Map Annotations & Drawing

Mark up the map by tapping points to measure, drop pins, and outline or draw areas.

Map annotations let you work directly on the map with your finger. Tapping points measures a bearing or a distance, outlines an area to download for offline use, places a pin to look something up, or draws a marker, line, polygon, radius, sector or freehand shape onto a saved map. Every one of these tools starts from the map's options menu.

Overview

Two kinds of drawing live on the map, and it matters which you are doing.

Kind	Examples	Does it last?
Temporary markings	Bearing and distance lines, download outlines, drive-time rings, search pins	No. They clear when you tap Current Location or leave the screen.
Saved map objects	Markers, lines, polygons, radii, sectors, freehand drawings, snap-to-road lines	Yes. They are stored with the saved map and shared with your team if the map is sharable.

Tools at a glance

Tool	How to start	What it draws	Result
Bearing	Menu → Bearing → tap 2 points	Red dots and a red line	Bearing Conversion card
Distance	Menu → Distance → tap 2 points	Red dots and a red line	Distance Conversion card
Offline area	Menu → Downloaded Maps → tap 3+ points	Red outline and shape	Area queued for download
Isochrone	Menu → Add Isochrone → tap 1 point	Pin, then a shaded red area	Drive-time or distance ring
Pin lookup	Menu → Location Reference, Street View or Convert Coordinates	A single pin plus a bottom bar	Address or reference detail
Marker	Saved map menu → Marker → tap the map	An icon at that point	Object details popup
Line	Saved map menu → Line → tap points	A coloured line	Object details popup
Polygon	Saved map menu → Polygon → tap points	A filled, outlined shape	Object details popup
Radius	Saved map menu → Radius → tap the centre	A circle around the point	Object details popup
Sector	Saved map menu → Sector → tap the centre	A pie slice	Object details popup
Freehand	Saved map menu → Freehand → drag on the map	The path your finger traced	Object details popup
Snap To Road	Saved map menu → Snap To Road → tap points	A line pulled onto the road network	Object details popup

note

Temporary markings are always drawn in red so they stand out against any base map. Saved objects use the colour you choose for them.

Getting Here

1. Open the Reference Map (or Map for the shorter tool set, or an open saved map for the full drawing set).
2. Tap the menu button in the top corner to open the options list.
3. Tap the tool you want. The menu closes and a short message tells you what to do next.

Measure a Bearing or Distance

1. Open the menu and tap Bearing or Distance.
2. A message appears: Please select two geo points to calculate bearing or Please select two geo points to calculate distance.
3. Tap the first point, then the second. Each tap drops a red dot with a white edge, and a red line joins them.
4. About a second later a result card opens — Bearing Conversion or Distance Conversion. See Bearing & Distance.
5. Tap Back on the card to return to the map. The dots and line stay drawn until you clear them.

tip

Run Bearing and then Distance between the same two points to get both the direction and the range in one quick check.

Outline an Area to Download

1. Open the menu and tap Downloaded Maps. A message appears — Please select a geo points to download a map for offline — and a download bar appears at the bottom.
2. Tap points around the area you want. A red dot marks each tap and the app joins them into a shape as you go.
3. Tap Download on the bottom bar and confirm Yes on the Offline Download prompt.
4. Use Clear to drop the outline and start again, or Cancel to leave the tool.

caution

Fewer than three points is not enough to describe an area, and you will see Please select minimum 3 geo points to download a map for offline.

Drop a Pin and Look Up a Point

1. Open the menu and tap Location Reference, Street View or Convert Coordinates.
2. A pin appears in the middle of the map and a bar at the bottom shows the address found there. Pan and zoom the map to move the pin — the bar keeps up as you move.
3. Tap the button on the bottom bar. Its wording changes to match the tool you chose:

Bottom bar button	What it opens
Select Location Reference	The reference layer picker, then the details of the feature under the pin.
Open Street View	Street-level imagery at the pin.
Convert Coordinates	The coordinate converter with the pin's position filled in.

Draw a Drive-Time Ring

1. Open the menu and tap Add Isochrone. A message appears: Tap on map to select a location.
2. Tap the point you want to measure from. A pin drops and the isochron settings card opens.
3. Choose the travel profile and the reach, then tap Save. The reachable area is shaded in translucent red with a red outline. See Isochron (Drive-Time Rings).

Draw a Marker or Shape on a Saved Map

These tools only appear on an open saved map, because the result has to be stored somewhere.

1. Open a saved map from Saved Maps.
2. Open the map's menu and tap the object you want: Marker, Line, Polygon, Radius, Sector, Freehand or Snap To Road.
3. A short prompt tells you what to do — for example Please click on map to add marker, Please click on map to add line, Please click on map to add polygon or Please click on map to add freehand.
4. Place it. Markers, radii and sectors take a single tap; lines, polygons and snap-to-road lines take a tap for each point; freehand follows your finger as you drag.
5. The object details popup opens so you can name it and set its colour, icon, folder and other details. See Add Objects to a Saved Map.

While you are drawing

Bottom bar button	What it does
Undo	Remove the last point you added.
Save	Finish the shape and open its details popup.
Clear	Remove everything you have drawn but not yet saved.
Cancel	Leave the drawing tool.
Use Current Location	Place the object at your own position instead of tapping the map.

Use Object Labels on the saved map menu to show or hide the names beside saved objects, and Object Details to see them all as a list.

Clear the Map

• Tap Current Location on the menu. This wipes every temporary marking — measurement dots and lines, download outlines, drive-time rings and pins — and re-centers the map on you.
• Use Clear or Cancel on whichever bottom bar is showing to back out of the tool you are in.
• Leaving the map screen clears temporary markings too. Saved map objects are not affected by any of this.

How This Connects

• Temporary markings live only on your screen. Nobody else sees them, and they are gone when you leave. Use them for a quick question you need answered now.
• Saved map objects are written to the device first and then synced to the server, so they survive being offline and appear for your team once the map syncs. A map marked Sharable shows its objects to other members; see Name a Saved Map.
• Saved objects are also listed, folder by folder, in Map Shapes & Objects, and appear on an incident's Maps tab when the map is attached to the incident.
• Downloaded Maps outlines store base map tiles on the device. They are what keeps the map readable in a dead spot, but they do not store live overlays.
• Every point you tap has a coordinate you can read in any format and copy — see Coordinate Format and GPS.
• Whether measurements read in feet and miles or metres and kilometres follows your unit system in General App Settings.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
Tapping the map does nothing	You are not in a drawing tool. Open the menu and tap the tool first — watch for the prompt telling you to tap the map.
The measurement card never opens	Both taps must land on the map. Tap two clearly separate points and wait about a second.
Red dots and lines will not go away	Tap Current Location on the menu, or use Clear on the bottom bar.
A shape ended up the wrong shape	Tap Undo to take points off one at a time, or Clear to start over before saving.
The download refuses to start	Place at least three points, and make sure you have a connection — the confirmation needs one.
A drawing tool is missing from the menu	Markers and shapes only appear on an open saved map. Open one from Saved Maps first.
A saved object does not appear for a teammate	The map must be marked Sharable, and the device must have synced. Check your connection, then reopen the map.
Freehand draws nothing	Drag slowly and keep your finger down. A single tap does not produce a freehand path.
Labels are cluttering the map	Tap Object Labels on the saved map menu to hide them.

Related Pages

• Bearing & Distance
• Isochron (Drive-Time Rings)
• Reference Map
• Saved Maps
• Add Objects to a Saved Map
• Coordinate Format

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