Tools Panel

The Tools panel gives you drawing, annotation, measurement, and spatial analysis tools to work directly on the 3D globe.

Open it by clicking the Tools button (wrench icon) in the toolbar. The panel floats above the timeline at the bottom of the screen and can be dragged to any position.

The panel has three sections: Draw, Measure, and View.

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Draw tools

Draw tools let you create geographic features directly on the map. Features are collected into a session before you save or export them.

Tool	What it draws
Point	A single marker at a clicked location
Line	A multi-segment line — click to add vertices, double-click to finish
Freehand	A free-form line drawn by clicking and dragging
Polygon	A closed area — click to add vertices, double-click to close
Circle	A circle defined by center and radius
Rectangle	A rectangle drawn by clicking and dragging a corner to the opposite corner
Text annotation	A text label placed at a clicked location

Drawing a feature

1. Click a draw tool to activate it — it highlights blue.
2. Click on the map to place vertices. For lines and polygons, keep clicking to add more.
3. Double-click to finish the shape (or release the mouse for freehand and rectangle).
4. The feature appears in the feature list in the Tools panel.
5. Click the same tool again to deactivate it.

Snapping

Click the Snap button (magnet icon) to toggle vertex and edge snapping. When snapping is enabled, the cursor snaps to nearby vertices and edge midpoints of existing features as you draw. This helps you draw features that share boundaries without leaving gaps.

Undo and redo

Use the Undo and Redo buttons to step backwards and forwards through drawing actions. You can also press Ctrl+Z (undo) and Ctrl+Y (redo).

Style customization

When one or more features are selected in the draw session, a style panel appears. The options shown depend on the feature type:

Feature type	Style options
Polygon / Circle / Rectangle	Fill colour, fill opacity, stroke colour, stroke width
Line / Freehand	Stroke colour, stroke width
Point	Marker colour, icon, scale
Text annotation	Text colour, font size, scale mode

Select individual features or a mix of types to adjust their style. When you have multiple feature types selected, common controls are shown.

Editing feature properties

Expand a feature in the list by clicking the arrow next to its name. You can:

• Rename the feature label
• Edit existing properties — click a value to change it
• Add new properties — enter a key and value in the fields at the bottom, then press Enter or click +
• Delete a property — click the × next to it

Editing vertices

For lines and polygons, click the pen icon next to the feature to enter vertex-editing mode. Drag individual vertices to reposition them. Click a midpoint to insert a new vertex. Press Delete while hovering a vertex to remove it. Click the pen icon again to exit editing mode.

Saving drawn features as a layer

When you have finished drawing:

1. Enter a layer name in the field at the top of the feature list (a timestamped name is used if left blank).
2. Click Save layer.
3. The features are saved as a new GeoJSON layer in the project and appear in the Layers panel.

tip

Use Save layer when you want sketches to become a normal project layer that can be styled, reordered, filtered, shared, and reused outside the drawing session.

Coloring buildings from drawn areas

Use Color Buildings to highlight OSM buildings affected by polygons in your drawing session. This is useful for marking buildings touched by a proposed development area, flood outline, construction zone, or other drawn impact boundary.

1. Draw or select one or more polygon features.
2. Choose the match mode:
   • Touched colours buildings whose footprints overlap or touch the polygon boundary.
   • Inside colours only buildings fully inside the polygon.
3. Choose the impact colour.
4. Click Color Buildings.
5. Open Buildings in the Layers panel to review the new impact set in the Impact coloring manager.

The result is an OSM Buildings impact set, not a new project layer. You can toggle it, recolor it, or remove it from the Impact coloring manager. See OSM Buildings for details.

note

Building impact coloring depends on OpenStreetMap building footprints. If an area has incomplete OSM coverage, some real buildings may not be matched.

Session persistence

Drawing sessions are saved per scenario. If you reload the project, switch away and back to a scenario, or join later from another browser, the current scenario's drawing session is restored.

Public share links include read-only drawing sessions for each shared scenario, so external viewers can see sketches without being able to edit them.

Exporting drawn features

Click Export to download your drawn features without saving them to the project:

• GeoJSON — compatible with QGIS, ArcGIS, and most GIS tools
• KML — Google Earth compatible format

Discarding a session

Click Discard (trash icon) to clear all drawn features and end the session without saving.

Collaborative drawing

When other project members are drawing at the same time, their in-progress features appear on your map in real time. A badge in the Tools panel shows how many collaborators are currently drawing.

Only the original creator of a feature, or a project member with editor or owner permissions, can modify that feature. When someone saves the session as a layer, peers are notified and the shared sketch canvas is cleared so everyone sees the promoted layer instead.

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Measure tools

Measurement tools calculate distances, areas, and elevations by clicking points on the map. No data is saved — measurements are temporary and cleared when you switch tools or close the panel.

Measure distance

Measures the total length of a multi-segment path.

