This guide explains the updated toolbar, how to select drawings and sites, and how to use the new drawing and annotation controls.
📍 Find tools and keyboard shortcuts
Drawing tools are now available directly in the main Map toolbar, grouped into three menus:
Select: Select drawings and inspect items at a location on the map.
Draw: Create polygons, rectangles and lines.
Annotate: Add text boxes, Points of Interest, rulers and radiuses.
Each group’s icon shows the last tool you used in that group. Open its dropdown to choose another tool.
Keyboard shortcuts are shown beside tools in the menus:
Draw Tool | Shortcut | Annotation Tool | Shortcut |
Polygon | P | Text box | T |
Rectangle | R | Point of interest | I |
Line | L | Ruler | M |
|
| Radius | D |
Note: Land Assembly is available from the icon at the far left of the toolbar.
🎨 Change Colours & Styling
Use different colours and borders to distinguish areas on the map - for example, an area already searched and an area to investigate.
To style a polygon or rectangle:
1. Create a shape or select an existing one to open its side panel.
2. Choose its Fill and Border colours.
3. Adjust the fill and border opacity and the border thickness.
4. Use the visibility icons to show or hide the fill or border.
Important: The overall Opacity control adjusts the drawing as a whole. Reducing opacity changes its appearance; use the Fill visibility control to switch to border-only selection.
🔲 Understand how shape selection works
For polygons, rectangles and radiuses, fill visibility affects how you select the shape. With Selection lock off:
Fill visible: Clicking inside the shape selects it.
Fill hidden: Only the border selects the shape, so you can select map features underneath its interior.
Selecting a drawing opens its editing controls directly. You no longer need to choose a separate Edit action first.
To preserve existing selection behaviour, we’ve automatically hidden fills on polygons, rectangles and radiuses created before this update. New shapes of these types have fills shown by default.
You can show or hide the fill at any time using the visibility icon beside Fill in the side panel.
🔒 Keep large areas visible with Selection lock
Use Selection lock when you want to keep the fill of a shape visible while selecting sites underneath it. For example, keep a radius catchment on the map, or use a styled polygon to mark an area you’ve searched or a no-go area.
Select your drawing and open the side panel.
Toggle Selection lock ON.
Left-clicks will now bypass the shape, allowing you to select map sites underneath uninterrupted.
To re-select or edit the locked shape, simply right-click it on the map and choose it from the context menu.
Selection lock prevents ordinary left-click selection of the drawing. Once you select it through the right-click menu, you can still move, resize or edit it with Selection lock on.
Right-click also helps you choose between overlapping drawings and map features. You can open the same selection menu using Picker in the Select dropdown, then clicking the location you want to inspect.
📐 Draw a rectangle at an angle
The updated rectangle tool lets you set the angle as you draw, making it easier to trace a building or sketch a layout.
1. Choose Rectangle from Draw, or press R.
2. Click to set the first anchor point.
3. Click a second point to set the first edge and its angle.
4. Drag out from that edge to set the width and complete the rectangle.
Seeing a line after the first click is expected: you’re setting the first edge before extending the rectangle.
✏️ Resize and duplicate drawings
Select a drawing to display its editing handles and controls.
Resize: Drag a bounding-box handle to change the drawing’s size.
Scale from the centre: Hold Shift while dragging a resize handle to keep the centre anchored in the same position.
Keep proportions: For rectangles, use the aspect ratio lock beside the size fields to keep the width and height in proportion as you resize using the inputs.
Reuse a drawing: Choose the Duplicate icon in the side panel, then move and adjust the copy.
🖱️ Editing Polygon Points
Select a polygon to edit its points:
Move a point: Drag an existing point to its new position.
Delete a point: While editing, right-click directly on a point to remove it.
Add a point: Drag the faded midpoint between two existing points to create and position a new point.
Tip: Right-clicking a point while editing deletes that point. Right-click elsewhere on the map to open the selection menu.
📝 Add labels and keep annotations visible
Label a Point of Interest
Choose Point of interest from Annotate, or press I.
Click the map to place the marker.
Enter a label in the side panel, such as “Potential access”, and choose the marker colour.
Turn Show label on to display the text beside the marker, or off to show just the marker.
Keep text visible when zooming out
Choose Text box from Annotate, or press T, to add a text annotation. You can change its text and colour in the side panel.
For text boxes and Points of Interest, turn on Always show under Display to keep the annotation visible when zooming out. For a Point of Interest, keep Show label on if you also want its label displayed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I click a site underneath my drawing?
A visible fill selects the drawing when you click inside it. Hide the fill to select through its interior, or turn on Selection lock and deselect the drawing to keep it visible while selecting sites underneath. You can also right-click and choose the site from the list.
Why can’t I select a drawing with a left-click?
If its fill is hidden, click its border. If Selection lock is on, right-click at the drawing’s location and choose it from the list.
What is the Picker tool on the toolbar?
The Picker tool in the Select menu dropdown performs the exact same function as right-clicking on the map. Clicking a shape with the Picker tool lets you choose what to select from the menu — be it a shape, ownership parcel, saved site, or visible layers.