Measuring and Drawing Toolbar

Click on the ruler icon in the left side toolbar to open the measuring and drawing toolbar. It will open on the right side of the screen.

Open

Point, Line, Circle, Square, and Polygon Tools

To draw a feature on the map, use the point, line, circle, square, or polygon tool from the measuring and drawing toolbar.

Open

You can cancel a drawing or measurement in progress by pressing the Esc button on your keyboard.

Selection Tool

The selection tool allows you to select a specific drawing or measurement you’ve created. Simply click on the desired shape to select it. The selected shape will be highlighted in blue and the other shapes will show in the default yellow-orange color.

Info Window

The selection tool opens a small info window that shows information for the selected shape. If there is only a single shape on the map, it will be selected by default when the info window is opened. If there are multiple shapes, the desired shape can be selected by clicking on it.

Selecting Measuring Units and System

You can use the dropdown menu at the top of the info window to change the measurement units between a variety of options in the imperial and metric systems. Length, area, and slope measurements can be selected independently.

The measurement unit options for imperial are feet, yards, miles and acres (for area only). The options for metric are meters, kilometers, and hectares (for area only). The slope options are rise/run, degrees, and percent.

Toggle Measurement Values

You can use the checkboxes next to the measurement values in the info window to hide or display the measurement values on the map.

Copy Measurement Values

You can copy measurement values for the selected shape directly from the info window.

Edit Feature

The edit feature tool allows you to edit a drawn feature that has already been completed.

To edit a feature, select the edit feature tool and drag to adjust vertices as necessary. You can also add new vertices by clicking in the middle of a line segment.

To complete the edits, click on the tool again in the toolbar or press the enter key on your keyboard.

Edit Color

The edit color tool allows you to change the color of the measurements and drawings on the map.

To change the color of the shapes, open the edit color tool, select the desired color, and click Save.

Undo Shape

The undo shape tool on the toolbar removes the most recently created drawing.

Clear Workspace

The clear workspace button on the toolbar clears all drawings on the screen.

Export Layer or Feature

The Export layer or feature tool allows you to export your drawings into the following supported formats:

• Shapefile (.zip)

• KML/KMZ

• GeoJSON

• WKT

You can export a single shape or feature by using the selection tool to select that shape, then right clicking on it and selecting Export feature.

Note that different geometry types cannot be exported into the same shapefile format (for example, polygons and points). If you need to export two types of geometry, select a different data format, or select which geometry type to export. You can also select to export the different geometry types to separate shapefiles if desired.

Measuring and Drawing in 2D

In 2D, you can draw and get measurement values for the following:

• Points (latitude, longitude, elevation)

• Lines (segment length, total length)

• Polygons (Rectangle or free polygon) (perimeter, area)

• Circles (radius, circumference, area)

2D Points: Elevation

The 2D point tool displays the ground elevation above sea level at a given point. To measure elevation, select the point tool and click on a location on the map. An info box will indicate the elevation and lat/long values for the point.

If needed, you can open the selection tool in the measuring toolbar and select (click on) the point to change the measurement units.

2D Lines: Segment Length and Total Length

The 2D line tool measures the distance between points, ignoring elevation and obstacles.

Multiple line segments can be measured at a time. Draw a line by selecting the line tool, then clicking on each point you’d like to measure between. Double-click the last point to finish the line.

The length of each segment is displayed, and the total length of all segments appears at the end.

2D Polygons: Perimeter and Area

The 2D polygon tool measures the area, perimeter, and side lengths of a polygon, ignoring any elevation changes or obstacles.

Draw a polygon by selecting the square or polygon tool, then clicking on each point on the map that represents a vertex of the polygon. Once the area is completed, double-click the last point to complete the area. If you’re using the square tool, one click completes the shape.

The length of each segment is displayed, and the perimeter and area values appear in the center of the shape.

2D Circles: Radius, Circumference, and Area

The 2D circle tool measures the radius, circumference, and area of a circle, ignoring any elevation changes or obstacles.

Draw a circle by selecting the circle tool, then clicking on a point on the map where the center of the circle should be. Then, drag the mouse outward to determine the size of the circle, and click to set the radius and complete the shape.

The radius, circumference, and area values appear in the center of the shape.

Measuring and Drawing in 3D

In 3D, you can draw and get measurement values for the following:

• Points (latitude, longitude, elevation, relative height (special tool))

• Lines (segment length, total length, slope, height (special tool))

• Polygons (Rectangle or free polygon) (perimeter, area)

• Circles (radius, circumference, area)

3D Points

Elevation

The 3D point tool displays the elevation above sea level at a given point. To measure elevation, select the point tool and click on a location on the map. An info box will indicate the elevation and lat/long values for the point.

Relative Height

The Relative Height tool allows you to measure the height of an object compared to a base point. To do so, ensure you’re in 3D mode, then select the relative height tool from the measuring and drawing toolbar

First, click to mark a base point. This will be the “ground” point or “zero” point that the height will be based on.

A good base point is one that is located on a flat, preferably paved, surface. Once a base point is marked, the Viewer will assign a color to the base point to represent it’s accuracy:

• A base point showing in green is one that is considered to have good precision.

• A base point showing in yellow is one that is considered to have adequate precision. Results will probably be okay, but consider using the undo button and selecting a better base point.

• A base point showing in red is one that is considered to have poor precision. Use the undo button and select a better base point to avoid inaccurate results.

Once you have a satisfactory base point, click on a point to measure the height of that feature in relation to the base point.

In this example, the relative height of the point is 26 feet above the base point.

Multiple points can be measured in relation to the same base point.

To set a new base point, clear your measurements using the Clear workspace button on the toolbar, then use the Relative Height tool to mark a new base point and new height points.

3D Lines

Height

The height tool is a special kind of line measurement that shows the height of an object in a plane directly above where the first point is placed. To measure the height of a structure or object, ensure you’re in 3D mode, then select the height tool from the measuring and drawing toolbar. Start at the bottom, using a single left-click to begin measuring and double-click to mark the top. You can also start the measurement at the top of the object and measure height from the top down.

Note that the height of the object is given in relation to where the first point was placed. Therefore, it is possible to measure the height of objects that do not start on the ground.

Length and Slope/Pitch

The 3D length tool measures the distance between points, accounting for elevation and obstacles. It also calculates the slope/pitch of that line. Draw a 3D line by selecting the line tool, then clicking on each point you’d like to measure between. Double-click the last point to finish the line.

The length and slope of each segment is displayed, and the total length of all segments appears at the end.

3D Polygons: Perimeter, Area, and Slope/Pitch

The 3D area tool measures the area, perimeter, and side lengths of a polygon, accounting for any elevation changes or obstacles. It also calculates the slope/pitch of the polygon, if all vertices are located in the same plane.

Draw a 3D polygon by selecting the square or polygon tool, then clicking on each point on the map that represents a vertex of the polygon. Once the area is completed, double-click the last point to complete the area. If you’re using the square tool, one click completes the shape.

Draw a 3D polygon by selecting the square or polygon tool, then clicking on each point on the map that represents a vertex of the polygon. Once the area is completed, double-click the last point to complete the area. If you’re using the square tool, one click completes the shape.

The length of each segment is displayed, and the perimeter, area, and slope/pitch values appear in the center of the shape.

3D Circles: Radius, Circumference, and Area

The 3D circle tool measures the radius, circumference, and area of a circle, accounting for any elevation changes or obstacles.

Draw a circle by selecting the circle tool, then clicking on a point on the map where the center of the circle should be. Then, drag the mouse outward to determine the size of the circle, and click to set the radius and complete the shape.

The radius, circumference, and area values appear in the center of the shape.