The crosshair and pins

Every point you place on the map is placed with the crosshair: a target that shows exactly where the point will go, how far it is from the last point and in which direction. A plain click on the map does not add points; it opens whatever is under the pointer, such as a shape's panel. This keeps you from adding points by accident while you move around.

Show the crosshair#

• Hold Shift. The pointer turns into the crosshair for as long as you hold the key. Click to place a point. Let go of Shift to go back to moving the map and clicking shapes.
• Right-click the map. The crosshair turns on and stays on without holding a key. Right-click again, or press and release Shift, to turn it off.

The first time you open a project, a hint over the map explains both. It goes for good the first time you press Shift.

Only people who can edit a project can use the crosshair.

What the crosshair shows#

Once a shape has at least one point, the crosshair shows two figures next to it:

• The distance from the last point to the crosshair, in your distance units.
• The bearing of that line, in degrees from north (0°) clockwise: 90° is east, 180° south, 270° west.

A line joins the last point to the crosshair, so you can see the next side before you place it. To turn that line off, switch off Preview the next line in settings.

To also see the crosshair's coordinates in the measurements box, turn on Show crosshair coordinates in settings.

Choose what you draw#

The  Crosshair mode button in the top toolbar shows what the crosshair is drawing. Press it to choose:

• Polygon: a closed shape, for areas. See drawing polygons.
• Polyline: an open line, for distances. See drawing polylines.
• Spot: a single marked place. Each click opens a dialog for the spot's name, description and photos. See points and spots.

If you switch between Polygon and Polyline while you are drawing, the shape you are drawing changes with it. The app remembers your choice for next time.

What a click does#

With the crosshair up, a click normally adds a point. The magic button at the bottom right can make it do something else: insert a point between two others, move or delete a point, draw a circle or a rectangle, or show a point's information. Its icon shows which tool is on. See the magic button.

While you are adding comments, the magic button and the crosshair show add_comment. A click then leaves a comment instead of a point, and the crosshair shows no distance and snaps to nothing. See comments.

Turn on the Help box in the magic button's menu for a short explanation of the current tool above the button. Press the explanation to hide it again.

Snap to what is already drawn#

With Snap mode on, the crosshair jumps onto an existing point, spot or line when it comes within a few pixels of it, and a small marker shows where it has snapped. Shapes that share a boundary then share it exactly, with no gap or overlap between them.

Snap mode is on until you turn it off in the magic button's menu. To place one point without snapping, hold Shift+S while you click. See snapping for what it snaps to and what the colour of the marker means.

Keep lines at 45°#

Hold Shift+X while you draw. The line from the last point turns to the nearest multiple of 45°: north, north-east, east and so on. The distance still follows the crosshair. Let go of X to draw freely again.

This is useful for buildings, fences and plots laid out square to the compass. The angles are measured from north, not from the previous side.

On a touch screen#

A touch screen has no Shift key, so use the always-on crosshair:

1. Open settings Settings in the top toolbar.
2. Under General, turn on Always show crosshair (for touch screens).

On a phone or tablet, the hint shown the first time you open a project offers the same thing: press Show crosshair.

A crosshair now stays in the middle of the map. Move the map under it until the crosshair is where you want the point, and tap the crosshair to place it. You can also drag the crosshair itself. Everything else, the distance and bearing, snapping and the tools, works as with a mouse.

The setting is saved on the device, so you can keep it on a tablet and off on your computer.

Pins#

Each point of a polygon or a polyline is shown as a pin. While you draw a shape, its pins are coloured so you can see its direction:

• Green: the first point.
• Purple: the last point, where the next line starts.
• Red: the points in between.

Once a shape is locked, its pins turn blue and are hidden, so they do not cover the map. To show them, turn on Show pins in the shape's panel. A pin you have selected with a tool turns grey.

Click a pin, without the crosshair, to open its panel with its coordinates, description and pictures. See points and spots.

To hide the pins of every shape at once, use Pins in visibility Show/Hide elements. See display options. Their size is set with Pin icon size in settings.

Sounds#

The app plays a short sound when you place a point, and for some other actions such as unlocking a shape. To turn the sounds off, switch off Pin sound in settings.

Shortcuts at a glance#