Fact Sheet: Measuring and Annotation Tools Explained

What are the measuring and annotation tools?

LandInsight includes a set of drawing tools that let you measure distances, calculate areas and perimeters, add custom shapes, and annotate your map with notes and points of interest. These tools help you make the map your own, whether you are plotting a route, sketching a rough building footprint, or marking up a site for a team discussion.

How to access the tools

Click the measure icon in the toolbar at the top right of your screen. Your drawing tools will appear in the top left of your screen.

Measuring distances

There are two tools for measuring distances, depending on how precise you need to be.

The Ruler

Use the Ruler to measure the direct straight-line distance between two points. This is useful for quick checks, such as how far a site is from a train station or a key amenity.

Open the drawing toolbar and select the Ruler tool
Click the first point you want to measure from, then click the endpoint. The distance will appear automatically between the two points
By default the distance is shown in metres. To switch to kilometres or imperial units, click the three dots next to the bin icon

The Line

Use the Line tool to measure multi-point distances, such as plotting a route by road or tracing a path that needs to avoid certain obstacles.

Select the Line tool from the drawing toolbar
Click to place your first point, then click again each time you want to change direction or add a new segment. Continue until your route is complete, then click back on the first point to close the line
As with the Ruler, the distance defaults to metres and can be changed via the three dots next to the bin icon

Annotation tools

Annotations let you add custom shapes, notes, and markers directly onto the map. They are saved against the map and can be shown or hidden at any time.

Available annotation types

Rectangle Ideal for quickly sketching a building footprint on a site. Draw a rectangular shape over the area you want to represent.

Polygon More flexible than the Rectangle, polygons let you draw any custom shape. Useful for tracing a potential site boundary or creating a rough building footprint. Once drawn, a polygon can be saved as a site directly from the annotation panel.

Radius Draws a circular area around a central point. Useful for highlighting a catchment area, an area of exclusion (for example, around a pylon), or the walking distance from a site to a key amenity.

Ruler As described above: measures the straight-line distance between two points.

Point of Interest Adds a marker pin to the map to flag a specific location, such as a nearby site, a planning reference point, or a competitor development.

Text Adds a text label directly onto the map to add context or notes alongside your other annotations.

Step-by-step: creating an annotation

Step 1: Open annotations Click the annotations icon in the drawing toolbar to open the annotation tools.

Step 2: Select your tool Choose the annotation type you want to use from the toolbar.

Step 3: Review annotation details Once you have finished drawing, a panel will open on the right of the screen. Here you can view the area and perimeter of the shape you have drawn. To change the unit scale, tap the highlighted measurement in the panel. To switch between metric and imperial, use the imperial/metric toggle in the Explorer.

Step 4: Duplicate an annotation To duplicate an annotation, click the three dots in the selection details panel and select Duplicate.

Step 5: Delete an annotation To delete an annotation, click the bin icon. The annotation will be removed from the map immediately.

Step 6: Show and hide annotations To clear up your map view without permanently deleting your annotations, use the Show / Hide annotations feature. This lets you toggle annotations on and off without losing your work.