings page, turn off the Microsoft Defender Firewall toggle button to disable the Windows firewall. Note that this option may be disabled if the user does not have administrator rights to turn off/on the Windows firewall.
   

Temporarily Disabling Antivirus

Sometimes web service connectivity issues may occur due to antivirus software. To resolve this issue, the user can temporarily disable the antivirus software.

The following reference links provide instructions on how to disable some of the popular antivirus software:

• Avast
• AVG Antivirus
• Bit Defender
• McAfee
• Norton

Whitelisting Map Service URLs

You should also make sure that your security software is not blocking or quarantining the map services that you want to use. You may need to add an exception or whitelist these services in your security software settings.

Contact your network administrator to whitelist the below URLs:

This article should troubleshoot any web services-related issues you may encounter. If you are still having issues, contact CivilGEO technical support. Our engineers will be glad to assist you further.