1. Click Distance to activate.
2. Click points on the map to define the path.
3. The total distance is displayed in metres or kilometres.
4. Double-click to finish.

Click Export CSV to download the point coordinates and cumulative distances. Click Save as layer to add the path as a GeoJSON line layer.

Measure area

Measures the area of a polygon.

1. Click Area to activate.
2. Click points to define the polygon boundary.
3. Double-click to close the polygon.
4. The area is displayed in m² or km².

Click Export CSV to download the polygon vertices and the computed area.

Measure elevation profile

Samples the terrain elevation along a line and shows an elevation profile chart.

1. Click Elevation to activate.
2. Click two or more points on the map.
3. Double-click to finish.
4. An elevation profile graph appears showing height vs distance along the path.

The chart shows the minimum and maximum elevation and the total path length. Click Export CSV to download the sampled elevation points.

note

Elevation measurement requires terrain data for the area you are measuring. If terrain is unavailable, a "terrain unavailable" message is shown instead of the chart.

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View tools

Clipping Plane

The Clipping Plane tool cuts through terrain, 3D tilesets, buildings, and models to expose cross-sections. Use it to inspect underground infrastructure, building interiors, or subsurface terrain.

1. Select Clipping Plane in the View section — it highlights blue.
2. Choose the Clip axis:
   • X (East/West) — cuts along an east–west plane
   • Y (North/South) — cuts along a north–south plane
   • Z (Height) — cuts horizontally at a given altitude
3. Adjust the Position slider to move the cutting plane. The position is in metres relative to the auto-centred reference point at your current camera location.
4. Use Range min and Range max to create a slab — only the section between the two values is shown.
5. Under Apply to, choose which objects the clipping plane affects: Terrain, or any loaded 3D tileset layers listed there.
6. Click Reset to remove the clipping plane and restore the full view.

note

Clipping planes require 3D mode. The tool is unavailable in 2D or Columbus view.

tip

The clipping plane recentres automatically when you fly to a new location. If the position slider seems off, it is relative to your current camera centre — fly closer to the area you want to inspect.

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Globe Translucency

The Globe Translucency tool makes the terrain surface semi-transparent so you can see underground infrastructure, subsurface geology, or anything positioned below grade. It works independently of the Clipping Plane and can be used at the same time.

1. Select Globe Translucency in the View section — it highlights blue.
2. Use the Opacity slider to set how transparent the globe surface becomes. At 0% the terrain is invisible; at 100% it is fully opaque (the default).
3. Set the slider back to 100% or click Reset to restore the opaque terrain.

note

Globe Translucency requires 3D mode. It has no effect in 2D or Columbus view.

tip

Combine Globe Translucency with a Clipping Plane to create an underground cross-section view — use the clipping plane to cut along one axis and translucency to fade the remaining terrain so buried objects are clearly visible.

Parametric Buildings

The Parametric Building tool lets you draw a polygon footprint on the map and instantly extrude it into a configurable 3D building. Use it to model proposed structures, test massing options, or represent planned buildings in a scenario before detailed design is available.

Parametric buildings are saved as regular GeoJSON layers. They are captured in scenario snapshots, so you can have different building configurations in different scenarios and compare them side by side.

Creating a parametric building

1. In the Tools panel, click Add Parametric Building under the Draw section.
2. Click on the map to draw the building footprint — each click adds a vertex to the polygon.
3. Double-click to close the polygon and finish the footprint.
4. The Parametric Building configuration panel appears.
5. Adjust the building parameters (see Configuration options below).
6. Click Create Building to save the building as a new layer in the project.

Click Cancel at any time to discard the footprint without saving.

tip

Draw the footprint at the correct geographic location — the building will be extruded vertically from exactly where you draw it. Use the Snap tool to align vertices to existing layer boundaries if needed.

Configuration options

The configuration panel appears immediately after you finish drawing the footprint and updates the 3D preview live as you adjust values.

Option	Description
Label	An optional name displayed at the building centroid on the map.
Floors	Number of floors (1–200). Use the slider or type a value directly.
Floor height	Height of each floor in metres (minimum 0.5 m, default 3.0 m).
Color	Fill colour of the extruded building.
Opacity	How transparent the building fill is (0% = fully transparent, 100% = solid).

The panel also shows three computed metrics that update automatically:

Metric	What it shows
Total height	Floor count × floor height, in metres.
Footprint area	Area of the polygon you drew, in m².
Gross floor area	Footprint area × floor count, in m².

note

Setback and non-flat roof types (gabled, hipped) are planned for a future release. Roof type is currently fixed as flat.

Editing a building after placement

To change a building's parameters after it has been saved:

1. Open the Layers panel from the left toolbar.
2. Find the parametric building layer and click Edit Building (the pencil icon or layer options menu).
3. The Parametric Building configuration panel reopens with the current settings.
4. Adjust any values — the 3D preview updates live.
5. Click Update Building to apply the changes.

Changes take effect immediately in the current scenario.